Smoke Signals
8 FEBRUARY 15, 2002
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SEATTLE,
WA. (AP) It lists
for $1.2 million, has
an oceangoing range
of 230 miles and
comes equipped with
twin 450-horsepower
diesels. a plohal nosi-
fc tioning satellite sys
wfj) tem and radar that
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The Makah Tribe
needs the new patrol
boat the kind the
Coast Guard is order
ing to take part in
marine mammal re
search and fisheries enforcement
around its reservation on the north
west tip of the Olympic Peninsula.
Anti-whaling activists contend
the 48-foot vessel would simply
make the Makah more efficient
hunters and killers of whales.
"We have stated from the begin
ning that the Tribe intends to step
up their 'cultural' whaling activity
and to include other species of
whales. Now it appears they want
the U.S. government to pay for it,"
said Sandy Abels, President of U.S.
Citizens Against Whaling.
Five anti-whaling groups de
nounced the boat request this week,
after obtaining documentation on
it through the federal Freedom of
Information Act.
The Makah have been under
siege by animal activists since they
moved to resume traditional whal
ing after gray whales were no
longer listed on the federal Endan
gered Species list in 1994.
The Tribe made its boat request
in November to the National Oce
anic and Atmospheric Administra
tion (NOAA), which oversees the
National Marine Fisheries Service.
The boat would be used to help
locate gray whale populations and
study whale migration patterns and
food sources, said David Sones,
Tribal Fisheries Manager.
"We would be looking at their
movements, their general health
a lot of the type of general science
that is needed to better understand
the species," he said. "We would be
finding a way to plug into what's
existing as far as research, and ba
sically be exercising our co-management
responsibilities" with fed
eral and university researchers.
The boat, which has a top speed
of about 25 knots, also would be
used to enforce rules on Makah
fishermen in the 1,120 square miles
of Tribal waters, said Sones.
Michael Lawrence, the Makah
Tribal Council's Fisheries Represen
tative, said of claims that the boat
would be a step in the direction of
large-scale commercial slaughter of
whales and other marine mammals,
"That's way off. It'sjustawaythat
we will be able to better co-manage
another resource and all of our resources."
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According
to the Tribe's
budget re
quest, stud
ies conducted
with the ves
sel would
help the
Makah fight
anti-whaling
lawsuits and
allow Tribal
members to
participate
on Interna
tional Whal
ing Commission scientific committees.
If the Makah are turned down for
the new boat, which is built by
Textron Marine & Land Systems of
New Orleans, they've listed two al
ternatives. One is a 42-foot Down
Easter costing about $436,000, and
the third option is a 35-foot Bos,ton
Whaler costing about $411,000.
"NOAA staff is considering the
request," said Chris Yates of NOAA.
Yates said he could offer no esti
mate on when the decision would
be made or the Tribe's chances of
getting what it seeks. But he noted
that NOAA had granted Makah re
quests for research money as the
Tribe launched its whaling effort
from 1996-98.
Last week, a coalition of anti
whaling groups filed suit against the
Fisheries Service and NOAA in U.S.
District Court in Seattle to stop
Neah Bay the home of the
Makah Tribe, is located on the
northwest edge of the Olympic Pen
insula and has become a hotspot
for the worldwide media as the
Tribe continues to assert its treaty
rights to hunt whale. The domi
nant culture press recently learned
of the Tribe's desire to purchase a
new oceangoing vessel and placed
the Tribe in the harsh spotlight of
the media's scrutiny once again as
the debate began over why the
Tribe needed the modern, state-of-the-art
boat.
Makah whale hunting.
The groups contend the Fisheries
Service's studies of potential harm
from whaling were inadequate. The
government has 60 days to respond.
Yakama Tribe's Buffalo Herd Continues to Grow; Tourists Want More
TOPPENISH, WA. (AP) - Pa
trons crave the buffalo steak and
soup at the Yakama Nation's Heri
tage Inn.
Interest in the specialty meat has
continued to grow since the
Yakama Nation started its buffalo
ranch 12 years ago. Now, hungry
tourists from around the world are
clamoring for a taste.
