Logics Of Sacrifice An Ethnography Of The Makah Whaling Conflict

This dissertation examines the ethics of human-animal interaction at work in the continued conflict over Makah indigenous whaling. The Makah are a small Native American tribe in Washington state that sparked controversy when they revived their centuries-old whaling tradition in the late 1990s. Lawsuits filed by anti-whaling activists shut down Makah whaling shortly after it was resumed, and today the Makah Tribe continues to seek legal permission from the U.S. federal government to hunt whales. Attending to Makah claims that "whaling is who we are," I argue that contemporary Makah whaling is driven as much by tribal members' refusal to back down in the face of outside resistance as it is an affirmation of tribal identity and sovereignty. In the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Native American tribal identities as such were formed in the course of legal battles for fishing rights throughout the twentieth century. When new battles over marine resource rights arise, those identities becomes part of the stakes. The dissertation also takes anti-whaling activists seriously in their suggestion that Makah whaling is an environmental issue and an animal issue as much as it is a Native American sovereignty issue. I argue that while most Makahs view whales primarily in terms of relationships of use, and activists are motivated by ethical and aesthetic objections to killing whales, both groups are strongly influenced by the implicit moral assumptions of the U.S. federal government's marine mammal management paradigm. There is little conceptual space within that paradigm for the consideration of whales as anything other than exploitable marine resources. Thus, by adjusting their tactics and objectives to fit within the federal model out of practical necessity, activists collaborate in shifting the debate away from a discussion of the ethics of whaling and toward a space where the killing of whales is tacitly acceptable.

The types and construction of whaling equipment and the traditions of the hunt itself characteristic of the Makah Indians of Washington and British Columbia. Reprint of University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, vol. 1,no. 1, 1920.

Miniaturisation is the creation of small objects that resemble larger ones, usually, but not always, for purposes different to those of the larger original object. Worlds in Miniature brings together researchers working across various regions, time periods and disciplines to explore the subject of miniaturisation as a material culture technique. It offers original contribution to the field of miniaturisation through its broad geographical scope, interdisciplinary approach, and deep understanding of miniatures and their diverse contexts. Beginning with an introduction by the editors, which offers one possible guide to studying and comparing miniatures, the following chapters include studies of miniature Neolithic stone circles on Exmoor, Ancient Egyptian miniature assemblages, miniaturisation under colonialism as practiced by the Makah People of Washington State, miniature surf boats from India, miniaturised contemporary tourist art of the Warao people of Venezuela, and dioramas on display in the Science Museum. Interspersing the chapters are interviews with miniature-makers, including two miniature boat-builders at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall and a freelance architectural model-maker. Professor Susanne Küchler concludes the volume with a theoretical study summarising the current state of miniaturisation as a research discipline. The interdisciplinary nature of the volume makes it suitable reading for anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and artists, and for researchers in related fields across the social sciences. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

Moral Sentiments and Material Interests presents an innovative synthesis of research in different disciplines to argue that cooperation stems not from the stereotypical selfish agent acting out of disguised self-interest but from the presence of "strong reciprocators" in a social group. Presenting an overview of research in economics, anthropology, evolutionary and human biology, social psychology, and sociology, the book deals with both the theoretical foundations and the policy implications of this explanation for cooperation. Chapter authors in the remaining parts of the book discuss the behavioral ecology of cooperation in humans and nonhuman primates, modeling and testing strong reciprocity in economic scenarios, and reciprocity and social policy. The evidence for strong reciprocity in the book includes experiments using the famous Ultimatum Game (in which two players must agree on how to split a certain amount of money or they both get nothing.)

This volume is a reassessment of Malinowski's work by a group of his former pupils and colleagues. A frank evaluation, not a eulogy, it examines the real and lasting importance of Malinowski's contribution to a range of subjects.

We are currently facing the sixth mass extinction of species in the history of life on Earth, biologists claim—the first one caused by humans. Heise argues that understanding these stories and symbols is indispensable for any effective advocacy on behalf of endangered species. More than that, she shows how biodiversity conservation, even and especially in its scientific and legal dimensions, is shaped by cultural assumptions about what is valuable in nature and what is not.

In ten essays, contributors from a variety of disciplines consider such topics as the relationship between the two movements' ethical commitments and activist goals, instances of successful cooperation in U.S. contexts, and the challenges posed to both movements by globalisation and climate change.

This volume includes new research on the theoretical implications regarding the mechanisms of change in the geographical distribution of hunter-gatherer settlement and land use. It focuses on the long-term changes in the hunter-gatherer settlement on a global scale, including research from several continents. It will be of interest to archaeologists and cultural anthropologists working in the field of the forager/ collector model throughout the world.

The environment and contested notions of sustainability are increasingly topics of public interest, political debate, and legislation across the world. Environmental education journals now publish research from a wide variety of methodological traditions that show linkages between the environment, health, development, and education. The growth in scholarship makes this an opportune time to review and synthesize the knowledge base of the environmental education (EE) field. The purpose of this 51-chapter handbook is not only to illuminate the most important concepts, findings and theories that have been developed by EE research, but also to critically examine the historical progression of the field, its current debates and controversies, what is still missing from the EE research agenda, and where that agenda might be headed. Published for the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

This groundbreaking volume showcases the exciting work emerging from the ethnography of media, a burgeoning new area in anthropology that expands both social theory and ethnographic fieldwork to examine the way media—film, television, video—are used in societies around the globe, often in places that have been off the map of conventional media studies. The contributors, key figures in this new field, cover topics ranging from indigenous media projects around the world to the unexpected effects of state control of media to the local impact of film and television as they travel transnationally. Their essays, mostly new work produced for this volume, bring provocative new theoretical perspectives grounded in cross-cultural ethnographic realities to the study of media.