The Makah Nation sits at the most northwestern point of Washington state.  It is distinct as one of the few Nations whose people were not relocated from their beautiful homeland when Europeans arrived.

In May 1999, these First Nation people reinstated their treaty right, granted by the United States government in 1855, to hunt grey whale.  Amidst the swirling frenzy of media and protestor bias, the gift of the 20-ton whale arrived through the courage of seven Makah brothers and sons, having heaved a harpoon from their cedar canoe in the open Pacific Ocean.  It had been over 70 years since they had tasted the food that had been a staple for generations of ancestors.

Since then, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the tribe must comply with the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, and obtain a waiver before proceeding with another hunt.  The U.S. government is reviewing their request in an Environmental Impact Statement.  To this point, not another whale has been taken.