"Sealfies" vs. Ellen's selfie

'Sealfies' Protest Ellen DeGeneres's Anti-Seal Hunt Stance (TWEETS)Inuit are striking back against her with "#Sealfies," in which people tweet pictures of themselves in sealskin furs to counter DeGeneres's activism against what she calls "one of the most atrocious and inhumane acts against animals allowed by any government."

The protest was promoted early on by Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, an Inuk filmmaker from Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Though she considers herself an "Ellen" fan, she was disappointed when she requested that Samsung donate $1.5 million to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), an organization that is vocally opposed to the seal hunt, after she took the record-breaking "Oscars selfie" with one of the tech giant's phones.

In a blog post on Wednesday, Arnaquq-Baril encouraged people to take pictures of themselves wearing sealskins and to tweet them at DeGeneres's Twitter account with the "#Sealfie" hashtag.

Seal meat is a staple food for Inuit and they should have the right to make a living off their animals just like anyone else, she told The Canadian Press.And:The hashtag came amid revelations that Inuit go hungry more than any other indigenous people in a developed country.

The Council of Canadian Academies reported that 35 per cent of Inuit households in Nunavut don't have enough food to eat, while 76 per cent of preschoolers skip meals and 60 per cent have gone a day without eating.
Inuit Flood Twitter With 'Sealfies' After Ellen DeGeneres Selfie Funds Hunt Haters

By David P. BallA month after Ellen DeGeneres tweeted her record-breaking celebrity-laden selfie during the Oscars on March 2—now surpassing 3.4 million retweets—Samsung's $1.5-million donation to an anti-seal hunting organization has sparked a new viral meme.

What started with a teenager’s video explaining Inuit lifeways to the star has morphed into a twitter hashtag answering “selfie” with “sealfie,” as social media–savvy Inuit—who have for millennia depended on seals for meat, clothing and trade—fire back with their own hashtag featuring photos of them garbed in seal fur coats, mittens, boots and shawls. DeGeneres, fans and Twitter followers were elated when Samsung pledged to donate copy for every retweet of DeGeneres's Oscars selfie to a charity of her choice. The trouble started when the star, who hosted the Academy Awards, designated $1.5 million for the Humane Society of the United States, an organization that campaigns strongly against the seal hunt in Canada.

The online trend was sparked after Iqaluit teenager Killaq Enuaraq-Strauss, 17, uploaded a March 23 video to YouTube imploring DeGeneres to reconsider her choice of the Humane Society of the U.S. as a designated charity for Samsung's post-Oscar donation.

“We do not hunt seals, or any animal for that matter, for fashion,” Enuaraq-Strauss said in the video. “We hunt to survive. If Canada were to ban the seal hunt, so many families would suffer, would face harsher forms of malnutrition, and wouldn't be able to afford proper clothing for the Arctic environment we live in. Even more so, another part of our culture would have been killed.”

@TheEllenShow I am an Inuit seal meat eater, and my fur is ethical, humane. #sealfie vs. #selfie pic.twitter.com/tI4c3NxbEY

— Alethea/Aggiuq (@Alethea_Aggiuq) March 26, 2014

The week in #sealfiesInuit and others across northern Canada have taken to social media to post #sealfies, or photos of themselves wearing, eating or hunting seals. It began as a protest against Ellen Degeneres’ decision to donate money from her Oscar #selfie to an organization that opposes the Canadian seal hunt. But the trend has emerged as a social phenomenon in itself—a mass collection of photographs that show how important the seal hunt is to Canadian Inuit and others.Comment:  This is reminiscent of the debate over Makah whale hunting.

On the one hand, no animal should be killed cruelly and unnecessarily. On the other hand, what's the difference between whales, seals, cows, pigs, and chickens? Only vegetarians can claim not to be hypocritical on this issue.

First Stewards symposium at NMAI

Pacific Indigenous Leaders Meet in Washington D.C. to Discuss Adapting to Climate ChangeAmong indigenous cultures being affected by climate change, coastal communities are in the lead. Since these cultures have been around for millennia—during which things have decidedly not stayed the same—they have had a fair amount of practice in adapting to various changes.

