| INTRODUCTION | REFERENCE | PERIODICAL ARTICLES | NON-PRINT |
| TOPIC ANALYSIS | BOOKS | INTERNET SOURCES | REVIEW |
"To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy
can be the thoughtless act of a single day."
--Sir Winston Churchill
My goal for this research project was to find out if the resumption of whaling by the Makah Indians may lead to a more expansive whale hunting by other cultures using the traditions and heritage reasoning that the Makah Nation has used, and if so will this have a detrimental effect on the survivability of the whale species?
I have researched how the Makah Indian Nation regaining their ability to whale can create more expansive whale hunting. I am also researching whether the more expansive whale hunting will have a detrimental effect on the survivability of the whale species. Through my research I have learned that their are at least three other cultures that have whaled at least up until 1992 under the pretense that they were whaling for scientific research. I also learned that due to the modern whaling methods it had a detrimental effect on the population of the whale species.
I was finding an abundance of information regarding the Makah Indian Nation and Whaling. I tried to find an equal amount of information about the opposing viewpoints regarding the Makah whale hunting. I also presented some research that was done based on factual evidence rather than opposing viewpoints.
This organization does studies about fish and wildlife to insure that a particular species or type of fish is not fished or hunted into extinction. They also provide information that helps to set quotas and fish limits on different types of fisheries, as well as monitor the catches of fishing vessels.
International Whaling Commission The Red House, 135 Station Road, Impington, Cambridge, UK CB4 9NP Phone: +44 (0)1223 233971 Fax: +44 (0)1223 232876 email: iwc@iwcoffice.org
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/iwcoffice/
This organization monitors and controls the number and type of whales that are allowed to be harvested each year by whaling cultures and countries. The Makah Indians first sanctioned their hunting rights through the IWC before resuming their treaty right to hunt whales.
McCullough, D. R. and R.H. Barrett. Wildlife 2001: Populations. N.Y., Elsevier Applied
Science, 1999. p 1163.
Powell, John Wesley, "Whaling." Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues. Vol. III, Ca, Nj:
Salem Press, 2000. 797-98. 3 vols.
The article discusses the way that humans have hunted whales for thousands of years, and what humans used different parts of the whale for. It also talks about the gray whale being hunted to extinction, and how the blue whale was hunted to near extinction. It then talks about the International Whaling Committee (IWC) banning whaling in 1986, and by 1990's several nations including Japan and Norway argued that population of some whale species increased enough to permit a renewal of whaling. This article than discusses how the problems with assessing the population of whales has made conflicts over the resumption of whaling.
Jackson, Gordon. "Whaling." Britannica Online. 1999-2000. Encyclopedia Britannica. 5 May 2000.
<http://www.britannica.com/>.
This article goes in depth about the history of whaling. It explains what different parts of the whales were used for, and why the whaling regulations came into effect. I feel that if you want to have a better understanding of whaling this would be a great article to read.
Stoetts, Peter J. The International Politics of Whaling. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997.
I feel this book would be helpful to understand the political and ethical conflicts surrounding whaling.
Dudley, William. Endangered oceans : opposing viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999.
Opposing Viewpoints is a series of books on many controversial issues. Each book includes articles written from many different perspectives on a single topic. William Dudley is the series editor, which means he didn't necessarily write any of these articles, but may have written a preface or introduction, and then probably selected the articles to include. I feel that having a chance to see the opposing views could help the reader to view more than one side at a time to better understand the topic. This book also gives suggestions on how whales can be best protected.
Watters, Lawrence and Connie Dugger. "The Hunt for Gray Whales: The Dilemma of Native American
Treaty Rights and the International Moratorium on Whaling." Colorado Journal of
Environmental Law. Vol. 22, 1997. 319.
This article discusses how the decision to resume whaling by the Makah Nation could impact the IWC's moratorium on whaling by setting a precedent that other former whaling countries could use by using culture and traditions as an excuse. It also gives in-depth views of opinions and beliefs that pertain to the legal issues as well as the environmental issues caused by the Makah's decision.
