Makahs Are the Whale People
In 1998 protesters from all around the world met the Makah tribe in the waters of the Neah Bay as the Makah Tribe tried their first hunting season in generations.
For two months the Neah Bay was swarming with protest vessels making it impossible for the tribesmen to properly conduct their whaling.
Protesters headed by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society lined the streets stopping just at the borders of the reservation.
When this story broke, all across America households were getting the story of how cruel the Indians were being to these gray whales that had just been taken off of the Endangered Species List.
The protesters were insulting to the Makah Tribe when one of them implored to the Chief.
"How many of you will be drunk when you all go out in your canoe after your big party tonight?" A woman yelled "You are evil! Evil! Evil! You have a black heart...
Real men don't kill animals.
Only a coward kills whales.
You are a coward and a sissy.
" The Makah tribe was thinking that they could never be understood especially when the people protesting were wearing leather shoes holding McDonald's bags.
How can those people speak with so much hate? The Makah Tribe is known as the Whale People yet their rich history is unknown to the rest of the world.
Whaling has been a tradition of the Makah Indian Tribe for fifteen hundred years.
The real mystery behind the facade of the Makah's whaling is the real reason that gray whales were placed on the Endangered Species List.
Commercial whaling is the thing that devastated and crippled the gray whale population.
The Makah Tribe should not only be allowed to hunt gray whales, they should be celebrated by the rest of the world.
In December of 1855 Isaac Stevens, the territorial Governor for the United States came to Neah Bay and met with representatives from the Makah Indian tribe.
Three days of negotiations past before the two sides could agree upon a deal.
The Makah Tribe would hand over the title to thousands of acres of land on the Olympic Peninsula in exchange for the promise to secure the Makah's rights to continue whaling.
The whaling clause was written into the Treaty of Neah Bay.
To these people steeped in history the Treaty of Neah Bay is as important and valuable as the constitution is to most Americans.
For two months the Neah Bay was swarming with protest vessels making it impossible for the tribesmen to properly conduct their whaling.
Protesters headed by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society lined the streets stopping just at the borders of the reservation.
When this story broke, all across America households were getting the story of how cruel the Indians were being to these gray whales that had just been taken off of the Endangered Species List.
The protesters were insulting to the Makah Tribe when one of them implored to the Chief.
"How many of you will be drunk when you all go out in your canoe after your big party tonight?" A woman yelled "You are evil! Evil! Evil! You have a black heart...
Real men don't kill animals.
Only a coward kills whales.
You are a coward and a sissy.
" The Makah tribe was thinking that they could never be understood especially when the people protesting were wearing leather shoes holding McDonald's bags.
How can those people speak with so much hate? The Makah Tribe is known as the Whale People yet their rich history is unknown to the rest of the world.
Whaling has been a tradition of the Makah Indian Tribe for fifteen hundred years.
The real mystery behind the facade of the Makah's whaling is the real reason that gray whales were placed on the Endangered Species List.
Commercial whaling is the thing that devastated and crippled the gray whale population.
The Makah Tribe should not only be allowed to hunt gray whales, they should be celebrated by the rest of the world.
In December of 1855 Isaac Stevens, the territorial Governor for the United States came to Neah Bay and met with representatives from the Makah Indian tribe.
Three days of negotiations past before the two sides could agree upon a deal.
The Makah Tribe would hand over the title to thousands of acres of land on the Olympic Peninsula in exchange for the promise to secure the Makah's rights to continue whaling.
The whaling clause was written into the Treaty of Neah Bay.
To these people steeped in history the Treaty of Neah Bay is as important and valuable as the constitution is to most Americans.
