And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 12:24:20 -0700 (PDT) From: David Gene Lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Please distribute, thank you. In Spirit David ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 08:26:31 -0700 From: Madonna Moss <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Makah Whaling The following Opinion-Editorial article appeared in the Register-Guard, the daily newspaper published in Eugene, Oregon on May 28, 1999. > >Whale Hunt Honors Makah Way of Life >by Madonna L. Moss > >Twenty-five years ago, I had the privilege of working alongside Makah >students on the excavation of the Ozette archaeological site, located on the >Olympic Peninsula of Washington. I had enrolled in the Washington State >University field school, co-sponsored by the Makah Tribe, one of the first >collaborative efforts between an Indian tribe and a university on an >archaeological project. It was a pivotal experience, eventually leading me >to a career in anthropology. > >During that summer of 1974, I learned that Makah culture was not dead or >dying. Makah youth were very proud of their heritage. They knew the songs >of their kin groups; they knew which stories were their property to tell. >They knew the dances their elders had taught them, and they honored their >grandparents. They knew the ecology of their home territory: the food, >medicinal, and industrial uses of the plants and animals in their >rainforests, on their beaches, and in the nearshore and offshore marine >environments. They were incredibly patient and generous with outsiders such as me. Life on the reservation was not idyllic, however, with poverty, >unemployment, and substance abuse causing serious social distress. The >archaeological work at Ozette, however, promised to uncover a different >chapter of their history. > >Ozette was a whaling village, its occupation dating back 2000 years. It's a >prime location for intercepting migrating gray whales, northern fur seals, >and Steller sea lions. The remains of the village were buried under a >mudslide, preserving the tools, implements, household furniture, as well as >the houses themselves that normally disintegrate in the wet Northwest >climate. Contained in the deposit were numerous whale bones, many used to >line an extensive drain system built around the large wood plankhouses. >Whale bones were used to make furniture and many other artifacts. We found >the weapons used to hunt whales, harpoon point blades made of sharpened >mussel shell, bone harpoon valves, cedar rope lanyards, and parts of the >sealskin floats used to drag the whale. In one of the four houses excavated >was a wood carving of a whale's dorsal fin, inlaid with over 700 hundred sea >otter teeth. This item of great wealth was found in the back of the house, >associated with the highest status family at the site, probably that of the >whaling captain. The artifacts recovered from Ozette can be seen at the >Makah Cultural and Research Center, a world-class, Makah-run museum in Neah >Bay. > >Drawing from ethnographic, archaeological, and ethnohistorical sources, we >know that not every Makah person was qualified to be a whaler. The >prerogative to hunt whales was inherited, but also had to be earned. Young >men apprenticed to experienced senior men to learn the technology and >personal power necessary for whaling and seafaring. They prepared for the >hunt by fasting, spiritual purification, and rigorous physical training. >Women played roles of equal importance; the wives of whalers had to undergo >their own rites of purification and spiritual disciplines. It was a great >privilege to be involved in whaling, and the entire community depended on the >success of the whaling party. The same is true today. > >Non-natives have caricatured contemporary Makahs as red-neck hunters, out to >enjoy the thrill of killing. This portrait easily fits that of the "savage" >or "primitive" American Indian. This grossly ethnocentric misrepresentation >of Makah technological sophistication also fails to acknowledge the religious >importance of whaling. While many of us have grown up in a society that >rigidly divides church and state, religion was not separated out of everyday >Makah life--- neither in the past or today. > >The Makah and their relatives on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the >Nuu-chah-nulth, were the only Northwest Coast Indians who routinely hunted >whales. The Makah have a special relationship with the gray whale, and >whaling is a essential part of Makah social identity. This was never >strictly an economic pursuit, as it incorporated spiritual practices >Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists would call "prayer" and >"meditation." Whaling was recognized as a dangerous activity, not only >because of the whale's size and physical power, but because of the volatility >of ocean conditions. Whalers were confronting challenges of supernatural >proportions, and their success required individual and community preparation. > Whaling demands comparable physical and spiritual provisions today-- >although unfortunately-- the whaling crew has faced intimidation and threats >of violence by misguided radical environmentalists. > >While the Ozette investigations were about documenting the past, Makah >whaling today is about exercising treaty rights and reclaiming history. The >Makah hunt was sanctioned by the International Whaling Commission because it >did not pose a threat to the survival of gray whales. As indicated recently, >biologist Bruce Mate of the Hatfield Marine Science Center has documented 65 >gray whales found dead along the shorelines of Mexico, California, and Oregon >this past winter. Whatever has been killing these whales should be of far >greater concern to us than the single whale taken by the Makah. If we are >worried about the gray whales, we should support Mate and others in >discovering the causes of these deaths. We can rest assured that the Makah >will use the products of their whale responsibly, to nurture their bodies and >souls, to honor the memory of their ancestors, and to educate the rest of us >about their unique culture. > >Madonna L. Moss is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Oregon. > Madonna L. Moss, Associate Professor Department of Anthropology 1218 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1218 Tel: 541 346-6076 Fax: 541 346-0668 Homepage: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mmoss/gatemm.htm ANTH 443/543 Course Website: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mmoss/gate443.htm ANTH 449/549 Course Website http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mmoss/gate449.htm Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
