The Makah Museum is a community founded and designed museum that was created in response to the uncovering of the former Ozette village that had been buried for centuries as a result of a "great slide" catalogued in the Makah oral history. The Ozette archaeological site is located in Neah Bay, a stretch of land nestled in the north-western most part of Washington very near the U.S.- Canadian border.
Contents of the Exhibits
The museum houses around 55,000 artifacts, all dating back to around 300-500 years ago and displaying various aspects of Makah culture. The photos, examples of traditional basketry as well as other crafts, and replicas of canoes used by the Makah hunters are all woven together to tell the story of the Makah people and their time spent at Ozette. The museum houses many artifacts that came from the whaling and sealing practices that were the primary food source of the community and the carefully designed tools and animal artifacts demonstrate their great skill and the reverence they held for the creatures they hunted.
"For Makah, whale hunting is less about killing and more about being worthy enough to ask for the life of such a grand creature."
The quote above reflects the Makah, and generally Indigenous idea of respecting and honoring your food sources, both through ensuring purity of self and utilizing all aspects of the animal in various forms. In the western world, waste is normalized, and we are so far removed from the processes that produce and transport our food to the table in front of us that it all has become a commodified mystery. In the face of climate change and a steadily growing population, the rest of the world is catching up to what Indigenous communities have always known and lived by; we must respect and replenish the earth's resources, and the only substantial way forward is subsistence agriculture and hunting. Excess is a norm that cannot be allowed to continue.
Other Resources Through the Museum
If you're looking to get more of a first hand look at the Makah culture, the museum offers demonstrations in traditional weaving and carving, lectures of various aspect of Makah tradition, and even workshops where you can create traditional Makah crafts with the guidance of community members. The museum is housed within a larger cultural research center that holds archives rich with photos and other primary documents detailing Makah history as well as language programs designed to preserve the Makah Language and educate Makah children on their heritage and place in the world. Though I haven't had a chance to visit yet, it is clear that this museum creates a thorough and holistic view into a very special culture, that would not have had the same impact if the artifacts and history had been removed from their cultural context and attempted to be explained by outsiders.
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