Admin Are potlatches still illegal?
As part of a policy of assimilation, the federal government banned the potlatch from 1884 to 1951 in an amendment to the Indian Act. However, the ban did not completely eradicate the potlatch, which still exists in various communities today.
What are potlatches like today?
Today’s potlatch involves feasting, singing, dancing, and speeches— but one of the most unique aspects of the ceremony is the distribution of gifts to all invited guests. Guests serve an important role in the potlatch.
What is the history of the Kwakiutl?
“Kwakiutl” was initially and properly applied only to one local group, the Walas Kwakiutl of Queen Charlotte Strait, British Columbia, but was subsequently used by fur traders and others to designate the four groups (including the Walas Kwakiutl) that assembled at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Fort Rupert in the 1850s.
What are the three main groups of the Kwakiutl?
There were once about thirty groups there that fell into these main divisions: the Kwakiutl, the Haisla, the Heiltsuk (Bella Bella), and Wuikinuxv (Owekeeno or Rivers Inlet people). For centuries the Kwakiutl enjoyed the natural bounty of the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding forests.
Why did the Kwakiutl do potlatches?
For centuries the Kwakiutl enjoyed the natural bounty of the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding forests. Because their need for food was easily met, the people were able to devote much of their time to artistic pursuits and ceremonies such as potlatches (pronounced POT-latch-ez; gift exchanges).
What is the relationship between the Southern Kwakiutl and their neighbours?
Southern Kwakiutl border the Chickliset Nootka and Comox Salish on Vancouver Island and Homathco and Klahuse Salish and Owikeno Kwakiutl on the mainland. Relations with all these neighbors were similar to those that obtained among the Southern Kwakiutl groups themselves: a mixture of bellicose raiding and amicable feasting, marriage, and trade.