Smoke Signals
SEPTEMBER 1, 2001
mm
me
Chinuk Wawa Conference
at Neah Bay on the Makah
Reservation is a chance to learn
something old, something new.
inn WBiale Comnrafciry
Continued from front page
whaling in 1999, was in fact entertain
ing thoughts of another whale hunt. My
editor advised we pursue that story vig
orously should we see those canoes put
out to sea, since it was sure to be the
biggest event in the northwest since the
arrival of Ichiro (Bookie outfielder for the
Seattle Mariners who hales from Japan).
I could already imagine. We would
be awoken one morning by who-knows-what
kind of alarm, only to gaze out the
window and see the traditional red and
black canoe cutting the waves on to a
meeting with some complacent aquatic
quarry. A crusty old fisherman who
mumbled would take us out for a stiff
fee, while we simultaneously tried to film
and document the whole scenario, keep
ing the ocean spray off the camera lens
and off the notepads and curiously won
der whether our beat up rig was seri
ously seaworthy.
In many ways I looked forward to it.
The perfect christening and the debacle
would beat anything we might see aboard
one of those ultra-modern Japanese or
Norwegian vessels (Japan and Norway
being the other whaling nations). And
yes, that twinge of conscience in the back
of my head would scream.
The whaling never happened and we
were treated to an inside view of a Tribe
that has lived in select infamy for the
last two years. And we learned a little
Wawa along the way.
The name of the Makah was be
queathed upon the Tribe by neighbor
ing Tribes and according to the placemat
at the Makah Maiden Caf6 means
"generous hosts."
I found that meaning to be completely
appropriate under the circumstances, as
our Makah hosts showed a strong grasp
of the concept of hospitality, giving us,
among other things, a guided tour of
their museum and of Cape Flattery, an
unsurpassable salmon bake and for us
greenhorns an introduction to the pas
time of the "Bone Game."
The Makah Museum and Cultural Cen
ter remains a major attraction for many
of the thousands of tourists who make the
long.wmdingdrivetoNeahBay. Though
opened in 1979, the Museum houses centuries-old
artifacts from the legendary
Ozette Village.
Ozette, located 15 miles south of Neah
Bay, was for centuries a year-round
home for many of the Makah people. In
1970, tidal erosion unearthed a group of
traditional longhouses, almost entirely
preserved and more than four centuries
old. Archaeologists from Washington
State University led the excavation that
went on from 1970 to 1981 and the vil
lage has supplied many of the Museum's
prized artifacts.
Included in the museum's collection
are wood and whalebone carvings, ev-
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eryday tools, fishnets (crafted from
stinging nettles, of all things), weapons
and two of the Makah's most sacred pos
sessions a pair of carvings shaped like
Orca fins, one adorned with shells and
the other sea otter teeth, of which only
a few are known to exist and the signifi
cance is uncertain.
The Makah have also built a spacious
longhouse replica, complete with dried
salmon hanging from the ceiling (it
smelled real, Lindy Trolan Grand
Ronde Tribal Cultural Resource Special
ist and I agreed) and an unfinished
canoe and beach scene. On display in
the center of the museum is a pair of
huge canoes, handmade with hand
crafted tools, and the kind that in days
past would be used to hunt, of course,
whales.
Naturally, one cannot visit the Makah
without invariably engaging in debate
over their controversial practice of whal
ing, which has drawn criticism from all
over the globe and even from other Na
tive Americans.
"It is a controversy we did not expect,"
said Kirk Wachendorf, while leading our
tour.
Yet it is one they seem ready to stand
by. As explained to us, the Makah have
always been ocean people, not river
people. And whales, along with seals,
have been an important staple in the
Makah diet since. . .well, since forever.
Unfortunately for the Makahs, not
many people around the world, Natives
A
u
D ClflNUK-WAWA CLASS OFFERED
Another multi-level three-credit class in chinuk-wawa will be offered in September. It will
be conducted by the Tribe's Cultural Education program and sponsored by the Univer
sity of Oregon. The ten-week course will begin September 24 and will be held on Monday
nights from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the Tribe's Community Center.
Contact Tony Johason at 503-879-2084 or e-mail at loni.johnsongrandjmdMrg.
and non-Natives alike, have found that
ample reason to restore the practice.
Ever since they harpooned that Grey
whale back in May of 1999, the Tribe
has suffered serious unpopularity from
all sides, enough to make them not only
defensive about the topic, but also par
ticularly sensitive.
One of the workers in the Cultural
Resource Center approached me before
the end of the conference and asked if it
were the Smoke Signals of Grand Ronde
I worked for. Naturally, my answer was
yes, after which she eyed me dubiously
and said, in a bitter tone:
"Well you guys sure published a piece
of junk story recently."
My memory went blank. Had we pub
lished anything about the Makahs re
cently? "That interview with Sherman
Alexie," she said.
Bingo.
True enough, Alexie had made some
less than sterling remarks about the
Makahs in his Smoke Signals interview
last November. I explained that, but
her opinion was that his quotes should
have been cut entirely. The piece cre
ates, she told me, the image that Na
tives are divided on some issues.
"Tell your editor he shouldn't have
done that," she added. There are people
more important than him (Alexie) who
support us."
Though not a true confrontation, it
was one I certainly didn't expect. Maria
Parker, Makah Language Specialist,
shed some light.
"If you'd have been here when we had
all those protestors," she said. "You
would definitely understand."
The Makah Reservation, she told me,
had become replete with outsiders two
years ago during the whaling fiasco.
And none of them were very friendly.
"They were obnoxious," she told me.
"Things did not feel safe here."
Some of the more disturbing things
she remembered were the signs and
bumper stickers reading, "Save a whale,
Kill a Makah." And two Indian schools
in Washington had bomb threats called
in. Needless to say, bring up whaling
and youll be striking a nerve.
Most surprising about the reservation
is, given its relative isolation, the amount
of tourists who sweep in for the week
end. Though a good deal of them ap
peared to be on fishing adventures, many
of them were not. Many come to see the
museum, visit Ozette Lake, and make
the fairly easy hike to Cape Flattery.
Now proud Oregonians will be some
what dismayed, Wachendorf said, by the
fact that Cape Flattery is in fact the
westernmost point in the lower 48 states.
I had heard the Oregon claim, that Cape
Disappointment was, yet would lose no
sleep were that proven false.
Cape Flattery was stunning even
though the weather remained uncoop
erative. And on this day what impressed
more was the work the Makahs have
done on the just less than a mile trail at
the Cape. The last thousand feet or so
of the trail are more or less decks, as
the terrain become somewhat swampy
and damp. Likewise the vistas are newly
adorned with cedar balconies, affording
a sumptuous and safer view.
An overlooked fact of its own is that
while known for whaling, Makahs have
not lost their knack for salmon. So we
learned upon our arrival back from the
Cape as large fillets sat impaled on