The Golden Potlatch (or Potlatch Days) was a festival in Seattle, Washington, United States in 1911–1914 and 1934–1941. The idea of an annual Festival in Seattle followed the success of the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition in 1909. The 'Golden Potlatch' event was conceived to keep Seattle in the public eye.[1] Seattle wanted to have an event that would challenge the Portland Rose Festival and gain national attention.[2] Seattle's Potlatch festival was also a way for a certain class of Seattleites—specifically, the city's new commercial elite—to tell stories about the city and its history. Called a "triumph of symbolism" by one observer, the Potlatch appropriated Native imagery to create a regional vision of civic development.[3]
The name derived from the potlatch, the Chinook Jargon name of a festival ceremony that had been practiced by indigenous peoples of the region; "golden" reflected Seattle's role in the Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s.[1]
- ^ a b David Wilma, Seattle holds Golden Potlatch festival beginning on July 17, 1911, HistoryLink, 2001-05-12. Accessed online 2009-05-05.
- ^ unknown, Seattle Seafair Commodores History Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed online 2009-05-05.
- ^ Col Thrush, Excerpt from Coll Thrush’s Native Seattle, 2007. Accessed online 2009-05-05.