The Nootka first made metal whaling harpoons similar to the one shown here in 1803, after stealing iron from an English ship anchored off the coast.
The night before, the Nootka men had danced. They had danced so that they would not need to go to sea. It was time for the whale hunt, but whale hunts were dangerous. Their dance was to make a dying whale drift to shore. That way, everyone could eat and still be safe.
But a whale had not arrived.
The men stripped down and painted their faces black. They pushed their dugout canoe into the water off Vancouver Island. Their wives were not on the shore to see them go. They were at home, lying still in their beds. The women did not eat or speak. They did not even sleep. Their stillness and their concentration was another ritual. It would protect their husbands at sea.
The chief rode at the head of a 30-foot boat. The eight-man crew paddled out to sea. After a while, they spotted a whale resting on the surface. Silently, they brought the boat around behind it. As they approached, the chief steadied his harpoon. It was made from yew wood. It had a sharp tip with two barbs on it. The barbs would keep the harpoon in a whale when it tried to pull away. The barbs were nicknamed “man” and “woman.”
Suddenly, the chief hurled his harpoon, spearing the whale. In reaction, the whale dove. The harpoon was attached to 600 feet of rope. The crew hurried to let it out of the boat. This was the most dangerous part of the hunt. The rope had to be let out quickly, yet carefully.
The Nootka first made metal whaling harpoons similar to the one shown here in 1803, after stealing iron from an English ship anchored off the coast.
The harpoon line had four sealskin floats attached to it and spaced evenly along the rope. As the whale dove, the floats told the hunters how deep the whale was. As floats returned to the surface, the hunters knew the whale was not far behind.
When the whale surfaced, the hunters threw more harpoons at it. The whale dove once more without taking a breath. This happened again and again. After a few hours, the constant swimming tired the whale out. It surfaced, unable to fight any longer.
The men paddled the dugout to the dying whale. A hunter pierced its heart with a bone-tipped spear, and the whale breathed its last.
However, the hunt wasn’t over. The men still had to tow the beast back to land. A few men jumped into the icy water. They slashed the whale’s jaws and pushed them closed. Then they tied its mouth shut. This kept water out of it. Whales were heavy enough without filling them up with ocean water. Finally, the whale was lashed to the boat and the men began the long, hard trip home. In the end, it is difficult to say what effect the rituals had. Did the women’s stillness protect the men? Perhaps, but no one can be certain. What is clear is that the ingenuity of the Nootka helped bring the whale to shore. The dugout brought them to the whale, and the harpoon killed it. The sealskin floats helped them keep track of the whale, and the rope around its mouth kept it from getting too heavy. Nootka tools killed the whale, and Nootka tools brought it home.
Like Native Americans throughout the continent, the Nootka knew their environment. They were able to make complex tools from local materials. Native Americans’ creativity in toolmaking allowed them to survive, and thrive, in harmony with the land. §
An Inuit fishhook. The beads, which served as a lure, were probably obtained in trade with Europeans.
The bark of birch trees had a variety of uses for Native Americans of the Northeast. Shown here is a birch bark basket.