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Potlatch, a highly regulated event historically common to most Northwest Coast native groups (see NATIVE PEOPLE, NORTHWEST COAST). The potlatch, from the Chinook word Patshatl, validated status, rank and established claims to names, powers and privileges. Wealth in the form of utilitarian goods such as blankets, carved cedar boxes, food and fish or canoes, and prestige items such as slaves and COPPERS were accumulated to be bestowed on others or even destroyed with great ceremony. Potlatches were held to celebrate initiation, to mourn the dead, or to mark the investiture of chiefs in a continuing series of often competitive exchanges between CLANS, lineages and rival groups.
A great potlatch could be many years in the making, might last for several days, and would involve fasting, spirit dances, theatrical demonstrations and distribution of gifts. An intolerant federal government banned the potlatch from 1884 to 1951, ostensibly because of native treatment of property. The last major potlatch, that of Daniel Cranmer, a KWAKIUTL from Alert Bay, was held in 1921. However, the goods were confiscated by native agents. By the time the ban was repealed in 1951, serious damage had been caused to tribal identities and social stratification. Potlatches are again held today, but they are not the large affairs they were in the past.
 Potlatch RegaliaDance regalia given up by Kwakiutl who attended Dan Cranmer's potlatch in 1921 at the village of Alert Bay, NWT (courtesy Royal British Columbia Museum).
 Potlatch, Announcing aOn a ceremonial dugout canoe, made from a single cedar log, costumed bird and animal dancers announce a potlatch (courtesy Lazare and Parker/National Wildlife Federation).
 CopperQueen Charlotte Islands, BC, Haida. Coppers were one of the most valued offerings at the potlatch (courtesy ROM).
Author
RENÉ R. GADACZ
Suggested Reading
U. Steltzer, Haida Potlatch (1984); D. Cole and I. Chaikin, An Iron Hand Upon the People (1990); Mary Beck, Potlatch: Native Ceremony and Myth on the Northwest Coast (1993).
Links to Other Sites
FirstVoices Language Archive
A website devoted to Canada's indigenous languages. Features program information, multimedia dictionaries, and related resources. Produced by The First Peoples' Cultural Foundation.
Four Directions Teachings
Elders and traditional teachers representing the Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwe, Mohawk, and Mi’kmaq share teachings about their culture. Animated graphics visualize each of the oral teachings. This website also provides biographies of participants, transcripts, and extensive learning resources for students and their teachers. In English with French subtitles.
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