NEAH BAY — “The said tribe hereby cedes, relinquishes and conveys to the United States all their right, title and interest in and to the lands and country occupied by it . . . “
So begins Article I of the Treaty of Neah Bay, signed 150 years ago between the Makah tribe and the U.S. government.
The treaty — signed Jan. 31, 1855 — permitted the tribe, then led by chief Tse-Kauwti, to cede thousands of acres of land in return for fishing and whaling rights and to live on the current reservation land at Cape Flattery.
On Saturday, the Makah will observe the sesquicentennial of the treaty with a daylong celebration featuring food, drumming, dancing and speeches that is open to the public.
While the event at Neah Bay High School is being billed as a festive occasion to which representatives from northwestern U.S. and Canadian tribes have been invited, it will be tempered by another, more complex anniversary being observed.
On May 17, 1999, tribal hunters carried out their first successful whale hunt in 70 years.