The Makah Indians last year revived their ancient whaling heritage in a media-soaked whale hunt off the coast of Washington. It was supposed to be a kind of cultural re-affirmation. The tribe had slid, over the years, into gritty poverty and rootlessness, but led by a man enrolled in “anger management” classes, they studied their own forgotten whaling traditions, updated parts of the hunt with a high-velocity rifle and a motorboat, and landed themselves a 30-ton, 30-foot female gray – their first whale in 75 years.
The event was almost upstaged and almost stopped by all the animal-rights protests and the press coverage. The Makah themselves weren’t united about it either. The most ardent hoped the hunt would revive the community, but at the end of the day they were left with a dead whale, no recipes for the meat, and no real resolution between long-lost ritual and modern-day reality. Hunting the Gray whale is this hour on The Connection.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
Robert Sullivan, author of “A Whale Hunt” and “The Meadowlands.”