Guest guest Posted April 24, 2000 Report Share Posted April 24, 2000 ===== A message from the 'makahwhaling' discussion list ===== FROM WASHINGTON CITIZEN'S COASTAL ALLIANCE -- No whaling vessels on the water today. ODI vessels will be out in force tomorrow morning in anticipation of further whale-hunting. Several items for your review: ***** FAMILIAR LINES DRAWN IN WHALING FIGHT by Craig Welch Seattle Times staff reporter April 23, 2000 SEKIU, Clallam County - It's come down to this: an odd collection of anti-war demonstrators, a port commissioner, an ex-Marine, and an elite squad of 20-something vegans who reminisce over rap sheets as if recalling spring break getaways. After peaking at more than 50 last year, when Makah hunters harpooned their first whale in 70 years, protesters taking on tribal whalers this spring have shrunk to a core group of less than two dozen. Yet, last week, in the only two days of whale hunting thus far this year, the presence of the ragtag crew, bunked down in rental cabins in this tiny village 19 miles southeast of Neah Bay, loomed large as the Makah's prey. Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard rammed an activist's boat as it hurtled toward whalers, arresting pilot Bill Moss of Olympia and sending passenger Julie Woodyer of Toronto to be checked for injuries by Makah doctors. Thursday, activists drew national attention when a Coast Guard boat ran over the Jet Ski driven by Erin Abbott, 24, who had just breached a 500-yard exclusion zone around the hunting canoe, spraying sea water over whalers and preventing a second harpoon toss at a nearby gray whale. Abbott was flown to a peninsula hospital with a broken shoulder and, she said, broken ribs. Protesters and Coast Guard officials say the other side's tactics are more aggressive this year. Regardless, while activists' vessels dwindle - three were seized last week - they, like the Coast Guard and the tribe, remain committed to their cause. One evening this weekend, much of the group huddled inside a cabin across a drive from Olson's Resort, where three protest boats were docked until the daily 4 a.m. patrol for hunt canoes. Chuck Owens, a thick-bearded fisherman in overalls who spearheads a local anti-whaling group, was asked by a filmmaker to describe the week's events. Whale paintings and a ceramic whale sculpture hung on one wall. In the next room, Dan Spomer clinked on a computer beneath a photograph of Makah member Wayne Johnson, who wore a jacket depicting the .50-caliber bullet used to kill last year's whale. " They can't win against me, " said Spomer. " I'm that type of person. I don't let go. Just like Fox Mulder says . . . the truth is out there. " Behind him, on the couch, Owens' wife, Margaret Owens, a former Berkeley radical who once chained herself and some draftees to a church sanctuary to prevent sending them to Vietnam, riffled through documents that she says show that tribes and the federal government want to bring back commercial whaling, charges tribe members and government officials repeatedly deny. The activists came from Connecticut and Oregon, Hawaii and just across the bay - most arriving just weeks ago, most veterans from last year's hunt. They dismiss accusations that they're trying to endanger Makah members. " They don't want to hurt anything, " Chuck Owens said of the most virulent animal-rights protesters. " They will not kill a spider. They won't eat an egg. They won't eat honey. But they will throw themselves between a harpoon and a whale. " Craig Welch's phone message number is 206-464-2093. ***** PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Makah whaling takes a break for Easter- and possibly court -- Sunday, April 23, 2000 By Mark Morey The Easter holiday and a court appearance may delay another Makah whale hunt into early this week. Meanwhile, friends of Erin Abbott, the 24-year-old anti-whaling activist injured in a Thursday collision were turned back by a guard when they tried to visit her at Olympic Memorial Hospital on Saturday. " Erin, you saved a whale,'' declared a sign held by one of her supporters outside the hospital. Saturday's demonstration at Olympic Memorial Hospital capped the first week of the whale hunt, which has three activists now facing criminal charges. (See accompanying story.) Members of the Makah hunt canoe have been subpoenaed to appear Monday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to testify at a hearing on the charges against Abbott, a Seattle resident, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Saturday. But Keith Johnson, president of the Makah Whaling Commission, said he had not heard of the subpoenas. Lawyers representing the tribe and Abbott said they also had received no information about the subpoenas. Federal attorneys could not be reached for comment. As for hunt plans, ``Being Easter, it doesn't look like anything will happen tomorrow,'' Johnson