Contesting Leviathan: Activists, Hunters, and State Power in the Makah Whaling Conflict

In 1999, off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, the first gray whale in seven decades was killed by Makah whalers. The hunt marked the return of a centuries-old tradition and, predictably, set off a fierce political and environmental debate. Whalers from the Makah Indian Tribe and antiwhaling activists have clashed for over twenty years, with no end to this conflict in sight.

In Contesting Leviathan, anthropologist Les Beldo describes the complex judicial and political climate for whale c...