But climate change and its rapidity proves a formidable challenge to today’s indigenous. However, using their traditional ecological knowledge, they are finding ways to cope. Recently five U.S. tribes hosted a gathering in Washington D.C., the First Stewards symposium, to examine climate change’s impact on indigenous coastal communities and ways of life, as well as explore solutions.

Led by the Hoh, Makah and Quileute tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation tribes of Washington State, this national event took place from July 17–20, tapping into millennia of traditional ecological knowledge. Held at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian, the symposium united hundreds of Native leaders, climate scientists and policy makers, as well as representatives from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Plans are to meet yearly.

The changes on way of life are marked. There are the Quinault Indians, whose salmon supply is dwindling. There are Native Alaskan villagers being forced to move as the permafrost beneath their dwellings melts. And in the U.S. Pacific Islands, storms are getting more intense as temperatures of both air and water increase, pushing up sea level, even as rainfall and water levels in streams decreases.Comment:  I believe this symposium led to the tribal leaders appearing on PBS NewsHour while they were in town.

For more on Indians and the environment, see Callingbull Protests Shell's Arctic Drilling and Indians Protest Minnesota Wolf Hunting.

Below:  "Northwest tribes perform during opening ceremony of First Stewards Symposium on July 17 at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C."

DJs lampooned Makah whalers

We get e-mail:Ran into a particularly heinous stereotype some time ago. Local radio station would do little skits on the news of the day, at that time the Makah Whale Hunt. The DJ who apparently wrote the skit, Johnny Manson (a vile little creep if ever there were one), obviously hates Natives...well, anyone not white. I'd already warned the station once before about their Native stereotyping (don't remember the details now), but this skit was over the top...featured "Natives" in a Three-Stooges style behavior, "Light Cloud" and "Little Feather" talking about being drunk, using shotguns instead of harpoons, which was not "traditional"—"tradition, schmadition, I just want me some of that blubbah!!!!" I recorded it, as they were dumb enough to play it several more times over a few days. I wrote a letter and CC'd it to every tribe on the Washington Coast, and warned the station I was doing so. Soon, the DJ was no longer employed there. BUT...the other DJ, Pat Anderson, should have at least been reprimanded, since he was in on the sketch, as well.The e-mailer adds:It was KDUX FM in Aberdeen, WA. I'd e-mailed the station director once before about racist skits...another was a CK One spoof, "The Scent of Juan," about how you could sniff out those filthy illegal Mexicans.Comment:  For previous radio controversies, see DJs Whoop Over Running Bear and NCAI Denounces Radio Jocks.

Below:  The controversial Makah whale hunt of 2008.

Whalers sentenced to jail

Two Makah Indians get jail time for illegal huntFive Makah Indian whalers who killed a gray whale in an illegal hunt last September were sentenced Monday in federal court. The sentences include jail time for two men considered the leaders of the group.

Wayne Johnson received five months in jail, and Andy Noel was sentenced to three months in jail. Both men also will be supervised for a year after their release, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The other three men--Frankie Gonzales, Theron Parker and William Secor--received two years of probation and between 100 and 150 hours of community service.Comment:  So two of the rogue whalers got more than the slap on the wrist promised previously, at least. That's good.

For more on the subject, see The Makah Whale-Hunt Controversy.

Knowledge of whale hunt denied

Makah chairman refutes defendant's court memo, says tribe didn't know about Sept. 8 whaling beforehand"The Tribal Council did not know" about the hunt before it happened, said McCarty, who was serving on the council but was not tribal chairman at the time of the incident in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

"The whole tribe was not behind this," he said.

"There was no official approval of this hunt.

"We're not interested in rehashing the past. We're committed to moving forward."Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Makah Whale-Hunt Controversy.

Makah okayed whale hunt?