said Saturday. Swooping in Video shot by Seattle TV stations showed Abbott swooping in on her watercraft as the Makah's hand-hewn cedar whaling canoe, the Hummingbird, closed in on a gray whale. The Makah had just thrown a harpoon, which did not stick in the whale. Later on Thursday the Makah closed in on at least one other whale, which dove before they could throw another harpoon. Since receiving the season's first whaling permit last Sunday, members of the Paul Parker family went on the water Monday and Thursday to hunt one of the gray whales migrating past Neah Bay from birthing grounds in Baja California to summer feeding grounds off Alaska. In addition to harpoons, the Makah carry .50-caliber rifles to quickly kill the whale. Last May 17 a whaling crew with representatives from several Makah families harpooned the tribe's first whale in more than 70 years. The whale, a 30-foot, 30-ton female, was butchered on a beach at the reservation, and the meat was distributed to members of the tribe. It was also eaten at a huge celebration dinner. The bones of the whale are being prepared for display in the Makah museum at Neah Bay. The whale hunts this year are being conducted by individual Makah families. Four other families are preparing to hunt. Attempted visit About 30 supporters of the anti-whaling camp gathered across Caroline Street as two members of Ocean Defense International tried to visit Abbott in her hospital room. Pending her arraignment in Tacoma, she remains under federal guard after being arrested for allegedly violating a 1,500-foot exclusion zone around the whaling canoe. Doctors expect to keep her at least one more night in the hospital, hospital Administrator Mike Glenn said Saturday. She suffered a broken shoulder bone, but tests to see whether her ribs were fractured were inconclusive, Glenn said. She remained in satisfactory condition, he added. Two members of Ocean Defense International, Jake Conroy of Seattle and Tami Drake-Miller of Bainbridge Island, met with hospital Administrator Mike Glenn. They wanted to visit their friend for five minutes and pass on an Easter card from her mother and grandmother, the pair told Coast Guard Special Agent Ron Peregrin. But Peregrin said she couldn't have visitors because she is a federal prisoner. " I'm not going to debate this with you. She's not allowed to have visitors. But I can tell you that she's resting comfortably,'' Peregrin said. One phone call a day Conroy and Drake-Miller complained that Abbott is being allowed to make only one phone call a day. Peregrin would not address that concern during the short session, which reporters attended. " She was run over by a Zodiac, and now they're treating her like she's an extreme criminal,'' Conroy said outside the hospital. Laurene McLean, a Carlsborg resident who attended Saturday's demonstration, carried flowers and a whale-embossed card for Abbott. ``I'm appalled at what happened, McLean said of the Coast Guard actions on Thursday. ``I think it was way out of proportion to what she was trying to do.'' McLean said Glenn had agreed to deliver the supporters' cards and flowers to Abbott. ***** FROM THE WHALEMAN FOUNDATION ---------------- The Whaleman Foundation, based in Lahaina, Hawaii, has brought their California Oceanic Research Vessel " Cetacean " to the Neah Bay area to continue their video documentation of the illegal Makah Gray Whale hunt. The Whaleman Foundation produced a video for the United Nations about San Ignacio Lagoon which helped to bring international awareness and a victory to this vital issue. We are currently producing a video on the Makah hunt for the International Whaling Commission at their upcoming meeting in Australia this summer. " This hunt is in violation of both the IWC and CITES Conventions and we are dedicated to bringing international awareness to this illegal whale hunt, " said Whaleman president and founder Jeff Pantukhoff. " The actions by the Clinton/Gore administration, National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Coast Guard have been depolorable. They are using lethal force to stop peaceful protestors from preventing an illegal whale hunt, and it is painfully reminiscent of the abuse of force demonstrated at Kent State in the 1970's. It is time for the truth to come out, and we are here to do just that. " http://www.whaleman.org ***** ITEMS NEEDED ---------- Pre-paid AirTouch cellular phone cards, easily purchased at any convenience store or grocery. Available in $20, $50 or $100 amounts, simply scratch off the access code on the back of the card and e-mail that code to dano! It's an easy way to help us! Have any jet skis or boats that need to see some action? Contact us! ***** _______________ The simple way to read all your emails at ThatWeb http://www.thatweb.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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