Greg Colfax has been described as an "artist, fisherman, canoe company manager, poet, and philosopher." He was trained as an educator in creative writing, with degrees from both Western Washington University and the University of Washington. He has taught both in the Native American Studies Program at Evergreen State College and in elementary and high schools at Neah Bay.

He began training as a carver in 1978.  Two of his pieces were included in the traveling exhibition  "Lost and Found Traditions." Colfax carved a 12-foot figure of a woman drumming for the Native American Studies Program at Evergreen State College, and he also produced a 50-foot carved and painted cedar mural for the Tukwila City Hall. He has researched the collections at the Burke Museum, Royal British Columbia Museum, and the Makah Cultural and Research Center. He consults with Makah elders about the meaning and uses of art objects and utensils. Today he is a master carver in Neah Bay. In addition to his many original carvings, Colfax also restores older pieces.

LECTURE SUMMARY:
Greg began by asking if there were any original owners of the land on which he was speaking, and by asking for their permission to speak. He told us who he was, and how he was influenced by stories from his father and grandfather, who was a fur-seal hunter.

Greg told us how a statement by a professor at the University of Washington had offended many in the Makah Nation, and how he felt compelled to respond in writing. He read from his response:

Read the treaty (between the Makah Nation and the United States). Read the notes of the meetings to the treaty. Read the Supreme Court ruling confirming the treaty. We never gave up our right to hunt. We had full rights to resources and lands for thousands of years, based on our own laws. We gave some of them away in exchange for not being annihilated, but retained some of them. During the treaty negotiations, one of our chiefs, Colsholt, convinced the territorial governor to come out on the ocean in his canoe. Out on the ocean the chief described the Makah Nations use of ocean resources: whales, salmon, seals and said, if you take this away from me, I will be a poor man. Governor Stevens understood, and so certain rights were retained by the Makah, while other rights were ceded, and flow from the Makah to the United States (not the other way around). The Makah Nation gave the United States the right to be on their land.

In 1920 the Makah voluntarily gave up whaling as they saw that the gray whale population had been decimated by industrial whalers. It was a huge blow to their culture, but they retained the stories and the knowledge of whale hunting through some of their elders. Seventy years later, the Makah Whaling Commission sought to reinstate the hunt as the gray whale population had recovered to about 26,000 whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service has issued an Environmental Assessment which Greg suggests anyone interested in the issue read carefully.

After just 20 minutes Greg asked for questions, which could have gone on for hours. We stopped them after 40 minutes. Some people in the crowd were supportive of Makah whaling, some were opposed. But the dialogue was remarkable for its respectfulness on both sides. In contrast, a contentious public hearing was held that same day on the NMFS Environmental Assessment in Sand Point, Washington during which "speaker after speaker accused the federal government - frequently in profanity-laced language - of everything from a cover-up to hypocrisy to incompetence in putting together a new environmental review of the tribe's controversial whale hunt." Bitter words ring out at the whaling hearing.

Questions were asked about the sentient nature of whales, alterations in the way whales are hunted, and the cultural importance of whaling to the tribe. On this latter issue, Greg described how the whale hunt has revived cultural pride in the tribe, how whalers act as role models for youth, how grade school children have spontaneously begun re-enacting ancient rituals:

"During the hunt, several little girls asked their teachers if they could go in a corner and cover themselves with blankets, and be still and pray for the hunters, as women had done in the past during the hunt, believing that their actions would be mirrored by the whale, which would be calm and allow itself to be taken by the hunters."

At the end of the evening, some people were still opposed to whale hunting, and will continue to oppose any taking of whales. But they gained a better understanding of the Makah position, the nature of treaty rights, and the cultural importance of whaling to the Makah Nation. Most importantly, both sides listened.