Court memos suggest on eve of sentencing that Makah Tribal Council OK'd whale kill last yearThe Makah Tribal Council knew about and approved an illegal whale hunt Sept. 8, says one of the hunters in documents filed in federal court.

Theron Parker, 45, provided U.S. District Court in Tacoma with statements to that effect as he sought leniency in the sentence he will receive on Monday.An example of what he meant:"Theron asked Chairman Johnson, 'What if I went out and got a whale?' The chairman's response was 'Go ahead, get one.'

"Theron asked if he would have the Makah Tribal Council's support.

"Ben [Johnson] said they would support the whale hunt if Theron decided to go out for a whale."Comment:  Wow. If true, this news would be a stunning turn of events. After all their protests of shock and outrage, the Makah Tribal Council knew about and even authorized the illegal whale hunt?

Talk about hypocrisy. Not to mention a public-relations nightmare. This could sink the tribe's chances of ever getting approval for another whale hunt.

For more on the subject, see The Makah Whale-Hunting Controversy.

Wailing about whaling

Wailing and Whaling, the Makah Seek HuntTradition for the sake of tradition or agreeing that in the age of grocery stores and delivery pizza, saying you need to kill something for the symbolism is bullshit. Right or wrong, most hunters readily admit they do it for the thrill. Killing for tradition’s sake seems legally viable, but when it comes to gigantic, indefensible whales, something changes.

What happens when somebody other than a Native American wants to do or kill something in the name of tradition? Do we legalize opium for the Chinese? Legalize persecuting the Irish for people of British ancestry? Legalize human sacrifice for descendants of Mesoamerica? Can we name more offensive racial clichés?Comment:  Wow, that's a deep argument...not.

"What happens when somebody other than a Native American wants to do or kill something in the name of tradition?" Well, let's break this down into two parts. One, there's doing or killing something that doesn't harm another human being. Two, there's doing or killing something that does harm another human being.

Guess what? If it involves harming another human being, it's illegal. So that immediately rules out unlawful persecution and human sacrifice. Duh.

What if an action doesn't harm another human being? Then our society's presumption is that it should be legal. The government shouldn't interfere unless it has a compelling reason to do so.

Drugs are a prime example. There's a mountain of evidence that the so-called war on drugs has failed. So why not legalize or at least decriminalize them? Why not make it legal for the Chinese and everyone else to use opium if it doesn't harm another human being?

Let's return to the initial question: What happens when somebody other than a Native American wants to do or kill something in the name of tradition? Well, let's see. The Amish don't have to obey a host of laws that violate their religious beliefs. Quakers can register as conscientious objectors rather than go to war. Sikhs can wear their turbans and beards in circumstances where others couldn't. Businesses must accommodate Jews and Muslims on their holidays. Non-believers don't have to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. Christian fundamentalists can opt out of reading "Satanic" books in school. Etc., etc., etc.

To make a long story short, our society tolerates all sorts of religious beliefs in the name of tradition. We work around them because we consider the First Amendment to the Constitution paramount. So why shouldn't we tolerate the Makah's religious beliefs also?

If it isn't obvious, I'm not arguing for whale-hunting here. I'm arguing against this pitiful example of "reasoning." Better luck next time, chump.

For more on the subject, see The Makah Whale-Hunt Controversy.

Makah proposal is low-impact

Makah whale-hunting proposal rated 'least impact' in study

Public comments accepted until July 8The Makah Indian Nation's proposal to hunt gray whales has fewer negative impacts than five of six alternatives considered in a draft federal study released May 9.

The National Marine Fisheries Service conducted the study of the possible impacts of Makah resuming gray whale hunts, in response to the nation's request for a waiver of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is accepting public comment on the study until July 8.

NMFS developed alternatives to consider based on Makah's proposal and on comments submitted at public hearings in 2005. One of the alternatives is to take no action on Makah's request--essentially, to deny it. But "divorcing" the Makahs from whaling would erode cultural identity and increase tensions "between [the] Makah Tribe and others, including [the] federal government," the study states.The specifics of the proposal:* Makah proposes to hunt gray whales using a hand-thrown, toggle-point harpoon to strike the whale and a .50-caliber rifle to kill the whale; time of death is about eight minutes, but that time is expected to improve as hunters gain additional experience.

