Makah Nation On Washington's Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas

The name "Makah," which was bestowed by neighboring tribes, means

"generous with food."

For millennia the Makah, who spoke the Wakashan language that survives to

this day, resided at the most northwestern point of what became the

lower 48 states. They are still situated on today's Olympic Peninsula in

Washington State. Their reservation is the community of Neah Bay. The

tribe is the only Native American group that retains the right to hunt

whales as affirmed by treaty. Commercial fishing is an essential tribal

activity.

A brief history

The pre-contact Makahs' home consisted of an extensive coastal and

inland area that provided many natural resources for their survival. The

Makah men were tough, expert watermen who harvested such seafood as

salmon, seals and whales. They carved red cedar canoes customized for

various uses, including conveyance of trading items to other tribes.

The Makah resided in several permanent villages and summer encampments.

In the early 19th century, the tribe probably numbered up to 4,000

souls. Like their counterparts in the Northwest, extended,

multi-generational families lived in long cedar plank dwellings; each

village had several of them. With the arrival of summer, people trekked

to camps that were situated nearer to such subsistence activities as

gathering, fishing and whaling. Such foods were dried or smoked and

stored for the winter.

They made the most of what they harvested and left little waste.

After porpoise and seal meat was eaten or stored, the skins were cured to serve as whaling floats. Seal fat was melted into oil that was

used at meals to flavor foods. Sea otter pelts were a highly prized

trading medium.

Humpback, gray, right, sperm, finback and blue whales were hunted for

their blubber and flesh. Oil rendered from whale blubber was a

valuable commodity, bringing whaling families a handsome return in

wealth and prestige. Whale bones were fashioned into a variety of tools

and personal adornment. The Makah discovered a new market with trade

ships from Europe as early as 1789.

The advent of Europeans, oblivious of white diseases they introduced

into the Indian environment, wreaked a disaster on the Makah, beginning

late in the 18th century. Tribal members in the thousands succumbed to

epidemics of such scourges as influenza, smallpox and tuberculosis. The

tearing of the Makah social fabric was dramatic, creating fright, abject

sorrow and disorientation. So many family members were lost, and the

social dislocation was so great, that many traditional lifeways were not

passed down to successive generations.

In 1855 at Neah Bay, 42 Makah leaders, representing their tribe, signed

a treaty with Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens, who represented the United States.

The elders knew the time had come to prevent their tribe's way of life

from suffering extinction. The Makah relinquished 300,000 acres of tribal land to

the U.S. in exchange for a smaller reservation, to keep its whaling

rights and protect its people's physical and social welfare.

Four years later, the Congress ratified the treaty. Ratification led to

massive cultural changes in the name of assimilation, imposed on the

Makah by the federal government. Indian agents, missionaries and

teachers attempted to assimilate the Makah into mainstream American

society through laws that suppressed their language and customs.

However, the Makahs' adroit adaptation of traditional subsistence

activities to new markets for whaling and seal products helped them to

resist such attempts at assimilation as governmental attempts to convert

them into farmers.

Eventually, the dominant society's attempts to limit their access to

land and resources would threaten the Makahs' capacity to survive as a

people. Ignoring the Makahs' treaty fishing rights, Washington state

game officers bullied Native Americans for fishing without licenses --

which the state would not issue to them because they were not U.S.

citizens until 1924. Eventually the courts gave the Makah access to 50

percent of the allowable salmon catch.

Whales were threatened with extinction by commercial whaling at the turn

of the 20th century, which compelled the Makah to give up whaling in the

mid-1920s.

In the 1970s, the old village of Ozette was excavated, which eventually

yielded many thousands of ancient objects. The project rekindled the

Makahs' interest in their culture and language, as evidenced later in

the conception of the Makah Cultural and Research Center. One aspect of

their past culture drew their particular attention: whaling.

Conservation efforts in the intervening years had encouraged gray whale

numbers to return to more normal levels. In 1994, following the gray whale's removal from the

endangered species list, the Makah advised the

U.S. government that they intended to resume whale hunting as allowed by their unique treaty. The action provoked strong opposition by

environmental groups. In 1999, following strenuous physical and

spiritual preparation, Makah watermen conducted their first successful

whale hunt in more than seven decades -- sparking celebration, notoriety

and consternation. The Makah have since been embroiled in several court

battles to cling to their whaling prerogative.

The Makah Nation today

The fishing community of Neah Bay is the heart of the Makah nation.

Cultural events as well as their sea-based economy are concentrated

there. The Neah Bay Marina accommodates numerous business and pleasure

craft. Village and marina businesses cater to residents and visitors

alike.

Located on the Sooes River, the Makah National Fish Hatchery

specifically accommodates public viewing of salmon migrating over fish

ladders.

In addition to commercial fishing, numerous Makah people earn a

livelihood as artisans. They market such items as delicately carved

masks to various outlets and collectors.

The Makah Cultural and Research Center conserves and enhances knowledge

of the Makah Nation's history. Of particular interest is an authentic

reproduction of a longhouse that visitors can step inside to view.

The annual Makah Days in August is a community festival that includes a

grand parade, street fair, canoe racing, culture-specific games and

food, fireworks, dancing and singing.

Traditional songs, dances and stories are the property of the

descendants of those who created them, and subject to their exclusive

use. They are performed at potlaches, weddings, naming ceremonies,

memorial services and other events.

The Makah also adhere to their traditional heritage by teaching new

generations their ancient Wakashan language.

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