The ranch, considered the epi
center of the Yakama Nation's ef
fort to rebuild its link to the bison,
enjoyed a recent boost when a Se
attle police officer donated his 14
animal herd from Kittitas County
to its 53 cows and bulls.
Yakama leaders are considering
additional marketing efforts, as
well as reviewing the idea of set
ting aside land for more animals.
"It's a part of our culture, we re
vived it, and we're very happy
about it," said Carol Craig, a spokes
person for the Yakama Nation's
Department of Natural Resources.
Like the Yakama, Tribes from
Michigan to California have
pushed to rebuild herds over the
past decade.
"A lot of our reservations are
some of the most neglected places
in the United States," said Tony
Willman, a Wildlife Biologist for the
Rapid City, S.D.-based InterTribal
Bison Cooperative, which provides
technical support for the Yakama
and 50 other Tribes.
Tribes hope their herds total
ing about 10,000 animals across
the country will offer a founda
tion for other improvements. Be
fore commercial slaughter killed off
most wild bison in the 1850s, Tribes
depended on them for meat and
valuable byproducts.
"By restoring that connection to
buffalo, we are restoring those fam
ily values and trying to help the
Tribes pull themselves up," said
Willman.
Yakama legends recount how
buffalo were intended to inhabit
the Yakima Valley, but trickster
coyote's mission to lead them here
was unsuccessful when he failed to
follow instructions.
That may explain the sparse ar
chaeological evidence of their exist
ence, though researchers know that
ancient Columbia Plateau residents
hunted the animals an estimated
8,000 years ago.
Today's herd management mixes
the modern with the traditional.
Instead of range grass, the buf
falo munch alfalfa hay on the 160
acre ranch.
A team of drivers uses trucks to
lead the animals toward cattle
chutes for vaccinations. Horses
move too slowly to escape the fleet
footed creatures.
At the Yakama Nation's Cultural
Center, a wall-mounted bison head
overlooks a display of other wild
life. Hides from the herd's bison go
to the center for tanning.
The ranch is located within the
reservation near Harrah in the
Lower Valley. But the Yakamas
avoid publicly disclosing the ranch's
exact location in order to avoid visi
tor traffic.
However, special delegations from
such places as Italy and Japan oc
casionally receive tours.
John Carl, a veteran cattle
rancher and Tribal trapper, cares
for the herd.
He cautiously enjoys their com
pany. "They're nice to be around, but
you've got to be careful when you're
handling them," said Carl during a
truck trip around the herd, which
doesn't mind surrounding the
stopped vehicle.
Jim Ritter, the Seattle Police Of
ficer, donated his animals once he
saw the quality of the ranch, said
Carl.
Tribal officials want to create a
profitable program that would of
fer more meat to the restaurant,
which currently uses two to three
buffalo a year. A few animals go to
the nation's senior center, while oth
ers are sold to regional buyers.
But most of the public learns of
the Yakama buffalo ties through the
Heritage Inn, contradicting the
popular idea of bison mainly as a
resident of the Central Plains states.
Cook Benjamin Estrada knows
the public interest in the meat,
which is low in fat and cholesterol
and high in protein and iron.
Estrada tells how foreign custom
ers at the Toppenish establishment
ask for menu copies "to take home to
their countries and show their fami
lies that they actually ate buffalo."
Carl, meanwhile, respects his
herd even as he stands ready to
repair the fences they sometimes
charge through before being
rounded up again.
"They look at you and they just
about know what is going to hap
pen," said Carl. "They're very in
telligent animals."
House Considers a Spiritual Matter
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) Leg
islation in the House would allo
cate $75,000 to pay for two Ameri
can Indian spiritual advisers to
travel to all prisons in New
Mexico.
"This is vital and beneficial for
the spiritual recovery ... of Native
American inmates," said Lenny
Foster, Director of the Navajo Na
tional Correctional Project.
The advisers would conduct tra
ditional ceremonies with inmates,
including a sweat lodge, in hopes
of reducing recidivism among In
dian prisoners, he said.
The bill was endorsed by the
House Judiciary Committee.