Potlatch

(Potlatch Dancers posing in potlatch regalia, Fort Rupert, 1914. Photo: Edward S. Curtis)

The potlatch is a traditional gathering held by many of the coastal aboriginal

groups.
A potlatch was the primary means for the Pacific Coast tribes to confirm in public
any changes in status such as marriages, birth, death, and coming of age.

The potlatch was also a primary means of

distributing wealth. The ceremony ended
with the host presenting gifts to every guest.
Gifts could include canoes, blankets, and
carved dishes.

(Gifts to be distributed to guests at a potlatch given by Bob Harris ca 1914, Alert Bay)

(Potlatch Dancers)

The more wealth distributed by the host the greater respect they received from
the community. In return, the higher status guests were expected to hold their
own potlatches where they would give even more. Even if an individual hosting a
potlatch completely impoverished himself/herself, he/she could expect the return
of wealth when he/she attended other potlatches as a guest.

(Blankets, the dominant potlatch item in late nineteenth-century Kwakiutl potlatching, are shown piled high in
preparation for giving.)

The federal government outlawed potlatches in 1884 but the ceremony

continued in many communities, and in 1951 the law was deleted from the
revised Indian Act. Today potlatches still occur, but the gifts tend to be money or
household items and they usually last only a weekend, while in the past they may
have gone on for two or three weeks.

Potlatch

(Potlatch Dancers posing in potlatch regalia, Fort Rupert, 1914. Photo: Edward S. Curtis)

The potlatch is a ___________

aboriginal groups.

_______________held by many of the coastal

A potlatch was the primary means for the Pacific Coast tribes to confirm in public
any changes in _______ such as _________,
,
, and _________
_______________________.
The potlatch was also a primary means of
distributing
. The ceremony
ended with the host presenting
to every guest. Gifts could include
,
___________, and ____________________.

(Gifts to be distributed to guests at a potlatch given by Bob Harris ca 1914, Alert Bay)

(Potlatch Dancers)

The more ________ distributed by the host the greater

they received
from the community. In return, the
guests were
expected to hold their own potlatches where they would
.
Even if an individual hosting a potlatch completely ______________
himself/herself, he/she could expect the
of
when he/she
___________ other potlatches as a
.

(Blankets, the dominant potlatch item in late nineteenth-century Kwakiutl potlatching, are shown piled high in
preparation for giving.)

The federal government __________ potlatches in _____ but the ceremony

continued in many communities, and in _______ the law was deleted from the
revised Indian Act. Today __________ still occur, but the gifts tend to be
________ or household items and they usually last only a ____________, while in
the past they may have gone on for _______ or _________weeks.