Political Quotes

“I rise to offer a sense of the Senate resolution condemning the International Whaling Commission's recent vote against renewing quotas for aboriginal subsistence whaling by Alaska's Inuit people. I have always respected both the goals and the processes of the International Whaling Commission, but my support has been badly eroded by recent events. The Inupiat people of northern Alaska have engaged in environmentally responsible whaling practices for thousands of years, with no international supervision. They were forced to stand and watch as the great whales were decimated. Alaska's Inupiat people responded positively to the conservation goals of the International Commission, forming their own organization, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, which has participated wholeheartedly in International Commission meetings. The Alaska Commission has also put significant assets and effort toward research and monitoring that has proven conclusively that current Alaskan whaling poses no danger to the stocks of bowhead whales that are its target species. Whaling is more important to the communities of northern Alaska than most can possibly understand. It provides a critical element of their diet, a major staple for their survival. But beyond that, it is a custom that is deeply ingrained in the culture of the Inupiat people. Becoming a whaling captain is one of the greatest honors possible, and carries with it great responsibility.”