Makah leaders apologize to federal officials

Makah leaders apologize to federal officials

An California gray whale is seen Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007 in Neah Bay, Wash., after being shot with a machine gun off the western tip of Washington state.

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Story Published: Sep 12, 2007 at 5:48 PM PDT

Story Updated: Sep 13, 2007 at 7:58 AM PDT

By KOMO Staff & News Services

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WASHINGTON -- Leaders of the Makah Indian tribe were in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and expressed regret to federal officials and members of Congress for the unauthorized killing of a gray whale off the coast of Washington state.

At separate meetings with Washington state's two senators and top leaders of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, tribal leaders reiterated their condemnation of the whale's killing.

"We know that there are potential violations of discharging a weapon close to Neah Bay," said Micah McCarthy, a tribal council member who attended the meetings. "There are animal cruelty violations within our own law and order code, and certainly there is a violation of an ordinance of how we manage our whaling."

The Makah delegation tried to make amends by presenting a laundry list of charges against the rogue whalers.

Five Makah men are under investigation by tribal authorities and the National Marine Fisheries Service in the killing of the California gray whale. The whale was harpooned and shot several times on Saturday in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, about 120 miles northwest of Seattle.

Two of the five accused men were members of the Makah tribal council. Wayne Johnson and an unidentified crew member were forced to resign from the council on Tuesday.

The two men are now among the five men who now face a pointed investigation on exactly what happened aboard the two boats that were captured on video while following the whale with harpoons on board.

The accused Makah men could face trial in tribal court later this month.

The killing has drawn international attention to the tribe's efforts to revive its traditional whale hunting.

McCarthy acknowledged that the hunt "inflamed an already controversial issue," but said he was optimistic the tribe's request to renew whale hunting would not be affected.

"(The controversy is) a test of our sovereignty and a test of our system that some people are a bit worried about," he said. "I think we are going to handle this properly and I think we will come out OK."

Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray called Saturday's hunt "a very serious situation." But Murray commended the Makah leaders "for immediately condemning this rogue act and taking steps to prosecute the offenders."

Washington Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell declined to comment on the meeting.

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