* The nation's regulations would prohibit the striking of a whale calf or a whale accompanied by a calf, and would prohibit the hunting of a gray whale between June 1 and Nov. 30 to prevent the hunting of whales that may be part of a seasonal resident gray whale herd.

* Makah's regulations would provide for detailed photographic monitoring of all landed whales, for comparison with photos in the National Marine Mammal Laboratory's photo-identification catalog of the seasonal resident herds.

* Whale "products" would be restricted to local consumption and ceremonies.Comment:  Eight minutes would be significantly better than the previous time of death, which was about 10 hours.

For more on the subject, see The Makah Whale-Hunt Controversy.

Whalers slapped on the wrist

Makah judge fails to empanel jury to prosecute whalersThey promised tough prosecution, but in the end the Makah Nation couldn't put together a jury to try five whalers who were charged with illegally killing a gray whale off Neah Bay last fall.

Tribal Judge Stanley Myers on Wednesday instead granted the men one-year deferred prosecution and promised to dismiss the charges if they committed no offenses during that time. The whalers also were each ordered to pay a $20 fine.

The deferral came after the judge summoned more than 200 people from the remote village of Neah Bay on the Olympic Peninsula to serve as potential jurors. But the judge gave up on empaneling a jury because just about everyone was either related or said they had strong feelings about the case, according to one of the whalers, Wayne Johnson.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Makah Whale-Hunt Controversy.

Makah see it both ways

Some Makah tribal leaders say they are sympathetic to frustrations of rogue whalersKeith Johnson, the president of the Makah tribe's whaling commission who helped Wayne Johnson with his statement, said today that he also understands the whalers' feelings. "There are two ways you can look at it," Johnson said. "Yes, it was absolutely wrong, they didn't have a permit. But it doesn't say in the treaty you have to have a permit.

"I see it both ways. These guys certainly wanted to exercise their treaty right, and they want to bring traditional foods home, we want subsistence, the freezers are low, and they want whale meat for the winter time, and I am sympathetic to them when they say that."

Hunt triggers hate

Harjo:  Whale-killing incident revives anti-Indian racismThe following set of five comments was carried at aol.com as news of the whale hunt broke:

"So much honor these indians have. So close to the earth and oh so spiritual. It's no wonder they were given the name of savages." (patricksqueri1)

"Remember this bit of BS the next time you drop a quarter in a slot machine on an Indian reservation." (handofgloom)

"What COWARDS these people are. The claim to be killing whales as part of their heritage. I guess machine guns are part of that heritage. They should stick to drinking booze and falling down." (simonbacat)

"I agree Patrick. Savages is a well given name for these cowards." (kevinb2005420)

"The tribe will do nothing because they feel they are above the law." (twinzfanz96)Comment:  I wonder if they say the same thing when American soldiers kill Iraqi civilians. When white boys go on shooting rampages. Or when their hunter pals kill any large game animal.

Probably not.

Whale not machine-gunned after all

No machine gun used on whale (Yay!)"The rifle used was a large-caliber, breech-loading rifle specifically designed to kill whales," Hicks e-mailed. "Its design and use was mandated by the International Whaling Commission's scientific committee to ensure the quickest possible kill. Rather different than a native dude with an AK-47, don't ya think?"

Yes, rather. And, in fact, I then found an AP bulletin correcting the story and blaming the mistake on information from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Unfortunately, mention of the incident increased exponentially online, so that if you now type "machine gun whale" in a search engine you get more than 1.5 million "hits." (Hits, in this case, being an ironic term.)

Whale killers must pay

Makah Tribe vows to punish whale killers

Delegation makes pledge to senators in D.C. meetingMicah McCarty, a tribal councilman and spokesman for the delegation, said the delegation told the senators and officials that the tribe "denounced the actions of the five and will prosecute them to the fullest extent of our laws."

