Sullivan, Robert.

A Whale Hunt: A Remarkable Story of a Tribe’s Quest to Regain its Ancient Rituals in the Modern World.

London, Headline Book Publishing, 2001. 13.5 x 21.5cm. 346 pages. Original softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear and a small number of text annotations.

The Makah are a Native American tribe living on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The gray whale was hunted for generations by the Makah and other coastal tribes until it was nearly driven extinct by commercial whaling. A moratorium on all hunting of the gray whale was declared, and the Makah had not hunted whales in 70 years. In 1995 the gray whale was taken off the endangered species list, and the Makah began a legal battle to resume whaling. There was only one problem: all of the old whalers were dead, and the tribe had to reinvent the techniques and traditions of whaling. Sullivan, a former newspaper reporter, spent two years with the Makah as they built a whaling canoe, chose and trained a crew, and taught themselves how to catch and kill a 35-45 foot sea mammal. Along the way, animal-rights activists, the Coast Guard, a German film crew, other Native Americans, and a fleet of reporters get involved, so that by the time the Makah hunters try for their first whale a fullfledged media circus is well underway. Sullivan’s wry reporting, with sympathy for all of the participants in the hunt (including the whales), puts the reader right into the midst of the action. [From Booklist]

• Keywords: America · American Indians · Chuck Kruger Cape Clear Collection · Hunting · Nautical Books · Tradition · Travel · Travel and Adventure
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9780747271581
• Inventory Number: 91396AB

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