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Poster for Golden Potlatch celebration, 1911
Order an ImageThe Seattle Potlatch was an annual event to celebrate Seattle's prosperity after the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition held in 1909.
The name "Golden Potlatch" appropriates a Chinook Jargon word describing a Native ceremony celebration and gift giving. It also reflects the importance of the Klondike Gold Rush to Seattle's growth. Many organizers and participants in the Golden Potlatch dressed in stereotyped imitations of traditional Native attire, as part of a created Potlatch myth. The appropriation of Indigenous culture in order to market products or events was one common example of discrimination and marginalization faced by Native peoples in the United States.
The name "Golden Potlatch" appropriates a Chinook Jargon word describing a Native ceremony celebration and gift giving. It also reflects the importance of the Klondike Gold Rush to Seattle's growth. Many organizers and participants in the Golden Potlatch dressed in stereotyped imitations of traditional Native attire, as part of a created Potlatch myth. The appropriation of Indigenous culture in order to market products or events was one common example of discrimination and marginalization faced by Native peoples in the United States.
ID Number: Lib.SHS.18157
Date: 1911
Physical Description: 1 Poster; paper, glass, wood; 30 in.H x 19 in.W x 2 in.D (framed)
Credit: MOHAI, Lib.SHS.18157