Makah man and woman with canoe. Courtesy: the University of Washington Libraries. |
This trinket basket made by a Makah woman is decorated with a scene of whale hunting. The economy of
both the Makah and Nootka people, who lived in the area of Vancouver Island off the Northwest
Coast, was based on hunting whales. Meat, oil, and bone for all the people of a village came
from whales.
Whale, I have given you what you wish to get - my good harpoon. Please
hold it with your strong hands... Whale, tow me to the beach of my village, for when you come
ashore there, young men will cover your great body with blue-bill duck feathers and the down
of the great eagle.
- Makah Trible Song
Makah tribal web site: http://www.makah.com/ |