RE: [Paddlewise] Greenland Paddles, Makah Hunt

At 10:29 PM 8/6/98 -0700, you wrote:
>On Thu, 6 Aug 1998, Chuck Holst wrote:
>
>> 
>> The main reason Greenland kayaks, paddles and paddling styles are so
>> popular is the unbroken kayaking tradition in Greenland. In most other
>> parts of the Arctic, traditional kayaking skills were either suppressed
>> or fell into disuse, and much information was lost. In Greenland,
>> especially in the Angmagssalik district, kayaks and kayaking
>> accessories continued to be made and used in the traditional style well
>> into the twentieth century, long enough to be documented in detail by
>> European explorers and ethnologists. And when interest in traditional
>> kayaking skills revived in Greenland in the 1970s and 80s, some of the
>> old-timers were still around to teach them.
>
Kevin Whilden wrote:
>I have been told by George Gronseth that the reason Greenland kayaking has
>survived mostly undiminished while Aleutian kayaking is almost completely
>lost lies in the way in which kayaking skills were passed on through
>generations. Most Greenland hunters built their own personal boats, and
>therefore a very large percentage of the population knew how to build and
>paddle kayaks. The Aleutians had a much more specialized society in
>general and usually only had a handful of boatbuilders per village. When
>westerners brought their diseases and wiped out 75% or more of the
>population, there were still some hardy Greenlanders who knew how to build
>and paddle kayaks. The Aleutian boatbuilders were probably wiped out to
>the last man.
>
>Kevin Whilden
>

	"Westerners", meaning Europeans, but even moreso the Russians, brought far
more than diseases to the "Aleutians".  Beginning in the 17th century, the
Russians brought violently forced enslavement backed by ships and
firepower.  They were after whales and furs of all kinds, as well as new
territory, and most passionately sought the valuable sea otter for its
pelts.  Under penalty of death, they forced the indigenous coastal peoples
of the region that is now Alaska, including the Aleutians, Alutiiq, and
others, to hunt sea otters from their kayaks and umiaks as far south as San
Francisco Bay, California!  Apparently this was done by transporting the
native hunters and their paddlecraft on the foreigners' ships.   Picture in
your mind this forced conversion of these native societies from subsistence
hunting to enslaved support for insatiable commercial harvesting.  It seems
inevitable that this led to more men on the seas, hunting under extreme
pressure, with less regard to safety and survival, hence a much higher
death rate. Additionally, the men who resisted were killed. All of this
exploitation resulted in cultural and ecological devastation. Also affected
were the coastal peoples in what is now southeast Alaska and the west coast
of Canada. 
	On top of this, over the next few centuries, Europeans, Americans and
Russians brought commercial whaling to the region.  Their ships brought
alcohol, in the form of rum, to the native peoples, who had not been
previously exposed to it.  Rum was traded to them for goods and services.
As in many other such interchanges throughout the world's history, the
native peoples were at a disadvantage technologically (weapons) and
adaptationally (low alcohol tolerance, lack of cultural restraints).  They
were heavily impacted.  This interaction with the "global economy" of the
time accelerated the pressured conversion from subsistence to commerce. It
also introduced alcoholism, which to this day is a severe problem among
these and many other indigenous people. For one form of documentation of
the above, dramatized and not necessarily accurate in all historical
respects, see James Michener's book "Alaska".
	Last summer in Anchorage I met an Alutiiq native artist who described to
me the emerging awareness among current generations of the full extent of
this violent and bloody history for her people.  Much of that history has
been omitted from the classrooms and pulpits of today, but she is
incorporating images in some of her paintings that convey the feelings now
welling up.  
	Now fast forward to 1998 and we have the deep irony of the Makah whale
hunt.  An indigenous tribe, the Makah, propose to resume whale hunting.
Their ancestors alone made a condition of their treaty with the U.S.
government that they could do this.  According to their website, their
purpose is to restore the underpinning of their traditional culture:  
FAQ for Makah whale hunt:  http://conbio.rice.edu/nae/docs/makahfaq.html
Makah management plan: http://conbio.rice.edu/nae/docs/makahplan.html

But they plan to do it with a combination of traditional technology and
modern technology adopted from other cultures.  Traditional long,
single-log, six-paddler dugout canoes and a modernised version of a
harpoon, supported by sizable motorized boats and HIGH-power rifles.  The
traditional part supports their cultural roots (training, ritual, skills),
while the modern part supports effectiveness, efficiency, and, in their
view, quick and minimally painful killing.
	Enter now the suggested flotilla of kayaks on the water to interfere with
the Makah hunt.  My mind is beginning to boggle at the great karmic cycle
this would represent.  Get this:  Sincere and concerned descendants of
invading and conquering peoples (or at least members of the resultant
dominant cultures) now using highly adapted, modern-tech versions of
traditional craft to inhibit an effort at cultural restoration by
indigenous people who are using traditional/modern means to hunt their
traditional prey, which itself has been decimated largely by the ancestral
cultures of the protestors!  
	Please note that I am making no judgments here.  I am also not questioning
motives, either of the Makah or of those who are objecting to the hunt. I
am favorably impressed with the Makahs' reasoned, thorough approach as it
comes across on their website.  I am also impressed favorably with Steph
and Heidi Dutton's offer of high-seas, large vessel training for the Makah
for economic development.  There are still issues with both of these
points: the killing of whales, or any sea mammals, is extremely hard to
accept; training in the use of large modern vessels does not touch the
cultural roots the Makah are seeking to rebuild.  It does seem to me that
anyone who objects to the hunt strongly enough to go and participate in
active interference should also strongly consider becoming acquainted with
the tribe, its history, problems and challenges, and should commit to
making some positive contribution to the situation.
  
	my 2cts worth
 	John (now going out of touch for a week, the flames won't reach me {:~)




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