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The Makah Indians on the United States west coast received permission from the International Whaling Commission to kill up to five whales per year for the next four years. An 1855 treaty with the US government apparently gives them the right to hunt whales. The tribe claims the hunt is part of their cultural identity and will help them connect with their roots.
The hunt began in October but no word has yet been received that they have killed any whales. Animal rights and anti-whaling groups are attempting to disrupt the natives by scaring the whales away. There are concerns that this hunt will set a precedent for the resumption of commercial whaling in Japan, Norway and Iceland.
Earlier in the summer, Inuit natives in the Canadian Arctic received a permit to kill an endangered Eastern Arctic bowhead whale off Baffin Island. The whale was shared among communities throughout the Nunavut territory. A whale of the same species suffered a terrible fate in 1996 when it was pummeled with bullets for two hours before finally sinking. Three days later the natives retrieved it and brought it to shore but most of the carcass ended up wasting on the beach.
