What boundary? What whale? Whose responsibility? - Governing Transboundary Waters: Canada, the United States, and Indigenous Communities - page 175

The analysis also revealed that, temporally, the First Nation was not included
in the public unfolding (through print media) in any substantive manner until
2004, which marked the start of the 9-day stand-off. Viewing the story backwards,
the late arrival of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht voice in the narrative is striking
considering the significance of Luna's arrival to the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First
Nation.
In general, the dominant narrative of the media situates Luna's behavior as
aberrant and relates to the “vulnerability” of the individual whale, and the subse-
quent efforts to “reunite” and “save” Luna. Luna is given no agency in the
discussions. The idea that Luna may have chosen to travel to Nootka Sound is
rarely considered in the print media, thereby reinforcing a dominant discourse of
“normalized” and dominant voice.
From policy to practice - navigating boundaries
The discourse analysis helped tease apart the many “voices” that aimed to speak
for Luna and interpret what was best for the animal. The narrative was developed
as a reflexive conversation between the actors presenting - and asserting - their
interpretation. The many years of scientific studies on J, K, and L pods (and orcas
in general) found Luna's behavior to be “aberrant”. The storyline of the chief
coming back to the community in the form of a sacred whale - in this case Tsu-
xiit - was less visible.
The normalization of a storyline that reinforces a dominant discourse - “A lost
whale that needs to be found”, rather than a whale who has “come home” to his
family - is, at its essence, about the normalization of the “louder” and “more
practiced” voice. It is this more visible voice that the general public has looked to
for guidance and authority. In this case, the scientific community, the governing
agencies, and the state/provincial politicians and bureaucrats all reinforced the
dialogue that Luna was in need of “saving” and “out of place”.
The authoritarian voice is reinforced by how the stories are presented in the
media. The genealogy of the unfolding and the emphasis of topics and perspectives
presented in the articles provide insights into how science, policy, and environ-
mental management mutually constitute (and reinforce) each other. However,
looking more closely at the timeline of the event shows that the plan to move
Luna was a powerful combination of public pressure to “remove” Luna (as a
nuisance and public safety issue for boaters) and “reunite” Luna (as a need to both
protect the endangered orcas and to save the “at risk” juvenile whale). Thus, the
story, in essence, has a subtext of power and privilege - that of the commercial
fishers' needs (and the role of the DFO to mediate these needs). Parsing the timing
of events helps to shed light on the privileging.
Tsu-xiit had, after all, resided in the traditional waters of the Mowachaht/
Muchalaht territory for a full year with little fanfare. During this time, Tsu-xiit
exhibited no behavior indicating an intention to return to his resident community
in Puget Sound. His food sources were plentiful, he inhabited waters much cleaner