Native American Whaling

I am doing my research project on Native American Whaling. I was going to focus on the Makah tribe but then I decided to have a larger range of tribes in my research. So far, I have learned that whales were hunted in the early 1600's, mainly for cultural purposes or to sell the whale to the Europeans for material goods and trinkets. A lot of what I found was basically the same information from any other book or website I found. I found that the Makah tribe said they wouldn't whale anymore due to conservation purposes but commercial whaling was the issue of the almost extinct population of whales. I think the Natives purposes for hunting whales were a lot more logical because it was cultural, the whales are respected for what they give to the tribe, and they are a source of food, just like fish is to us. I'd like to know what peoples views are on Native American whaling verse commercial whaling and whether or not you think that what they Makah tribes, and any other tribes you know about that whale, are doing is okay. I'm just curious as to what others opinions are on the subject.