The Transformation of the Potlatch
Indigenous communities around Skokomish evolve the ancient tradition of the potlatch into a Fourth of July celebration.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Fourth of July among the Indians is taking the place of their old potlatches. It has become Bostonized by being changed to the summer—their potlatches usually having been in the fall or winter—by adopting the sports of the whites, and by being shortened to a week. But they still retain old characteristics: the event occupies several days, the expense is borne by a few, and there is a considerable distribution of gifts. This year, participants arrived from the Nisqually, Squaxin, Chehalis, and others. The main ceremony involved the reburial of deceased children, a task long delayed by government prohibition of traditional potlatches. Tyee Charley paid those who did the work and gave nine old men ten dollars each. On the Fourth, between 80 and 100 whites joined the festivities. Not a drunken man was seen on the grounds to mar the occasion.
“The Fourth of July among the Indians is taking the place of their old potlatches. It has become Bostonized.”
This account captures a pivot point where Indigenous cultural resistance was expressed through the deliberate adaptation of settler holidays. The 'potlatch' was banned by the federal government precisely because it was the glue of Indigenous governance and wealth redistribution; the fact that it continued under the guise of an American holiday shows how communities navigated the 'Civilization' era policies that sought to erase them.
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