UBC PRESS press release:

Following the removal of the gray whale from the Endangered Species list in 1994, the Makah tribe of northwest Washington State announced that they would revive their whale hunts; their relatives, the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation of British Columbia, shortly followed suit. Neither tribe had exercised their right to whale-in the case of the Makah, a right affirmed in their 1855 treaty with the federal government-since the gray whale had been hunted nearly to extinction by commercial whalers in the 1920s. The Makah whale hunt of 1999 was an event of international significance, connected to the worldwide struggle for aboriginal sovereignty and to the broader discourses of environmental sustainability, treaty rights, human rights, and animal rights. It was met with enthusiastic support and vehement opposition.

As a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, Charlotte Coté offers a valuable perspective on the issues surrounding indigenous whaling, past and present in her new book Spirits of our Whaling Ancestors: Revitalizing Makah & Nuu-chah-nulth Traditions. Whaling served important social, economic, and ritual functions that have been at the core of Makah and Nuu-chah-nulth societies throughout their histories. Her analysis includes major Native studies and contemporary Native rights issues, and addresses environmentalism, animal rights activism, anti-treaty conservatism, and the public's expectations about what it means to be "Indian."; These thoughtful critiques are intertwined with the author's personal reflections, family stories, and information from indigenous, anthropological, and historical sources to provide a bridge between cultures.

From the University of Washington:

Charlotte Coté is associate professor of American Indian studies at the University of Washington. She has been teaching in AIS since 2001. Dr. Cote received tenure in the fall of 2008 and will be promoted to Associate Professor in September, 2009. Dr. Cote' has a B. A. in Political Science from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and an M. A. and Ph.D. in Comparative Ethnic Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. She also has a Degree in Broadcast Communications from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Cote's research examines issues around Native governance, politics, law, and sovereignty in the United States and Canada. She has published numerous articles that cover issues such as traditional Indian law and justice systems, the Makah and Nuu-chah-nulth whaling tradition and the northwest coast Guardian Spirit Complex.

Dr. Cote' serves as Chair of the "House of Knowledge" Project Advisory Committee (HOKPAC), which is a project coordinated by Dr. Cote' and other Native American faculty, staff and students, to build a longhouse-style facility on the UW's Seattle campus. She also serves on the UW's Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP) board.

Dr. Cote' is also very active in the surrounding Native community. She is a member of the Potlatch Fund Foundation Board and have served in an advisory capacity to the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation and the Northwest Folklife Festival Cultural Committee. As well, Dr. Cote' is an executive member of the Seattle Art Museum Native Arts Council.

Dr. Cote' has taught: AIS 270 - Indians in the Pacific Northwest, AIS 335 - American Indians and the Law, AIS 431 - History of Indian Education, AIS 441 - Gender in Native American Societies, AIS 461 - First Nations Government and Politics in Canada, AIS 465 - First Nations Filmmaking in Canada. She also teaches a graduate course that examines Indian sovereignty and public policy issues.