John Vance
Editor
Peoples Bark News
Berkeley, CA
Dear John Vance:
By way of introduction my name is Kii yaa tuk (Keith Hunter) and I am a resident of Neah Bay, Washington, the Makah Nation. I am not a Makah and am not a whaler. The Makah Nation is the only Band of the Nuu chah nulth Nation within the political boundaries of the United States, with the remainder of the Nuu chah nulth Nation being on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Through marriage I am related to people who are Makah and am also related to some of the whaling families in both the Makah Nation and Nuu chah nulth Nations in Canada. I am also a Board member of CERTAIN, the Coalition to End Racial Targeting of American Indian Nations.
Respectfully,
Through the CERTAIN mailing list I became aware that you are in the process of preparing an article on the whaling of the Makah. As you are aware, this resumption of whaling has created a situation in which many conflicts, primarily with ARA (animal rights activist) and anti-treaty groups who oppose whaling by the Makah Nation.
Your astute observation that there is an absence of direct contact with the Makah Nation regarding these issues, particularly as it involves many of the "online" anti-whaling advocates is an observation which I must commend. The rumor mill creates a "conspiracy" and then fills in the blanks as it goes along; this has been one of the more favored tactics of the opponents of Makah whaling since the onset of this conflict, one which was originally generated by Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Eventually the spin-off groups began, each with its own "flavor" of beliefs, etc., but primarily has ended up being a coalition of ARA and anti-treaty groups and individuals who have devoted a vast amount of time and energy to smearing the Makah Nation and distorting the factual basis of events.
Many have questioned the "silence" of the Makah Nation on many of the issues which has been brought up in the past few years. To many, this silence has been wrongly interpreted as meaning either "weakness" or an "admission of fact" when the endless rumors are manufactured, disseminated, and reconstructed into other versions as time goes along.
What is a more proper and accurate interpretation of this silence is that in the Nuu chah nulth core beliefs is the teaching that when someone engages in behavior that is shameful, faces are turned away from that person and no attention is paid to that shame. To turn your face towards that shame is to tell the Creator that you desire to wear that shame as well. Many Elders advise against speaking on such shameful matters as the rumor mill produces. Many experiences of Makah people who have tried to openly share their thoughts is that their beliefs, feelings, and experiences have been turned around and used against them, often viciously.
This practice of not bringing shame upon oneself, and the resultant silence, has given wide latitude for people to exploit when it comes to particular points which the anti-whaling supporters continually advance. This same cultural practice also at times makes it difficult for those who support the Makah Nation's right to self-determination in that the silence often results in a media void of sorts when attempts are made to obtain factual, verifiable information to be presented to challenge the rumor mills which abound.
You ask if there is "opposition" to whaling inside the Makah Nation. After having been involved with the whaling issue, and based upon countless in-depth discussions with Makah and Nuu chah nulth tribal members concerning whaling, I can truthfully say that there is no "opposition" of the sort that has been portrayed by many of the anti-whaling advocates. This is not to say that all the Makah people involved are always in total agreement as to the best path to take, but there is a vast difference between differences of opinion and "opposition" such as has been portrayed by those who would have people removed from first hand knowledge believe. I have heard almost every single Makah tribal member I have ever spoken to about the whaling say that "nothing ever brought us together as we were on the day the whale came to the beach". What disagreements, concerns, or differences there may have been between individuals were almost entirely healed and done away with on that day.
The benefits of that coming together as a Nation, as a village, as families, and as individuals can be neither underestimated nor denied. The Makah Nation takes total responsibility for their own People, for their way of life, and for their destiny by this journey the Makah Nation has undertaken. The rumor mill made many predictions which did not come true. The Makah did what they set out to do. The rumor mill spread story after story of illegalities and oppression. The Makah have proven, in every forum needed, that their treaty rights are valid, enforceable, and have been exercised. The rumor mill claimed traditional values were delegated to the museum. The Makah canoe and songs and drums prove that the Makah traditions not only survived but are relevant to contemporary life in the Makah Nation.
Seeking "tokenism" to cloak racist agendas and alliances, many of the rumor mill generators deny their own efforts to continue impostion of colonialist values and continued efforts to assimilate the Makah into a model of First Nations which is "acceptable." Judgment after judgment of tradition, spirituality, political processes, internal protocols and dynamics of First Nations "houses" has not only been totally misunderstood but distorted by the ethnocentric view that the only community structure which is acceptable is one in which internal matters are dealt with in the same manner as mainstream America, where mudslinging, confrontation, smearing, and sabotage are acceptable political processes. First Nations do not, have not, and will not operate in such a fashion. To continue to interpret First Nations self-determination and internal processes with the mainstream definition of "community" is not only fruitless but is indicative of the nature of the conflict itself, namely that there is a residual attitude of "Manifest Destiny" in which now even the ARAs have undertaken to complete the march of European values and cultural perspectives across this land.
Social justice, honoring sacred treaties, ending ethnic cleansing, ending racism, respecting the true meaning and reaching a true meaning of America's borders is essential. America - Turtle Island - is a political body consisting of many Nations within a Nation. The sovereign rights of the First Nations exist by treaties, embodied in the Article VI of the United States Constitution as the "Supreme Law of the Land." I trust that in the "balance" you seek, in your desire to understand, that you will not discount these ideals and promises made between the Nations and Peoples. I also hope and pray that you will find it in your hearts to find the respect for the true meaning of human dignity and self-determination of the Treaty Nations of Turtle Island.
If there are any specific questions for which verification is sought for your article I would be happy to be of what assistance I may be able to provide for that as well.
Kii yaa tuk (Keith Hunter)
P. O. Box 482
Neah Bay, WA 98357
360-645-3161