PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
NEAH BAY — Makah whaling proponents cheered a U.S. House committee’s vote Wednesday to support the tribe’s effort to resume hunting whales off Washington’s Pacific Coast.
Chuck Owens, an anti-whaling activist in Port Angeles, noted that the House Resources Committee passed the non-binding measure without allowing debate, including objections by Washington Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge.
The Resources Committee oversees Native American issues in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Makah Tribal Chairman Ben Johnson Jr. said:
“We won a big one today. They made my day when that happened.”
The committee, dominated by Republicans, voted 21-6 to urge the Bush administration to uphold the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay.
The treaty promised the Makah the right to conduct whaling along with hunting and fishing at their “usual and accustomed places.”
“They recognized our treaty — again,” said Johnson.
“We’ve had that treaty since 1855.”
The treaty was the fulcrum of many arguments the Makah made during scoping meetings conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service earlier this month from Neah Bay to Silver Spring, Md.
“They finally recognized what we’re all about,” Johnson said, “what we’re talking about.”
No debate allowed
But Owens, founder of Peninsula Citizens for the Protection for Whales, said:
“The Republican committee would not allow Jay Inslee to explain to everybody the issue.
“That’s why it passed. There was no argument on this issue.”
According to The Associated Press, Inslee ridiculed the resolution as a “political statement” with no legal impact that was introduced by an out-of-state lawmaker.
Inslee was one of five Democrats who opposed the measure. Five other Democrats supported it.