NEAH BAY — The Makah Tribal Council knew about and approved an illegal whale hunt Sept. 8, says one of the hunters in documents filed in federal court.
Theron Parker, 45, provided U.S. District Court in Tacoma with statements to that effect as he sought leniency in the sentence he will receive on Monday.
Theron Parker and four other Neah Bay men — Wayne Johnson, Frankie Gonzales, William Secor and Andy Noel — are scheduled to appear for sentencing at 3 p.m. Monday in the federal court in Tacoma for their parts in the Sept. 8 hunt.
In one of five statements supporting Theron Parker’s bid for a shorter sentence, a witness said then-Tribal Chairman Ben Johnson Jr. told council members, “I think it’s time to go fishing.”
“He was referring to getting a whale,” wrote Luke Warkishtum of Port Angeles, who said he heard the comment almost two months before the hunt.
“The whole tribal council nodded in agreement.”
Warkishtum sent his statement to the hunter about a month after a gray whale, wounded by harpoons and high-powered bullets, sank in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Another witness, Paul Parker of Neah Bay, wrote about what he said was an exchange between Theron Parker and Ben Johnson:
“Theron asked Chairman Johnson, ‘What if I went out and got a whale?’ The chairman’s response was ‘Go ahead, get one.’
“Theron asked if he would have the Makah Tribal Council’s support.
“Ben [Johnson] said they would support the whale hunt if Theron decided to go out for a whale.”
