And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 09:41:31 EST From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Makah Indians Learning Patience Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 03:23:23 EST Makah Indians Learning Patience .c The Associated Press By PEGGY ANDERSEN NEAH BAY, Wash. (AP) -- The Makah Indian tribe has waited more than 70 years to return to the Pacific to hunt gray whales. For some, the last three months have been among the longest. No one here has ever hunted the whale. There is much to learn, and time has taken away the teachers. One lesson is clear already: Some things cannot be rushed. Dozens of reporters stampeded here in late September, responding to a report that the tribe's first whale hunt in decades was under way. The hunts had stopped in the 1920s, when commercial whalers brought the world whale population to the brink of extinction. But since Oct. 1, when the tribe was officially cleared to hunt, the Makah have yet to venture into the Pacific to search for a whale. Foul weather, inexperience, mechanical problems, disagreements over procedures -- all manner of obstacles have conspired to keep harpoon away from target. Most of the reporters are gone, along with protesters and their ships. The Makah, meanwhile, are still trying to recreate a store of lost knowledge. Some Makah elders remember tasting whale meat as children. Some of the women were taught how to prepare the meat, how to render the oil. Some of the men know how to fashion whaling canoes from tall red cedar. But so much time has passed, there is no one still alive who knows how to whale. And hunting the whale -- especially in small boats, especially in winter seas, especially gray whales -- is dangerous. But if any people have whaling in their genes, it is the Makah. They are the ones who could ``find the way to resurrect it,'' said Ed Claplanhoo, a member of the Makah Whaling Commission and former tribal chairman. Whaling remains a vital part of tribal tradition. The story is still told of how the thunderbird brought the whale to the Makah one hungry year long ago. The image of the whale -- in the Makah colors of black and red -- decorate the school, local homes, costumes and baskets. Huge weathered whale skulls and bones adorn front yards in this community of 2,000 -- 1,400 of them among the tribe's 2,300 enrolled members. The pending hunt goes against tradition: a communal, tribal hunt, pooling the available knowledge. ``A commission hunt,'' some say without enthusiasm. Traditionally, whaling families mounted their own hunts, with their own secret preparations and sacred songs. Some aspects of this pooling business have not gone well, but lessons are learned, ruffled feelings smoothed -- the process continues. At this point, there is a pool of 17 men to fill out the eight-man whaling crew. They've been chosen from the 23 families with a representative on the tribe's whaling commission. There is one canoe -- the 32-foot red-and-black Hummingbird -- and two motorized support boats. Another canoe is being built -- a longer, broader craft in the whaling tradition, its silky golden surface glimmering in the shadows. When the hunt takes place, the plan is to follow a ceremonial harpoon strike from the canoe with high-powered rifle fire from the support boats, trying for a quick, humane kill. ``We need to get out there,'' says Wayne Johnson, the whaling captain chosen earlier this month. ``We need to get it done.'' That would mean facing the open sea and the gray whale, a usually placid marine mammal up to 45 feet long. The southbound migration by 23,000 whales is late this year. Scientists believe warmer temperatures could be a factor. The delay means the grays will come during the winter storm season, a dangerous time that can bring weeks of 25-foot swells and howling winds. The crew has most of the equipment it needs, including radios and wetsuits. Claplanhoo believes the whaling crew should wait until the new canoe is ready, a date that has been postponed several times. Some now say January, some April. The tribe is allotted a maximum of five whales a year -- 20 through 2002 -- and some say that is designed to provide one whale to each of the old villages. But at this point, all attention is on the first whale. ``I only need one,'' says Claplanhoo, who wonders if anyone has need for more in these modern times. Meat can be had at Washburn's General Store, but most Makah supplement their diets with foods harvested from their rich land and sea -- deer, elk, grouse, berries, roots, salmon, halibut, seal and shellfish. For centuries, whale was a central part of Makah diet, as whaling was a central part of Makah life and culture. Some of those who remember it miss it. Some who don't remember it would like to know what they are missing. Many believe a return to traditional foods would restore health to a community where diabetes and other problems are linked to the modern American diet. After the first hunt, ``then we'll see,'' said Marcy Parker, Makah tribal council vice chairman. AP-NY-12-29-98 0322EST Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. <<<<=-=-=FREE LEONARD PELTIER=-=-=>>>> If you think you are too small to make a difference; try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.... African Proverb <<<<=-=http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ =-=>>>> IF it says: "PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW...." 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