The Whaling People of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery

The Whaling People live along the west coast of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery in Washington. They comprise more than 20 First Nations, including the Nuu-chah-nulth (formerly called Nootka), Ditidaht, Pacheedaht and Makah. These socially related people enjoyed a highly organized, tradition-based culture for centuries before Europeans arrived. As whaling societies, they had a unique relationship with the sea.

In The Whaling People, Eugene Arima and Alan Hoover give an intimate account of the traditional ways in which these coastal people looked at and understood the world they lived in. They present the activities, technologies and rituals that the Whaling People used to make a living in their complex coastal environments, and their beliefs about the natural and supernatural forces that affected their lives. The book features 12 narratives collected from First Nations elders, each illustrated with original drawings by the celebrated Hesquiaht artist Tim Paul.

This informative and entertaining book celebrates the still-thriving cultures of the Whaling People, who survived the devastating effects of colonial power and influences. It includes a history of treaty making in BC, leading up to the just-ratified Maa-nulth Treaty signed by five First Nations of the Whaling People.

Eugene Arima is an ethnologist specializing in Arctic and Northwest Coast culture areas. He has written, edited and contributed to several books on the whaling people. Arima lives in Ottawa, where he recently retired as ethnohistorian for National Historic Parks and Sites, Parks Canada.

Alan Hoover has written widely on the material culture and art of Northwest Coast peoples. He is co-author of the Royal BC Museum books The Legacy (1984) and The Magic Leaves (2002), and the editor of Nuu-chah-nulth Voices, Histories, Objects and Journeys (2000).