A humpback whale struck and killed by a ship is being turned into a feast by the Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation.
The tribe with a reservation on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state has been butchering the 31-foot (9.5-meter) whale that was pulled ashore on Thursday.
‘It is sacred,’ Nathan Tyler, chairman of the Makah Indian Tribe, told The Seattle Times.
‘We have deep regrets about the whale being struck by a ship and dying, but it will live on, through our culture.’
A 31-foot (9.5-meter) humpback whale that was struck and killed by a ship is being turned into a feast by the Makah Indian Tribe for its Makah Days Festival in Neah Bay, Washington
The arrival of the whale came a day before the tribe’s annual community feast and festival called Makah Days. The whale will feed the whole village, located in Neah Bay.
Tribal fisherman discovered the whale on Thursday in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Sekiu.
A tribal biologist reported the find to the federal stranding network, which sent a biologist.
The fisherman and tribal biologist towed the whale to the beach at Neah Bay, where a necropsy was performed to determine the cause of death.
The fisherman and tribal biologist towed the whale to the beach at Neah Bay (shown), where a necropsy was performed to determine the cause of death
Officials say the whale had a broken jaw and fractured skull from colliding with a ship.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesman Michael Milstein said the juvenile male humpback was likely feeding when it was struck and killed.
The tribe has historically harvested stranded whales and also hunted whales, but hasn’t done so for years.
It has treaty rights to hunt whales, but last did so in 1999 when hunters killed a gray whale and brought it to the same beach where the humpback was brought ashore on Thursday.
The Makah Tribe has treaty rights to hunt whales, last doing so in 1999 (shown) when hunters killed a gray whale and brought it to the same beach where this humpback was brought ashore
That was the tribe’s first whale hunt in 70 years, and it’s been working through the courts and with regulators to conduct another hunt.
Meanwhile, the arrival of the humpback whale just a day ahead of the community festival is viewed as a blessing.
‘It’s very emotional,’ Tyler said. ‘It’s been a long time, it means so much to us. It has always been part of our way of life.’