A Whale Hunt: How a Native-American Village Did What No One Thought It Could
by Robert Sullivan
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When the Makah tribe of Washington state in the USA decided they wanted to reclaim their right to hunt whales, using their traditional methods, they created a storm of debate.Tags
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I found this book in a local second-hand bookstore. I knew nothing of the Makah tribe or the whale hunt, but knew immediately that the book would be a fascinating read. Native whaling rights in an age of vehement opposition to whaling was bound to be explosive subject matter.
The author doesn't sensationalise the issue. He lets the story unfold at its own pace, with humour. While he undertakes his own journey, including interludes on Moby-Dick, he does not preach a particular view. The story itself demonstrates the complexities of the issues and the opposing sides. If I was to make any criticism, it would be that his description of the people involved can sometimes be overly simplistic, bordering on patronising.
In summary, this is a show more terrific book that makes you question your own ethics. I encourage everyone to have a read and approach the issue with an open mind. show less
The author doesn't sensationalise the issue. He lets the story unfold at its own pace, with humour. While he undertakes his own journey, including interludes on Moby-Dick, he does not preach a particular view. The story itself demonstrates the complexities of the issues and the opposing sides. If I was to make any criticism, it would be that his description of the people involved can sometimes be overly simplistic, bordering on patronising.
In summary, this is a show more terrific book that makes you question your own ethics. I encourage everyone to have a read and approach the issue with an open mind. show less
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Author Information
7 Works 2,112 Members
Robert Sullivan is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowship. He is a contributing editor to Vogue and a frequent contributor to the New Yorker. His work has also appeared in Conde Nast Traveler and the New York Times Magazine. He lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Common Knowledge
- Dedication
- for Suzanne
- First words
- Before there was a whale hunt; before seven members of the Makah--a small tribe of Native Americans situated at the very northwestern tip of the United States--climbed into a canoe and paddled out into the ocean that first wa... (show all)s calm and then swelled like a man drunk with power, oblivious to the paddlers who were singing and praying and carrying a harpoon and a rifle capable of killing an elephant, much less a whale; before the whale came; before that canoe and the men in the canoe paddled after it and a harpoon was launched and the whale dragged the canoe and a bullet was fired and the whale was killed and then nearly lost but then recovered; before the whale was towed into Neah Bay, the tiny and tired little fishing village that is for all intents and purposes the capital of the Makah reservation; before the people of the town rejoiced because it had been so many years--an entire generation, in fact--since a whale had been hunted and killed and because the hunting of the whale is what has for thousands of years made the Makah the Makah, what identified them among the tribes that live along the northwest coast of Canada and the rest of America as the tribe that hunts the whale; before the party that ensued, beore hundreds of aboriginal people came from Canada and all over the Western United States to Neah Bay to sing songs and give thanks and eat whale; beore all that, there were editorials:
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"You know," he said, "I'm just now coming back to life."
- Blurbers
- Raban, Jonathan; McMurtry, Larry; Philbrick, Nathaniel
Classifications
- Genres
- Hunting and Fishing, Sports and Leisure, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, History, Science & Nature
- DDC/MDS
- 639.2 — Applied Science & Technology Agriculture Hunting, fishing, conservation, related technologies Commercial fishing, whaling, sealing
- LCC
- E99 .M19 .S85 — History of the United States America Indians of North America Indian tribes and cultures
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 114
- Popularity
- 284,477
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.72)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 1
