Makah face a whale of a dilemma

Saturday five men in boats killed a gray whale.

They were making a statement and exercising bad judgment.

They're members of the Makah Tribe, but they acted on their own and against the interests of the group.

Their tribe has been trying to reassert its right to hunt whales, an activity that was a defining part of Makah culture before the conquest. For them, hunting whales isn't just about food. It's about their very identity as Makahs.

For decades, the tribe didn't hunt. Members stopped voluntarily because gray whales were endangered, but when the animals came off the list, the Makah fought for the return of their rights under an 1855 treaty.

In 1999 they hunted and killed their first whale in 70 years. Success in court and at sea gave the impoverished community an emotional lift.

It was worth the sacrifice of a whale.

But I hoped that having won their rights and lifted their spirits, the Makah would not pursue another whale.

Whales are one of those species that have a special place in the larger culture. It's not in the Makah's long-term interest to be seen as whale killers.

Five years ago a court aggravated matters by ruling the Makah couldn't hunt without a special waiver under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which the tribe has since been trying to acquire.

They hadn't taken another whale in the interim but were close to obtaining the waiver and preserving their right to hunt. While Saturday's whale hunt was under way, several other tribes were celebrating the annual return of salmon to Puget Sound.

While the Makah struggle to hold on to their whaling base, other tribes are more easily able to retain their salmon-fishing culture — as long as the salmon hold out. Someday, they may have to find another cultural base, too.

Salmon are still seen simply as food even to most who admire them. But the Makah are whalers and whales are seen differently.

If you don't hunt whales, can you be a Makah?

I think so. There is no other sustainable choice.

A genetic study published Monday claims gray-whale populations have not recovered, that the decision to take them off the endangered list was based on estimates of their past population that were too low.

Hunting a species in distress just keeps the Makah Tribe under pressure.

They have enough pressure already. Whales are scarce but so are jobs and opportunities on the Makah reservation.

The Makah are right to want something that will give them a strong sense of purpose, but it probably isn't going to be whaling.

They're not alone in the struggle to define themselves, a challenge that changing circumstances bring to every group eventually. But it is particularly difficult when you are a small, poor group in the midst of a large, dynamic society.

I don't have an answer for the tribe, but neither did the men in those boats.

All I know is that hunting whales can't be part of the solution anymore.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.

Information in this story, originally published on September 13, 2007, was corrected on September 15, 2007. The treaty that originally allowed the Makah Tribe to continue whaling, was signed in 1855, not 1885 as appeared in Jerry Large's column Thursday.