Makah Tribe

Court’s Ruling Ignores Makah Treaty Right

January 16, 2003

It’s just plain wrong.

In response to yet another suit from an animal rights group, a three-judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that requirements of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act take precedence over the tribe’s treaty-reserved right to hunt whales. “We conclude that the MMPA must apply to the Tribe, just as it would apply to any other person,” the judges wrote.

The U.S. Constitution clearly states that treaties are “the supreme law of the land.” Even the Marine Mammal Protection Act itself addresses the question of tribal treaty rights: “nothing in this act…alters or is intended to alter any treaty between the U.S. and one or more Indian tribes.”

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Being Frank: Everyone Should Celebrate The Makah Whale Hunt

Those who do not understand the Makah will question the logic of hunting an animal that means so much to them. Yet the principle is the same for all species of fish and wildlife. Non-Indians have always tried to force their way of life on the Indian. Yet we have lived here for thousands of years, in harmony with nature. Many non-Indian ways are strange to us. They permit their chiltheir children dine on meat without teaching them to be grateful to the animals that died to feed them. Even vegetarians can be hypocritical. Agricultural practices kill more of nature's creatures through habitat destruction than fishing and hunting ever will.

Continue ReadingBeing Frank: Everyone Should Celebrate The Makah Whale Hunt