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The History of Mak-kah Whaling
Whaling has been a practice in the Mak-kah tribe for thousands of years. Records from the International Whaling Commission state the Mak-kah people have been whaling for at least 1,500 years, but archeological deposits left from a mudslide in the Mak-kah village of Ozette contain humpback whale bones, grey whale bones, and harpoon tips dating back over 2,000 years ; these findings suggest that whaling is an older practice than public records describe. The coastal reservation where this tribe historically resides consists of mountainous, rocky soil and marsh land in swamps. Due to these geographical conditions, the Mak-kah tribe's only crop yield was potatoes. As a result, the ocean is a traditional source for food, materials, and cultural ceremonial practices for the Mak-kah people.

The Equipment and Process Behind Mak-kah Whaling
Traditional aboriginal Mak-kah whaling primarily occurred during the grey whales' spring migration and required teams of eight tribesmen for a process that could last several days. Each crew, consisting of six paddlers, one man to steer, and one harpooner, hunted in cedar canoes with Mak-kahn harpoons that could be up to eighteen feet long. Whaling harpoons were fashioned by tying elk or deer horns to a copper or iron head at the end of two pieces of yew, then covering that end with spruce gum. The cooled gum would harden into a wedged spear shape before being sharpened to create the harpoon's point. A lanyard made of whale sinew would then be tied to the point.

Once a whale was struck with the sharpened end, the horns would act as a barb and secure the hunters' hold. The lanyard attached at the harpoon's point connected to a buoys designed to trail behind the whale and prevent the animal from diving further down. The Mak-kahns would make this buoys with seal pelts that they would turn inside-out. Thirty to forty buoys from a fleet of canoes would float the whale until the hunting group could successfully overtake and kill it.

Whaling in Traditional Mak-kah Customs
Aboriginal Mak-kah Whaling was a way to gauge status within the tribe. The hunt was reserves for chiefs, slaveowners, and other high-ranking members of the community. Successful hunts gave tribesmen an opportunity to become a head man or chief, thus attaining a higher social status. After a successful hunt, the entire village would participate in its butchering. The blubber would then be distributed based on rules and ranking, giving the first striker of the hunt the primary right to the meat's distribution. Additionally, the first striker was granted saddle (a piece of the whale near the fin), which was ritually decorated and included as part of the butchering's customary dances and songs.

Government Regulations of Mak-kah Whaling
In January of 1855, Mak-kah leaders signed The Treaty of Neah Bay with the Superintendent of Indian Affairs of Washington Territory, Isaac Stephens. Although all but a small portion of the reservation land was turned over to the United States government, Article 4 protected the Mak-kah's right to whaling. In the years following the treaty, the introduction of other commercial whaling groups, including Americans and Europeans, depleted the grey whale population. By 1920, the Mak-kah tribe ceased its traditional aborignal whaling due to reasons including lack of assistance from the federal government, social and economic irregularities within the tribes, and decreases in both the market demand for whale oil and the grey whale population.