Yesterday Members Of The Makah Tribe Harpooned & Then Shot A Grey Whale Illegally. Why Did They Get Turned Ov

Question

It is in direct violation of the endangered protection act.

They were questioned but not detained.

Why do these people never get in trouble for things that anyone else would be locked up & fined heavily for?

There are no 'tribal waters'. They were totally breaking the law, and they shot the whale 21 times with a high-power rifle.

It took the whale over 9 hours to die.

They need to pay for that. Who do they think they are???

Don't answer this if you are going to throw a bunch of 'politically correct' b.s. at me. The law's the law.

Answer 1

I agree they should get in trouble. They used a machine gun on that whale...how is that tribal?

Yes, except the news reports that these people have not been approved for this type of killing. And indigenous peoples have specific ways of killing that reflect their customs, and history...sorry but a machine gun is not part of that.

Answer 2

They were turned over to the tribal police, so they have not yet escaped justice. Unless you are attempting to make the argument that the tribal police don't intend to investigate a potential crime.

Althought they have not been charged with a violation of the endangered species act, this doesn't mean they won't be.

Answer 3

now cuz aberiginals and all them pepole dont have 2 obey the law cuz they use animals 4 food and objects

Answer 4

It was a tribe.

Its just like the American Indians being able to run casinos exclusively.

Answer 5

This is not a violation of the endangered species act.  

The following is being said by someone who earns his living at environmental protection, and who believes very strongly in environmental protection.  I also have experience with environmental law and tribal rights.

The endangered species act has an explicit exemption in it for people occupied in hunting under Indian treaties.  The Makahs have a treaty right to hunt whales.  It's unique, no other Indian treaty includes the right to whale hunt.

You should follow your own advice.  The law's the law, even if you don't like it.

Note that whaling is a controversial issue among the Makahs themselves.  But it's their legal right to do so.

Part of this is a legacy of how atrociously white men treated the Indians, and how they violated Indian treaties in the past.  It causes some white people to try and compensate, and some Indians to want to exercise what few traditional freedoms we've left them.

Few people in America have as great a legacy of being oppressed as Indians.  Peaceful Indians used to be shot down for recreation.  Even recently Indians were cheated out of royalty payments for minerals on their lands.

EDIT -

If anyone wants the truth about this, here it is in detail.  Yes it's from the tribe.  It's also correct and indicates the thoughtfulness of the tribe about this.

http://www.makah.com/makahwhalingqa.pdf

The US government went to the International Whaling Commission to support the Makah's right to hunt.

This particular whale hunt was not in accordance with Makah law.  Which was why the people involved were turned over to the tribe.

Answer 6

I guess nowadays unless your name is Micheal Vick (or someone with his celebrity status), you can kill and abuse all the animals you want. While the world is so caught up on this one man, people are out there doing worse, and they call it LEGAL KILLING........read below for yourself.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 7

I lived in Washington, when the Makah's decided to start exersizing their ancient tribal rights.  

I do not have a problem with this.  If they want to go back to the old way of doing things, then let them do so.  BUT, they CANNOT HAVE IT BOTH WAYS!!

If they want to be a hunter gathering tribe, then let them do so (minus the guns of course!!).  Let them feed their people on all they can hunt and gather.  Since they have gone back to the "old tribal ways" let us also stop all those Government checks, and no longer distribute food at the food banks for them.  

They want to be a tribe that can take care of themselves, then let them do so.  None of this bull pucky stuff about wanting to kill whales and STILL get the Governement hand-outs though!!

You can be either/or...but NOT both!   So which is it, an independent hunter/gathering tribe (with the starvation that lifestyle often brings) or a tribe on the U.S. Government dole?

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 8

I'm not familiar with the location of this crime, but I most certainly would be making inquiries with local law enforcement in that area! My guess is because the cops there are ignorant of these types of conservation laws.

Answer 9

The matter is under investigation.  They are allowed to hunt whales but I believe their use of a machine gun may have violated the spirit of the agreement.

How awful to think of this creature's suffering and that there are individuals on the planet warped enough to conduct themselves in this manner, and to represent their tribe in this fashion.

There may be consequences pending.  I hope so.

Answer 10

The last treaty with the Makah tribe provided them with whaling rights, which they began to actively pursue in the late 1990s.

After the gray was taken off the endangered species list, the tribe successfully petitioned to hunt a gray whale.  They killed a one in 1999 under very strict, controlled and observed conditions.

The last seven years has seen attempts my the Makah to continue whaling blocked or refused in a variety of courts in the Pacific Northwest.

The slaughter this past weekend of a gray whale was organized and lead by Wayne Johnson, a member of the Makah tribe.  He also lead the hunt and killing of the gray whale in 1999.  He is described by own members of his tribe as "Self absorbed and obsessed about the tribe's whaling rights."

He and four others were arrested for the slaughter and turned over to tribal authorities.  They were jailed and only released after posting bail.

Makah leaders are so concerned about this reckless act that they are flying to Washington, D.C., to meet with a congressional delegation from the state.

Johnson and the four others are facing charges from the tribe and will most likely be charged by federal authorities as well.

The Makah community is centered around Neah Bay.  I've been there a few times.  It's a dismal, dirty and depressing harbor that reflects the tribes troubles with alcohol, drugs and unemployment.  I think the Makah would be much better served addressing these social ills, than with fixating on their whaling "rights."

Hopefully there will be a strong enough backlash that the Makah give up their efforts to continue whaling.

Answer 11

People have many diffrent ...well here.. Who were the first people in america? the indians right? they had tribes, they had land they had THERE land. They should have gotten in trouble, yes, but not as much trouble if they didn't KNOW the laws, if they couldn't speak english. NOW that was the political and caring side of me. To get to the animal lover side of me i would have put : Throw them in jail! make them suffer! poor little whale, how dare they! make them see how it feels to get shot 21 times and get a harpooned... But that..would be a totaly immature thing to do...

Answer 12

All this tribal protection nonsense is bunch of liberal BS. The "white man" has terrorized virtually every group of people on the planet, what makes these indians so d**n special? This law makes about as much sense as state government apologizing to a bunch of dead slaves for the actions of a bunch of dead white men.

i agree with bohemian

If native americans want to live like they did 400 years ago, then by all means let them, I don't see where they need to be exempt from laws even outside of the reservation to do this, are omish people exempt from laws?