The Makah Tribe

The Makah tribe wants to hunt gray whales, which is a significant part of their culture, as evidenced by most, if not all, of their traditional dances, songs, and arts reference gray whales and the ritual hunt of them. The Makah, for about seventy years, agreed to temporarily stop hunting gray whales due to how close they were to becoming extinct, but now that they have officially been taken off of the endangered species list, the Makah wish to once again take up their yearly hunt. Many on the anti-whaling side oppose the hunt, because of concerns that the hunt will either push the gray whales back into the endangered or vulnerable species list or that the Makah hunter won't have any way to tell if the whale they kill comes from a year round

The government has already had some very poor relations with tribes and how they deal with with the subject of native rights and land ownership. When the Makah tribe originally agreed to the treaty that would give up most of their lands to the United States government, they rejected one of the usual offerings of a reservation, a school, or a doctor, as they just wanted assurance that their right to fish and hunt whales in the Neah Bay would not be infringed upon. If they were permanently denied the right to hunt whales by the government, it could have serious impacts on social relations between the United States government and all tribes within America, not just the Makah tribe. This is not to mention whether allowing or disallowing the Makah Whale hunt will set a precedent about how all other native groups, both in the United States and elsewhere, will go about requesting the right to hunt whales, such as native tribes in Alaska and Russia, who require whale meat for sustenance. There are also groups who are watching the controversy very closely in order to gage their own rights to whale and what the social and international reaction is like in regards to whale hunting for

Both the Makah tribe and the people who oppose the hunt have very real and valid concerns about whether or not the hunt should be continued. Disallowing it could step on the rights of native tribes and create a negative rapport between the government and native peoples, but allowing it to happen could have possibly serious effects on the environment and and set a precedent for tolerance of whale hunting. I do not believe there is one right answer that is satisfying for all groups. Creating a positive dialogue between people and allowing native cultures to flourish and come into the modern world and not be oppressed by governments is something that should be encouraged. In order for this, the hunt would probably have to happen. I also believe that the Makah should be limited in how many and how frequently they may hunt gray whales and that assistance should be given in choosing a whale, to avoid choosing one from a specific pod that is limited in number or one from a migrating pod that might affect the environment. Helping the Makah tribe to pick out a whale would also prevent the social ramifications of the Makah accidentally hunting a whale that people living near the coast would have become familiar with and would protest the killing of. The Makah tribe technically only requires one whale a year to satisfy their traditions and keeping the number of whales they are allowed to kill low would discourage