Letters

I would like to respectfully request an apology in writing in Seattle Weekly for slanderous and libelous remarks made by Geov Parrish in his 11/19 Impolitics column titled "Blowholes and Blowhards."

Mr. Parrish accused me of being a moron and a racist. I would like to request some documentation, sources, or references that back up his allegations. My record of working with Native-rights issues is second only to my record of working on conservation issues.

Does Mr. Parrish have evidence that I am "oblivious to the rights of self-determination—as well as to a history of genocide, ongoing racism and poverty on the reservation, and at times their own bigotry . . ." (?).

I don't believe that he can produce a single shred of evidence that any of his accusations are true, and as such his accusations are a slander and a libel. On the contrary, I have three decades of writing and activism under my belt specifically dealing with Native American self-determination. I was a medic for the American Indian movement during the occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973. I am a warrior brother to the Lakota Oglala nation. I led the occupation of the Santa Maria in 1991 on behalf of the Gitk'san We'suet'tewn nation of British Columbia. I stood with the Kaiyapo in Amazonia to oppose a major dam project in 1989. I taught a class on Native American history at Vincennes College in Paris. Does this sound like a person who is oblivious of Native American history?

Mr. Parrish attributed a quote to me that is fiction, extracted from a story in The Seattle Times. I don't recall an inquiry from him to verify if I said what he accuses me of saying.

In the caption under the photograph, Mr. Parrish displayed blatant bigotry in referring to the occupants as having a "self-righteous white ass." One of the occupants of that kayak is Lisa Distefano, who is of halfNative American descent.

Did Mr. Parrish know that the captain of the Sea Shepherd, Mat Lawson, is a full-blooded Ojibway Indian? Did Mr. Parrish know that six of our crew are Native American? Did Mr. Parrish know that many Native Americans, including Makahs, are members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society? No, he did not, because Mr. Parrish did not bother to contact us before spewing his venom.

Does Mr. Parrish have any evidence that I am a moron? I am an instructor in ecology at UCLA and at the Pasadena Center for Design. I have authored five books and I write a column for Ocean Realm magazine. A responsible journalist would back up such absurd allegations with facts. I am also a sea captain. What qualifies as "moron" by Mr. Parrish's definition? Do you have facts available to back up Mr. Parrish in his statements? If not, I believe I am owed an apology.

Is this what journalism has been degraded to in Seattle Weekly? It seems that your interpretation of journalism is to have a writer with a personal bias be given free rein to distort the truth and to slander reputations for no other reason than that it suits his fancy to do so. I guess checking facts would have gotten in the way of a good diatribe.

So, do I get my apology, or do you provide me with evidence of these allegations?
Captain Paul Watson
Founder and president
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Geov Parrish replies: Lynda Mapes of The Seattle Times absolutely stands by the quote Mr. Watson disputes, and further says he has never asked the Times for a retraction.

Mr. Watson has repeatedly chosen to ally himself with the widespread anti-Indian sentiment in this state in order to advance his own political agenda. As the Makahs noted before their face-to-face meeting last month, material from the Sea Shepherds, including the Web sites associated with their efforts, had crossed the line from anti-whaling to anti-Indian.

Mr. Watson, no matter what his Wounded Knee bona fides (and honestly, what kind of Wounded Knee vet would call in the FBI to back him up in a res dispute, as he did against the Makahs?) is not qualified to determine what is or isn't appropriate to Makah cultural traditions. He is not qualified as a white person to decide unilaterally when treaties signed by sovereign governments—ones signed at gunpoint to give whites every possible advantage, no less—are archaic and invalid. Throw in the fact that a white person is giving comfort and strength to the movement to end all treaty rights in Washington, and the term "racist" seems amply supported by the facts. (I won't go into the basis for invoking the term "moron," but it's there in the article and the letter for all to see.) There are plenty of ways to oppose the horrors of whaling without going down these roads.

Lastly, the photo and caption weren't mine; I was as offended by them as Mr. Watson was, and extend my apologies to the women in the photo.