Jonathan Clapperton details the importance of whaling to Puget Sound Coast Salish people (Puget Salish) along the Pacific Northwest Coast, thus challenging the commonly accepted notion that whaling was integral to only a select few Indigenous communities in this region. By considering oral traditions, place names, and artifacts, the intimate connection between Puget Salish and whaling becomes clear, demonstrating that they possessed the knowledge and proper protocols for capturing and harvesting whales. Clapperton thus invites us to assess critically past accounts that label Indigenous peoples as either whalers or non-whalers.
DOI: 10.5282/rcc/8968