As tribal canoes from all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond travel to Bella Bella, British Columbia, you can follow their progress and see pictures at www.canoejourneymaps.orgTo see the progress…
Washington Governor Jay Inslee visited the Hoh, Quileute and Makah tribes Friday and heard a number of environmental concerns. See the article in the Peninsula Daily News.
Makah tribal member Ben Johnson, who as chairman, championed the tribe's first whale hunt in 70 years, passed at Olympic Medical Center March 31 following a heart attack. He was…
Archeologist who led the excavation of Makah's Ozette village, which he called "Pompeii of America," passes. http://tinyurl.com/l89lhhf
A fish hook has tied history, culture and the Makah community together in unexpected ways.
The čibu·d (pronounced “cha bood”), or halibut hook, became the subject of a student project during an internship with Makah Fisheries Management.
“I had a student, Larry Buzzell, come to me wanting to do a project that related to historical fishing methods,” said Jonathan Scordino, marine mammal biologist for the Makah Tribe.
Historically the hooks were made of both wood and bone. As the tribe gained access to new materials, they also made hooks from metal.
“The goal of the project was to test if the čibu·d was more selective for catching halibut than contemporary circle hooks when fished on a longline,” Scordino said.
Setting up the experiment was challenging because the study required 200 čibu·d to be made by hand. (more…)
The Quinault Indian Nation was heartened to hear the decision to revoke the permits for crude oil shipping terminals in Grays Harbor by the Washington Shorelines Hearing Board. Read about…
If you aren’t in the mood, don’t weave. It shows up in the work.” That’s one of the many things Quileute tribal member Cathy Salazar has learned after 16 years of basket weaving.
“The weave will get too tight or sloppy if you aren’t in the right frame of mind,” said Salazar.
Despite years of weaving, Salazar didn’t fully appreciate the traditional ways of preparing materials for some time because others provided the cedar and grasses ready to use in baskets. “It was all ready to go and Grandma Lillian Pullen or my other instructors would weave the basket bottoms for me to get the basket started,” said Salazar. Lillian was her first teacher and everyone called her “grandma.” (more…)
Gaspar Ramos, 16, strides confidently to the edge of the Quillayute River and drops a hydrolab datasonde that measures water quality parameters into the water. The Makah tribal member has worked with the water quality equipment enough to look like he has been doing it for years.
Ramos might one day have a job just like it if the introduction by the Quileute Natural Resources and the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center Natural Resources program creates an interest in pursuing education needed for natural resources work. The Skills Center offers project-based field science classes and work on real-world projects in local ecosystems. The Quileute Tribe provides the jobs for the two tribal students to shadow as well as do project work. (more…)
The Quinault Indian Nation has closed Lake Quinault to non-tribal fishing until further notice due to concerns about sockeye populations and reported enforcement problems. Details of the nation's decision are here.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Makah Tribal Council signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to reaffirm their integral partnership, cooperation and coordination in pollution prevention and response during a ceremony…