Joshua L. Reid is a true scholar and educator. Born and raised in Washington State, he is currently a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and a former middle school teacher with an undergraduate degree from Yale and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. Josh approached the Makah Tribe with his research proposal and requested access to the extensive archival records held by the Makah Cultural and Research Center (MCRC). The proposal was of interest to the Makah Tribe and pertinent to current issues on both the tribal and national levels. His proposal was approved, and he began his inquiries. At the MCRC, he delved into the recordings of our elders who have gone before us. He held interviews with Makah individuals to gather additional details on historic and current Makah practices, events, and perspectives. He researched the written records within our archives; then he travelled—extensively—throughout the U.S. and Canada to track down all he could find relating to Makah control and management of marine space. His research and analysis of this material provide the most comprehensive source of Makah history ever published.
As Makahs, we know our ancestors took calculated and heroic measures to protect our water, land, and resources that provide for our way of life. Many of us know the stories of whale and seal hunters, fishermen, and warriors. The descriptions of the battles and alliances with other Tribes, Washington State, the federal government, and Canada are not new to us. Josh’s book immortalizes Makah efforts to remain steadfast in our claims to ownership and control of this pivotal Northwestern territory throughout time, while highlighting some of the individuals who played key roles.
Other books have been published that help readers understand the complexity of Makah history, but nothing else published to date goes to these lengths to uncover and chronicle the ebb and flow of our struggles to maintain our unique position in this world. The Sea Is My Country is an uncompromising examination of Makah history that illustrates how Makahs affected early explorers’ efforts to exploit the riches of the Pacific Northwest, how Makahs inserted our preexisting sovereignty to continue to be important players in the changing economy, and how we sustained cultural traditions and values throughout these changing times.
Josh has approached this project with unequivocal scholarship, portraying an unbiased look at crucial portions of Makah history. His investigation has brought forward a number of less commonly known historic facts, statistics, and unpublished research to present a variety of perspectives. The Sea Is My Country reconstructs a robust record of Makah use of marine space throughout the last two centuries. And while Josh is not a Makah tribal member, he has provided for the Makah voice to be heard within his work, something that is often missing in publications. He has pieced together our history in a truthful light which has the capacity to educate readers in developing an understanding of the complex history of Makah people.
So much misleading or inaccurate information is available to the public. Josh reveals Washington State’s past efforts at providing the media with inaccurate information in order to lead the public to believe that Indians were responsible for overfishing salmon. Ironically, Indians were catching approximately six percent of the salmon at that time. These sentiments still exist. Josh’s independent research provides the reader with evidence of these underlying themes throughout historic times and captures the Makah response. We commend his methodical research and efforts to document our history in this way.
This publication chronicles the periods where Makahs thrived both before and after contact, and struggled against governmental policies that were designed to strip our identity and take the wealth of our resources. The Sea Is My Country enlightens readers, disabling stereotypes with valid facts, figures, and an extensive bibliography. The timing of Josh’s publication will benefit the tribe as we maneuver through the government’s newest attempts at marine spatial planning and ocean policy. We expect this book will quickly become a treasured resource for both Makah readers as well as the broader academic community.
As a modern tribe we continually work to protect our treaty rights and way of life by utilizing the existing political and legal systems, all the while immersing our children in cultural traditions. We have been working through the federal government’s procedures to resume our treaty-secured right to hunt whales for more than twenty years. This battle continues while another generation of whalers comes of age. Josh’s compilation reminds us of how our forefathers maneuvered within both traditional and non-Indian systems to retain our identity and access to important resources that allow us to live and thrive as Qwidičča
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Makah Tribal Council
Makah Cultural and Research Center