The Tilikums of Elttaes were a fraternal, civic organization composed primarily of influential white Seattle area businessmen, who used Native American imagery to promote tourism and the economic development of the city. In 1912 the Tilikums ("Friends" in Chinook Jargon; Elttaes is Seattle spelled backward) organized the first Potlatch celebration (an early version of Seafair) and financed the statue of Chief Seattle at Tilikum Place, a public square at the junction of Fifth Avenue, Cedar Street, and Denny Way.
On August 21, 1915, the group sponsored the fifth annual "Chief Seattle Day," a memorial service in honor of the man who gave his name to the city, Chief Si'ahl (Chief Seattle, circa 1785-1866). Led by Director of Ceremonies James Vernon Metcalfe (1887-1976), a lawyer who was later president of the Pioneer Association of the State of Washington, the service took place at Chief Seattle's gravesite in Suquamish, within the Port Madison Indian Reservation on the Kitsap peninsula. About 500 white people and an unrecorded number of Indigenous Peoples attended the ceremonies.
Caption information source: "Vessel Takes Guests to Celebration," The Seattle Daily Times, August 20, 1915, p. 18; "Suquamish Leader Presented Gold Key to City," The Seattle Sunday Times, August 22, 1915, p. 2; and "Chief Sealth Expert Heads Pioneer Group," The Seattle Times, June 25, 1969, p. 15. Caption information source: "Chief Seattle (Seattle, Chief Noah [born si?al, 178?-1866])," by Kenneth Greg Watson, HistoryLink.org Essay 5071.
Physical Description: 1 folded program ; 4.25 x 5.5 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
