The Makah Indians are a tribe located in the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula located in Washington. They are the southernmost members of the Wakashan family. The Makahs are most closely related to the Nootkans, and follow their patterns of activities and social organization.

    The Makah’s first encounter with Europeans was with John Meares in the spring of 1788. After that, the Spaniards sailed to Neah Bay in 1790, and established a fort in the village. This fort lasted only four months before the Spaniards abandoned it. In the early 1800’s, there were a number of shipwrecked Russian and Japanese ships whose survivors were held as captives by the tribe. All of this European contact lead to the Makahs trading tribal products for non-Indian goods. It also introduced a number of diseases, which caused the Makah population to decrease drastically. By 1852 Biheda, a large Makah village was abandoned because of small pox. After this move, representatives from the remaining tribes signed a treaty with Governor Isaac Stevens of the Washington Territory. In this treaty, the Tribe gave up land in return for education, health care and the right to fish in ways that would have otherwise been illegal. The schooling provided for the Makah was very poorly organized and focused on agriculture instead of marine hunting and fishing which is what the area thrived on. The school system was also continuously changing from a day school to a boarding school. The agents said they instituted these changes to accommodate the society at that time, and to protect the children from the "Indian barbarism and superstitious practices."

    Five Makah villages existed before the contact with the Europeans. These were: Ozette, Biheda, Watatch, Tsoo-yess, and Wzette. The Ozette village was the farthest away from the center of the tribe, and because of this, there is a large distinction between the members of the Ozette village and the rest of the Makah tribe members. The majority of historians believe the Ozette village is connected with the rest of the tribe only because they share the same language and have some common traditions.

    Because of the location, the territory of the Makah tribe has very rainy and stormy winters, which are contrasted with calm and sunny summers. The territory receives about 100 inches of rain yearly, and this falls over a period of about 200 days. Also, during the winters, there are many storms with wind speeds greater than 40 miles per hour and an average of eight inches of snowfall yearly.

    The land and waters around the Makah territory contained many land and sea animals, birds, and fish. Many of the streams running throughout the territory also contained steelhead; sockeye; and coho, chum and chinook salmon. The land also had many plants with that had technological, medical, and nutritional value. Red cedar trees were present in the territory, but were not easily accessible.

    Within the Makah tribe, there were concepts of hereditary ranking and kinship recognition as a way to form alliances. The middle social group could vary their social position slightly through marriage and gaining more privileges and responsibility. The headmen of the tribes tested their positions at potlatches. The headman of a household was usually a whaler and relied on special skills to maintain his position. This was often the skill of a fur seal hunter.

    The Makah houses were built on a permanent framework, which implies they were a very stable community. The houses usually had dimensions of 60 feet long by 30 feet wide by 15 feet tall. The roofs were flat and were made up of planks that could be moved around for ventilation or could be removed completely and put on a different house. The flat roof was also used as a platform to lay fish out to dry. Each house usually consisted of many families, which were kept separate by walls. These walls were easily removed when there was dancing, gambling, and feasting between the families. The houses also often contained a wide plank with carved designs.

    Most of the Makahs material items were based in the use of red cedar and other woods like yew. The structure of the cedar allowed it to be split straight and used for planks on houses. The inner bark could also be beaten soft enough to be used as diapers and other clothing. The members of the Ozette village used the denser yew wood for clubs, whaling harpoon shafts and bows. The Makah wood workers selected the type of wood to be used based on the product to be created.

  The whale hunt played a large part in the lifestyles of the Makah Indians. There are records of the whale hunt as far back as 2000 years, and the whales make up over 80% of the Indian’s diet. Before the hunt, there were three rituals performed by the tribesmen. First they would bathe in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Then they would rub much of their skin raw on sharp barnacles. Then just before they left for the hunt, they would dig up a fresh grave and dismember a corpse and wear the torso of the corpse on their back. This was done to show respect for the dead. The Makahs would generally hunt a Gray whale and use much of its meat for oil. The whale was killed by stabbing it with a harpoon that was attached to inflated seal skins to prevent it from diving. Once the whale died, a tribesman would dive into the water and sew the whale’s mouth shut to prevent air from escaping as it was towed back to shore. While the men are away on the hunt, the wives of the hunters must remain motionless in their beds and can not eat, sleep or talk until the men return. Once the men return, the whale meat is then divided according to a social hierarchy.

    The most recent census of the Makah territory was done in 1986. At this time the territory was made up of 44 square miles and had about 2000 Makah Indians living in it.

Written by Mohamed El-Mansy.