Under tribal law, McCarty said at a news conference, the perpetrators face a range of possible charges, including the illegal discharge of firearms, animal cruelty and violation of the tribe's whaling laws.

They also face possible federal charges.

Tribal leaders Tuesday forced two of the five individuals to resign as members of the tribe's whaling commission, he said.

More opinions on the Makah

Hunting for trouble in the path of whalesThe hunt was apparently as spontaneous as it was colossally dumb. Without the knowledge or approval of tribal leaders or tribal whaling authorities, five men harpooned and then blasted away at a whale, mortally wounding the aquatic mammal, which died and sank below hundreds of feet of water 12 hours later.

With Saturday's hunt, the tribe shot a large-bore hole in its own foot and lobbying efforts. There was nothing traditional about last weekend's hunt, but it may be the last for a long, long time."What type of culture needs a machine gun to kill a defenseless animal?"A "slap on the hand" or monetary fine is not an adequate punishment. What the Makah Nation should realize is that people like me will think only of this incident whenever their name comes up in the future.

Mary Jo Meyers-Barnes, Woodinville
So the Makah Tribe seeks its "right" to harvest whales for cultural purposes—in a ritual that makes as much sense in modern times as the Incas sacrificing children to the Corn God to ensure a plentiful harvest—and then slaughters a gray whale illegally with a machine gun? That's one proud tradition.

John Parker, Maple City, Mich.
Animal abuse is one of the first signs leading to further abuse. While I don't want to lump all of the Makah Tribe into one group based upon the behavior of five individuals, perhaps it's time to revisit the treaty that gave the Makah Tribe such rights.

Deborah Covington, Hagatna, Guam
What the treaty appears to say is that the Makah have exactly the same right to whaling as non-Native Americans do—no more, no less. And when was the last time non-Native Americans had the right to go out and kill whales, for either business or pleasure?

Jim Raftery, Meridian, Idaho
It is sad that a few individuals can create this kind of disaster. It will be an outrage if justice is not swiftly served.

Chris Johnson, Federal WayDebate Grows Over Tribal Whale HuntsMakah tribal council chairman Ben Johnson says he wishes the five men who hunted and killed a gray whale hadn't defied the tribal and federal law but he that he understands why they did it.

“I think I understand their frustrations. We’ve been going through this for years,” said Johnson.Comment:  Yep, it sure is frustrating that you can't shoot anything anytime with a high-powered rifle. These poor guys must've been going crazy itching their trigger fingers.

Apparently they didn't use a "machine gun" after all. But the answer to the title question--"What type of culture needs a machine gun to kill a defenseless animal?"--is a Westernized culture that values individual success and gratification over communal rights and responsibilities. In other words, a typical American culture.

It's the same mentality that led the white man to hunt the buffalo and Indians alike to near-extinction. It's the "shoot first and ask questions later" attitude you see in everything from yesterday's Western movies to today's superhero comics. It's the reason we invaded Iraq without thinking about what we were doing: because we could.

Unheroic Makah hunters

Of whales and heritage

By David NeiwertAs I noted in my 1998 piece:

Traditional Makah whalers--who were chosen braves from a few select families--underwent rigorous preparation for the hunt that included long steam-lodge sessions and enduring nettle treatments. But only a few of the modern Makah hunting group are partaking of such rigors; they were chosen mainly for their strength. Several enjoy party-animal reputations, guys in desperate need of something constructive to do--but hardly the leading young men of the village.

