“Potlatch” is a word that is unfamiliar in many cultures, yet a popular event in others. Trying to imagine what the meaning of the word is could bring to mind several possible images. A fastener on a pot would be the most common first impression, but that actually has nothing to do with the term. If you’ve heard of a “pot luck” meal, you’re closer to the definition.
A potlatch, according to Barbara Miller, author of Cultural Anthropology (2007), is “a feast in which the host lavishes the guests with abundant quantities of the best food and many gifts.” This is quite a bit more involved in the contributions of favorite casseroles brought to the pot luck meal today.
A British Columbian people in the late eighteenth century, the Kwakwaka’wakw, were a tribal group who honored neighboring tribes with the potlatch. The best and most honorable foods were fish oil, high-bush cranberries, and seal meat. The serving dishes were the best – ceremonial dishes – and made of wood. Gifts were also exchanged and included blankets with fine embroidery, household items such as wooden boxes with intricate carvings, mats woven by the host tribe, canoes, and food items.
The chief decided what would be given, and his status would rise as he gave more. His guests would then be indebted to him. Then later, when it was their turn to hold the potlatch, they would try to outdo the previous tribal host’s efforts. Although this seems to be a pleasant tradition, it was much more than that. It was symbolic of prosperity and also served a practical purpose. As food supplies were sometimes uneven due to weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest, the sharing of surplus was a way to help others. Groups that had a surplus sponsored potlatches, and the groups that were experiencing hardships were the guests. Miller states, “In this way, potlatching established a social safety net across a wide area of the Northwest.”
Potlatching is one means of sharing, which is common in other cultures, as well. It is a way of redistribution of prosperity in a balanced exchange, and is used as a “leveling mechanism.” It is a “key value” among Native American groups, such as the Cheyenne of the Great Plains region of the United States. They share within one’s extended family and with other families. Some of the exchange items there include food, tools, jewelry, and sometimes vehicles.
Among the native people of Canada and the northwest coast of the U.S., there was strict opposition from the Europeans and Euro-Americans, says Miller. Missionaries were opposed to the potlatch because they looked at it as un-Christian. The government saw it as wasteful and excessive, and it did not fit into their vision of economic progress. Because of this, the potlatch was outlawed in 1885. The Kwakwaka’wakw fought the restrictions more deliberately and continued their customs. They were successful in overturning the restrictions and laws prohibiting the potlatch, but it was a long, uphill battle. The potlatch is no longer illegal.
Today, the potlatch is used to celebrate naming of children, mourn the dead, transfer rights and privileges, celebrate marriages, and raise totem poles. It still takes time to organize a proper potlatch, but less time than in the past. It is now down to about a year for planning as opposed to several years’ planning. Enough goods must be accumulated to make sure no guests go home without gifts.There may be 500-1000 people invited to today’s potlatch.
The goods that are most popular now are “crocheted items (cushion covers, blankets, potholders), glassware, plastic goods, manufactured blankets, pillows, towels, articles of clothing, and sacks of flour and sugar.” As we can see, the potlatch endures but changes with time.