Montana, Cate, "Under scrutiny: Makah whale revived ancient tradition." Indian Country Today.
12 Jan. 2000: B3. Ethnic Newswatch. Softline Information, Inc. The Seattle Central
Community College Lib., 21 May 2000. <http://www.softlineweb.com/softlineweb/ethnic.htm>.
This article discusses how the Makah nation prepare themselves for their whale hunt, and it also describes some of the actions that have taken place by anti-whaling organizations. The article is directed more towards how the Makah Indian Nation is benefitting from bringing back their right to whale tradition, and the training that they have had to undergo. It was very informative from a Makah standpoint.
Robbins, Elaine, "Whale Watch." The Environmental Magazine. May/June 1997: 28-35.
SIRS Knowledge Source. SIRS Mandarin, Inc. The Seattle Central Community College Lib.,
21 May 2000.
This article provides factual evidence that suggests that whales are not any better off now than they were 25 years ago. It contributes the ongoing decline of the whale population to the continuing destruction of whale habitats. This article also provides suggestions on how to better protect the whales from becoming extinct. I feel this is a good source of information to provide me with evidence about whale survivability.
Makah Nation. Homepage. 29 May 2000. <http://www.makah.com/>.
This is the homepage for the Makah Indian Nation. This site has information regarding Makah Whaling from the standpoint of a Makah Indian, You will also find links on this site for the Makah Museum, Makah Marina, Cape Trail, Makah Days, and many other sources directly related to the Makah Indian Nation.
Dark, Alx. "The Makah Whale Hunt." Native Americans and the Environment. Apr 1999. 5 May 2000.
<http://conbio.rice.edu/nae/cases/makah/index.html>.
Dr Alx Dark is an anthropologist that studies the politics of land and treaty rights. The author Dr. Alx Dark summarizes his own views of the recent conflict over the Makah plans to return to whaling. The author provides resources for the views of both the Makah Indian Nation and Whaling opponents. This is a good source to view if you would like to be able to see many different viewpoints regarding the Makah Indian Nations return to whaling. This site is also listed on the Rice University database.
McCune, Don. People of the Whale. Part 1. KOMO-TV. Videocassette. Woodinville, WA. 1998.
I have learned such an abundance of information from this thought provoking experience. I was able to bookmark many new resources for future reference. I didn't have a problem with identifying keywords and subject headings for my search, but I did have a problem with thinking to narrowly. I found an ample amount of information throughout my searches. I had a difficult time accepting the fact that the information I found was presenting only one viewpoint. Once I realized it was okay for me to present information as long as it related to my topic, it was just a matter of picking what I felt would be the best resources.
To find my information I used the internet, went to both the public library and school library and asked for suggestions on locating information, and I browsed the reference shelves for hours. I used the word whaling in most of my searches and found an ample amount of sources to choose from. I changed my search word so that I could try to get a variety of information relating to my topic. I wanted to be able to present a wide variety of sources on my topic.
The information I found is a variety of view points from many standpoints on my topic. I chose a very controversial issue. I felt that it was very important for the readers of my project to be able to see the many viewpoints being presented. I also tried to choose some resources that were based on factual evidence rather then just opposing view points.
The resources I have provided have led me to believe that the Makah regaining their whaling rights has created many different conflicts for a variety of reasons. I have tried my best to present my material as un biased as I could. For the Makah nation it sounds like there is definitely a lot of good coming out of their ability to whale. For the whale population it doesn't present itself with such a positive effect. I have discovered that other cultures and nations are already trying to use the same reasoning as the Makah Indians. Norway and Japan have been trying to find a way to get their whaling rights back for a long time. I hope that this information will help readers to be able to use my research as a way of viewing the Makah's right to whaling from many different angles on the same subject. Doing research through the internet has been a wonderful experience, but I found that the library still offers some sources of information that a person can't have access to through the internet. I also learned that a person doing research on the internet needs to be aware of where their sources are coming from, more so than when researching in the library. Anyone can create a web page, and make it look like an official site.
Please send comments to Monica Leach