There is a reason the old Makah hunters were considered so heroic: The hunts were extraordinarily dangerous, requiring the highest level of skills as canoeists and harpoonists. None of the current group of Makahs has displayed any of these skills. In fact, they are such poor canoeists that they plan to have the traditional cedar canoe towed by powerboat to the whale's vicinity--at which point they plan to row out to meet the beast, armed with their paddles, harpoons ... and, of course, the traditional high-powered rifle that will perform the final dispatch.
The Makahs' defenders explain away their variance from original traditions as a necessary accommodation to modernity, saying that modern Makah have the same right to modern weaponry as anyone else. Be that as it may, it's also clear from descriptions of traditional hunts that the whole enterprise was bound up with an appreciation for, even a love of, the animal being hunted. Warrior purification, according to these accounts, was about making a man worthy of taking the life of such a great beast; and when a whale was caught, they believed it gave itself up to them as a gift to the tribe, and it was honored at the subsequent feast accordingly.

This was mostly lacking at the 1999 hunt, and it was strikingly absent from yesterday's whale killing. The perpetrators--a number of men working in two boats--did nothing to honor this whale when they shot and harpooned it. They just wasted it.

Tribe is ashamed; hunter isn't

Hunter not ashamed of killing whale without a permitSunday, even as tribal council members strongly denounced the hunt, Johnson said he had no regrets. "If anything, I wish I'd done it years earlier," he said.

The hunt started without a hitch: Less than a mile out, the men spotted a gray whale. But Johnson, 54, and the rest of the crew decided they were too close to shore to fire the .460-caliber rifle they'd brought.

Around 9:30, the crew saw another whale. This one, about 40 feet long, surfaced and came to the two boats.

"It chose us," Johnson said.

Into the animal's flesh, crew members plunged at least five stainless-steel whaling harpoons and four seal harpoons "so we wouldn't lose it," Johnson said. They then shot the whale with a gun powerful enough to fire a slug four miles.Comment:  Johnson may have some regrets after he spends a year or two in the pokey.

In traditional times as well as today, Indians had rules and rituals for hunting. Violating these practices would be cause for punishment.

This crime plays into the stereotype that Indians are creatures of impulse, lawless, vicious--in other words, savages. The Makah leadership is right to respond forcefully because the event will cloud people's perceptions on everything from sovereignty to gaming.

Makahs machine-gun whale

Gray whale shot, killed in rogue tribal huntFive Makah Nation members harpooned and shot a gray whale east of Neah Bay on Saturday morning, shocking environmentalists and tribal leaders alike. The whale died less than 12 hours later, sinking while heading out to sea.

The move short-circuited years of wrangling in the courts over whaling by the tribe, which hunted its first whale in 70 years in 1999.The background:The hunt wasn't authorized by the tribal council or by the federal government.

"I don't know why they did this. It's terrible," said John McCarty who, as a former member of the tribe's whaling commission, has been an advocate of the Makah Nation's right to resume whaling under an 1855 treaty.

"I think the anti-whalers will be after us in full force, and we look ridiculous," McCarty said. "Like we can't manage our own people, we can't manage our own whale."

The hunt was starkly different from a federally sanctioned hunt in 1999 during which a whale was harpooned and then quickly killed with a large-caliber rifle. That was the tribe's first whale hunt in 70 years.

The whale-hunting controversy

Makah WhalingIn 1999 and 2000, after a hiatus of seven decades, Makah Indian whalers again hunted gray whales from their ancestral lands around Cape Flattery on the Olympic Peninsula. The Makah, whose whaling tradition dates back thousands of years, are the only tribe in the United States with a treaty guaranteeing the right to hunt whales. Makahs had not whaled since the 1920s, when commercial whaling nearly wiped out whale populations, but the tribe announced it would resume whaling after the gray whale was removed from the Endangered Species List in 1994. The decision ignited worldwide controversy. Some animal rights activists bitterly denounced the Makah, but other groups, from advocates for indigenous rights to the United States government, supported the tribe's right to hunt. Following legal battles and physical confrontations with protestors, Makah whalers landed their first whale in more than 70 years on May 17, 1999. In 2003, that remains the only whale taken. Court decisions currently block the hunt, but courtroom battles go on as the Makah continue to assert their right to hunt whales.Comment:  If Newspaper Rock had been around then, we would've been all over this story.

Read the whole essay for the details on the whale-hunting controversy.