And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes: :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:Forwarded message:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 14:57:09 -0800 From: Nancy Thomas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Paths-L Mailing List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: "Eco-colonialism" at Makah >From: Native Americas <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: "Eco-colonialism" at Makah -=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=- The following is an article from the Winter 1998 issue of Native Americas, published by the Akwe:kon Press at Cornell University. An award-winning hemispheric journal, Native Americas provides indigenous peoples with a critical examination of issues and events that affect Native communities. For more information on how to stay informed of emerging trends that impact Native peoples throughout the hemisphere visit our website at http://nativeamericas.aip.cornell.edu. -=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=- "Eco-colonialism" at Makah By Tim Bristol Nearly one month after the anticipated and highly controversial opening of the Makah whale hunt, the only creatures unharmed are the whales. The controversy surrounding the resurrection of the Makah practice of hunting Gray whales continues to escalate. On Nov. 1, animal rights activists and pro-whaling members of the Makah Nation clashed. Tribal members hurled rocks and pieces of concrete at a boat piloted by animal rights activists. Four whale hunt opponents, whom the Makah consider unwelcome in Indian Country, were detained by tribal police. The debate over the whale hunt escalated when a small fleet of whaling protest boats, including a vessel owned by the marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd, maneuvered close to shore to trade insults with a group of Makah protesters. According to Sea Shepherd director Paul Watson, three windows were broken on their boat by rocks and chunks of concrete. Makah protesters also launched fishhooks from slingshots and aimed fireworks at the boats. Four animal rights activists, including Sea Shepherd Gray Whale Protection Campaign expedition leader Lisa Distefano, were detained by Makah Nation police after stepping on a tribal dock, a violation of a tribal ordinance baring protesters from marina property. Distefano was coming ashore at the invitation of controversial tribal member Alberta "Binky" Thompson. Thompson, a vocal critic of the whale hunt, recently lost her tribal job and fled the reservation in the wake of the confrontation. Tribal leaders considered arresting Thompson or banishing her from the tribe, claiming her actions contributed to the incident at the boat harbor. For weeks protesters have been arriving at the Makah Nation to voice their opposition to the tribe's whale hunt. The Makah received permission from the International Whaling Commission to kill up to five Gray Whales this year. The Makah said the hunt is an effort to restore a broken link with their past-no living Makah has ever participated in a whale hunt-but the practices of their ancestors still permeate Makah life. The Makah Nation was guaranteed the right to hunt whales by the Medicine Creek Treaty of 1854. In exchange for the relinquishment of land claims on some 200,000 square miles of their territory, the Makah received a reservation at Neah Bay on the Pacific Coast with the guarantee in Article III of the treaty: "The rights of taking fish at all usual and accustomed grounds and stations, is further secured to said Indians." Animal rights activists, led by Sea Shepherd, claim whale hunting is a tradition that should not be brought back. The group, that in the past has resorted to physical violence to stop illegal fishing operations and commercial whalers, said the Makah are hunting whales for monetary, not cultural reasons. According to a Sea Shepherd report, the organization has obtained documents from the National Marine Fisheries Service indicating that the Makah may have been contemplating a commercial whaling operation. In a story run by Mother Jones magazine, one tribal member stated that there had been some discussion about selling some portions of the whales harvested. On the reservation border, protests continued. Whale protection advocates have yelled insults at Makah whalers, blared rock music from speakers mounted on their boat and even brought a WWII submarine painted like a Killer Whale into the area. In a recent flare up, Watson yelled: "Just because you were born stupid doesn't give you any right to be stupid." According to the Seattle Times, one Makah protester responded with a printed slogan. "Go home eco-colonialists." Native Americas Journal Akwe:kon Press Cornell University 300 Caldwell Hall Ithaca, New York 14853 Phone: (607) 255-4308 FAX: (607) 255-0185 Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: http://nativeamericas.aip.cornell.edu :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send "subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
