As narrated by Jim Compton:
It is the very northwestern corner of the United States. As isolated as it is beautiful, the 27,000 acre Makah Indian reservation occupies a craggy point of land that juts out into the Pacific. It is a land of misty woods, tall Douglas firs and ancient cedars. Historically, the Makah were people of the sea who surrendered the claim to some of their land in 1855 in order to get a treaty guaranteeing extensive fishing and whaling rights.
Whaling was banned early in this century. And in recent decades, catches of salmon and halibut have dwindled. With unemployment hovering around 50%, half of the reservation's families have incomes below the poverty level. Now, a return to whaling has been seized as a way to economic and spiritual recovery. The Makah are the only tribe that preserve the right to kill whales in their original treaties. And through the first decades of this century, whaling was a principle source of subsistance and income. The Makah preferred humpback whales to eat. Grey whales were harvested for both oil and meat. At the peak of the whaling, thousands of barrels of lamp oil were sent east from Neah Bay each year.
Whaling ended in 1927 and the tribe shifted its attention to fishing and logging. The Makah claim their ancestors have been whaling here for a thousand years. But it's been 70 years since anyone has been on a whale hunt and no one alive has been whaling. It was when the grey whale came off the endangered species list that some in the tribe said it was time to start again.
The annual Makah Days celebration this year was unusually festive as the tribe celebrated the news it had won the right to resume whaling. The International Whaling Commission, in a much disputed decision, allowed a whale hunt to proceed but without voting official approval. And now groups of Makah are practicing in their huge cedar dug-out canoes on Neah Bay. One man will be chosen to hand harpoon the whale and another to kill it, they hope, with a single shot from a huge, 50 caliber rifle. They would be permitted to harpoon or wound up to 9 whales to capture their quota of 5 whales.
Micah McCarty, is a 27 year old Makah man training for the hunt - "To me it is a hereditary right and, you know, to me as part of the Makah nation, it's a treaty right that every Makah individual has. You know, we think of that as like a title to a car - we own it and we can drive it and we can do what we want with it."
Dozens of environmental and animal rights groups have condemned the proposed hunt, led by the militant anti-whaling organization, Sea Shepherd. Aboard the group's 170 foot retired, Norwegian research vessel, Sea Shepherd head, Paul Watson sounds the call to defend all whales.
Paul Watson - "The whale represents an intelligence that we are just on the the very threshold of discovering and I find it absolutely amazing that just when we are so close to the possibility of interspecies communication with another species, we are on the threshold of wiping them out."
Sea Shepherd claims it has sunk whaling ships in Norway and Portugal. The organization recently added to its fleet a retired Norwegian submarine that will be used to prevent killing of whales by the Makah.
Paul Watson - "Artist, George Sumner, will be painting this sub to look just like an adult, full-grown killer whale and we will be running through the water broadcasting orca sounds so that the grey whale will see something that looks like a killer whale, sounds like a killer whale and, hopefully, will react accordingly and flee the area."
It is not disputed that the grey whale population, an estimated 23,000 animals migrating up and down the Pacific coast, can stand the loss of five whales. Grey Whales were once harvested to near extinction, but conservation measures have brought populations back dramatically.
Fred Fellman, marine biologist and whale specialist, Northwest Director of Ocean Advocates - "Five whales itself is not my concern, but because these are special organisms, we should be very concerned about the size of the precedent that is set. And I would hope that we could get a legally binding opinion on the International Whaling Commission so that we are not talking hear-say. Is this door firmly closed behind the Makah or is it left wide open?"
The tribe itself is not unanimous in its support of renewed whaling.
Alberta Thompson, Tribal Elder - "They use the word tradition so much, we couldn't go back to it because we don't know it. It's gone. If we wanted to go back to it, we would have gone back to it 20 years ago. What made me angry was the commercializing that they had spoke of. And I can't see killing again something so gigantic and wonderful as a whale for money."
The Makah tribe has said publicly it will not sell whale meat or oil. But some who are going whaling do foresee the eventual marketing of whale meat.
Grey whales weigh up to 45 tons and are considered among the most difficult and dangerous to subdue (footage of grey whale raising its head near a tour boat while tourists reach forward to attempt to pet the curious and seemingly gentle giant). The oil and meat from a single whale can be worth one-half million dollars.
Jim Compton - "You're saying that if a way could be found to sell it legally, you would sell it?"
Micah McCarty - "That's something that we can't necessarily rule out. If it will benefit our people and it can be done in a just way, then I don't see why not."
To John McCarty, whose grandfather was a chief and a whaler, there is no way that mainstream America can grasp the depth of feeling about whaling.
John McCarty, Makah Tribe - "The whale was given to them by the creator. This whale belongs to the Makahs. The white society, I don't know if they really love that whale as much as they claim they do. They are using it as a symbol, not their deep feelings like probably what I got."
As the time of the whale hunt nears, the reservation has had an uncomfortable introduction to environmental politics. When there were rumors that 20,000 anti-whaling demonstrators would show up for Makah days, Washinton Governor, Gary Lock, mobilized 800 National Guard. Neah Bay was virtually cordoned off by state, county and federal officals. There were no demonstrations, no demonstators, and tribal council members said they were angered at the artificial excitement. But the test will come when the Indians actually set out to whale. The Coast Guard has ordered a 500 yard exclusion zone to keep media and protesters away from the whalers when they hunt. Paul Watson says that his organization will stay back as ordered unless it can overturn that regulation in court.
Jim Compton - "Do you ever foresee a time when this boat might confront a Coast Guard vessel or confront a dug-out canoe?"
Paul Watson - "No, we have total respect for the United States Coast Guard's rules and regulations, so I don't anticipate us getting into a scuffle with a United States Coast Guard vessel at all."
Jim Compton - "But in your previous operations you have sunk whaling ships."
Paul Watson - "We have sunk pirate whaling vessels, vessels that have been operating in blatent violation of international regulations and we have always made ourselves available to the authorities if they should choose to prosecute us. But they haven't chosen to do so because to put me on trial for doing that would mean to put themselves on trial internationally for their illegal whaling activities."
John McCarty, Makah tribe - "Well, it's probably none of their business. But they are doing it for just one purpose, because there are a lot of people in the world, environmental people, that gives them money to do what they do. It's that simple. So they get rich. The more they go against the Makahs, the more money they get. It's simple."
For now, the training and practice go on. 63 year old John McCarty hopes that his son, Micah, is in the canoe that kills the first whale.
John McCarty - "That would complete the whole circle of my life. I'm too old to get the whale. My son can get the whale. But that would mend that link that was lost."