The Golden Potlatch (or Potlatch Days) was a festival in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, 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 The Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition, acronym AYP or AYPE, was a world's fair held in Seattle in 1909 publicizing the development of the Pacific Northwest. It was originally planned for 1907 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Klondike Gold R ...

in 1909. The 'Golden Potlatch' event was conceived to keep Seattle in the public eye. Seattle wanted to have an event that would challenge the

Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Association with the purpose of promoting the Portland region. It inclu ...

and gain national attention.unknown
Seattle Seafair Commodores History
, Accessed online 2009-05-05. 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.Col Thrush
Excerpt from Coll Thrush’s Native Seattle, 2007. Accessed online 2009-05-05.
/ref> 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.David Wilma
Seattle holds Golden Potlatch festival beginning on July 17, 1911
HistoryLink, 2001-05-12. Accessed online 2009-05-05.

First Golden Potlatch, July 17–21, 1911

The first Golden Potlatch took place July 17–21, 1911. It used Klondike Gold Rush imagery, reenacting the 1897 arrival of the steamboat ''Portland'' with its legendary "ton of gold". The ''Portland'' carried the festival's presiding figure, King D'Oro, avatar of golden wealth, along with a retinue of hoary prospectors and rambunctious dancing girls. Roughly 300,000 people attended parades,

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

s, automobile races up Queen Anne Hill, and an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurat ...

piloted by

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Lt.

Eugene Ely Eugene Burton Ely (October 21, 1886 – October 19, 1911) was an American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft take off and landing. Background Ely was born in Williamsburg, Iowa, and raised in Davenport, Iowa. Having c ...

. Water events have always been a feature of Golden Potlatch (and later Seattle Seafair) events. The first Golden Potlatch in 1911 had a small United States Navy fleet; the British sent a sloop-of-war. There was even a hydroplane exhibition run by the "Triad" owned by

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...

of airplane fame. In 1911, Robert A. Reid, Seattle, published a number of

postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

s as part of his Pacific Northwest Photographic Series to publicize the Golden Potlatch. These postcards identified Seattle as a destination available by 'sea, land and rail'. File:Potlatch19110001.jpg File:Potlatch19110002.jpg File:Potlatch19110003.jpg File:Potlatch19110006.jpg The Hopf Bros Co. of Seattle published another series of postcards by Edward H. Mitchell. These postcards provide a glimpse of tourist sights such as Mount Rainier and the

totem pole Totem poles ( hai, gyáaʼaang) are monumental carvings found in western Canada and the northwestern United States. They are a type of Northwest Coast art, consisting of poles, posts or pillars, carved with symbols or figures. They are usually ...

at Pioneer Square; commercial aspects of Seattle including

Colman Dock Colman Dock, also called Pier 52, is the primary ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington, United States. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal, now used by the Washington State Ferry system, is still called "Colman Dock". ...

and the

Grand Trunk Pacific dock The Grand Trunk Pacific dock was a shipping pier in Seattle, Washington. The original pier was built in 1910 and was destroyed in a fire in 1914. The pier was then rebuilt and continued in existence until 1964, when it was dismantled. The area ...

; and downtown street views such as First Avenue looking north, Second Avenue looking south from Spring Street, Second Avenue Looking North, Third Avenue looking north, Fourth Avenue looking south and Pike Street looking East.

Second Golden Potlatch, July 15–20, 1912

The second Golden Potlatch was held July 15–20, 1912. Once again postcards were distributed as 'Official Invitation to Seattle's Golden Potlatch'. Other postcards provided views of commercial streets in Seattle. The Klondike image of D’Oro was succeeded by Hyas Tyee Kopa Konoway (the Big Bug). "The Golden Potlatch," was promoted as a 'free' feast spread for the whole world and its brother. On the water, Jean Romano's wingless hydroplane, which looked like a giant spider, thrilled spectators with a 30 M.P.H. exhibition run off Harbor Island. Capitalizing on Seattle's borrowed Indian heritage, city leaders cranked up the marketing machine to promote their version of Progress. Local boosters called themselves "Tillikums," the word for friends in Chinook jargon, and led a number of civic celebrations. The Golden Potlatch Parade provided the 'Tillikums' an opportunity to ride in decorated cars and to sponsor themed floats.Sharon Boswell
'Seattle Spirit' Soars on Hype
Seattle Times 1896 - 1996, 1996-03-10 . Accessed online 2009-08-24. Many of these are illustrated in Kopf postcards.

Third Golden Potlatch, July 17–19, 1913

The 1913 started with high hopes but was marred by the "Potlatch Riots". On the first day of the Potlatch some soldiers and sailors were involved in a fistfight when an IWW

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines general ...

speaker supposedly 'insulted their uniforms'.Patrick McRoberts
Fistfight kicks off Seattle Potlatch riots on July 17, 1913
HistoryLink, 2000-07-13. Accessed online 2009-08-23. A newspaper story the next day further inflamed the situation resulting in soldiers and sailors aided by civilians looting and burning the offices of the IWW and the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

. A rear admiral in charge of the reserve fleet expressed regret about the outbreak and said he had dispatched a patrol to round up the troublemakers.Patrick McRoberts
Potlatch rioters sack IWW and Socialist headquarters on July 18, 1913
HistoryLink, 2000-07-13. Accessed online 2009-08-23. On July 19, 1913, Mayor George Cotterill, responding to street riots the previous evening during the Potlatch Days festival, declared an emergency, and assumed direct control of the police, closed saloons, banned street speakers, and attempted to temporarily close down The Seattle Times, which he believed provoked the riots.Patrick McRoberts
Mayor Cotterill declares state of emergency in midst of Potlatch riots on July 19, 1913
HistoryLink, 2000-07-13. Accessed online 2009-08-23. Despite the unrest on land, the 1913 Golden Potlatch staged three hydroplane races off Madrona Park: a 15-mile race for 16-footers, a 20-mile contest for 26 footers and a 30-mile free for all.

Tilikum Potlatch 1914

The 1914 Potlatch suffered as a result of the previous year's riots. Costs of launching other upcoming festivals, and timing of the fleet visits were also of concern to the Chamber of Commerce. "Tilikum Potlatch" was substituted for the Golden Potlatch name, as it was not produced by the Seattle Carnival Association and the Chamber of Commerce. Instead, it was produced directly by the Tilikums, (note spelling), the independent support participants of previous Golden Potlatches. The Tilikum Potlatch was scaled back to only four days and received only subdued press coverage. It is noteworthy for its Seattle Dads parade, one of many events around the country at this time which helped lead to the institution of Father's Day. After 1914, the coming of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the lack of support for organizing Potlatch celebrations marked the end of the Potlatch until the mid-1930s. In 1915, a 'Smile with Nile' national convention was held in Seattle during the week that had been used for Golden Potlatch (July 12–17). The Tilikums and the "Bug" symbol still made a few rare appearances.

Potlatch Celebrations 1934–1941

The Potlatch festival was revived in 1934. In 1939, the festival celebrated the Washington State Golden Jubilee 1889 - 1939 and was billed as the Seattle Potlatch of Progress and Fleet Week. Unfortunately the Festival was again terminated by war, this time by the U.S. entry into World War II in 1941. Today the annual

Seafair Seafair is a summer festival in Seattle, Washington, that encompasses a wide variety of small neighborhood events leading up to several major citywide celebrations. While many small block parties and local parades occur under the auspices of S ...

Celebrations at the end of July each year continue the golden Potlatch tradition.

Notes

{{reflist Festivals in Seattle History of Seattle