Conceived of by Dr. John C.Lilly, MD while in a deep state of communion with a Dolphin, the Cetacean Nation is a simple idea with profound implications.

Simply put, it is the idea that the Oceans of the world are one nation, and the Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises are the citizens of that nation.

From the first public announcement of this idea, in the 1960s, there has been a positive response.
However, to date, little has been accomplished in bringing it to fruition.
Roberta Goodman, long-time friend of Dr. Lilly, joined him in making the Cetacean Nation a formal proposal.
Michael Bailey, the indefagitable defender of Whales and Dolphins, thru his organization, Greenpeace Hawaii, has contributed a written proposal that outlines the steps that will most likely be required to gain recognition of the Cetacean Nation in the United Nations.

In addition, the document Michael and Dr. Lilly wrote describes a means to this end, by establishing a global electronic database specifically concerned with Inter-species communication research.

In 1996, when Scott Taylor met Dr. Lilly for the first time, he asked John what his fondest desire was to leave as a legacy.

Without hesitation, Dr. Lilly responded, "The Cetacean Nation."

Scott asked John for a description the concept, and a copy of the document written by Michael Bailey was fowarded to him.
When Scott read the proposal, he was delighted to discover the description of the global database. It was what he had been building, called the Cetacean Studies Institute.

From that point, Scott began a careful analysis of the original proposal, and decided that it needed to to be modified, to reflect the requirement of the larger public to be educated about all things Cetacean: science, literature, art, personal narratives, spiritual documents-- in short, anything that adds to Human understanding of the importance of Cetaceans.

With a massive public mandate, possibly headed by a childrens crusade to declare Peace between the Peoples of Land and Sea, the United Nations would, by necessity, accept the Cetacean Nation into the community of nations.
The edited version of that original document can be found here: The Cetacean Nation Proposal.

At this date (late 2000), a small core of individuals has been in discussion about the core strategies and policies of the Cetacean Nation Initiative.
A draft of the Declaration of Interdependence of the Cetacean Nation has been written; submissions for a flag design have been collected on a web site; several forums have been created for circulating discussion materials and announcements; and interest has been raised in moving the Initiative forward another step.

With the imminent return to commercial Whaling, expected to be suggested by Japan, Norway and several other nations, either in 2001 or 2002, at the International Whaling Commision meeting, the time to bring the Cetacean Nation concept to the public has arrived.

Twenty-Five years of activism, hard work, and people's lives on the line in defense of Whales, is under siege. We must not let the efforts to abolish Whaling, once and for all time, slip into the past.

For the first time, it is imperative that the smaller Cetaceans be given the same degree of protection. At the current time, there is no international authority in place to protect Dolphins. Japan intends to license the slaughter of 17,000 Dolphin this year alone.

It is time to put the Holocaust to an end. No more.

The Cetacean Nation is a worthwhile concept that will change the way people live their lives, for the better. Water, as the natural habitat of Dolphins and Whales, will have to be considered to be under their jurisdiction, and must be protected from pollution.

Shorelines must be managed to eliminate pollution, habitat destruction, and encroachment on their territory.

Fishing practices must be brought under strict guidelines, worked out in conjunction with the representatives of the Cetacean Nation, so as to preserve the health of the Oceans, and the safety of all Cetaceans.

Sonic pollution in the Oceans has reached deafening levels. In recent years, several technologies have been tested in the Oceans that have the potential to destroy not only the peace of the undersea realms, but the very lives of Cetaceans everywhere. This must be stopped, entirely.

The question of how they are to be represented naturally arises.
It was this question that inspired Dr. Lilly, in the 1950s, to pursue inter-species communication research. He wanted to "give them a voice", so that they might speak for themselves.

To date, this worthy goal has not been achieved. It is still being doggedly pursued by researchers in several places around the world, but funding has dwindled to minor trickles.

It is important that this research be given support at the level it deserves.

Representation of the interests of the Cetaceans must, for the time being, be undertaken by Humans.

After much discussion, this is the growing consensus of opinion on the subject:

By carefully observing Dolphins in their natural habitat, and by observation of them in Human managed facilities, it has become obvious that Dolphins enjoy the company of Humans, much of the time.
They will often choose, of their own free will, to engage in interaction with Humans.
It is clear that they prefer some Humans to others.

There is a small community of people around the globe who have developed extensive backgrounds in interacting with Dolphins.
Some are trainers in Aquatic parks;
some are wild-Dolphin swim trip leaders;
some are individuals who live by the sea and spend a great amount of time in the water with their friends;
and some have worked with Dolphins in cooperative therapeutic programs.
Some are Whale researchers, doing benign research from shores and ships;
some are philosophers of the Sea.

It appears that the Dolphins and Whales have chosen the people they want to be their representatives.

Few are radical agitators. Most are kind people who look for mutually beneficial solutions to problems. And they hold to very high principles in their pursuit of justice for Cetaceans.

It has been suggested that a school for training interspecies diplomats be established and funded by the United Nations. We include a paper on this subject under the heading: Exo-Diplomacy.

There are real problems that face the Cetacean Nation Initiative. They are not insurmountable, and must be approached with vigor and imagination.

The Cetacean Nation will call forward people of high spirit, deep compassion and sharp minds.
This is a turning point in history, and as usual, the Whales and Dolphins are behind it all....