| Summary: | Transcribed from postcard: "The word "Potlatch" is from the Chinook Jargon, the trade language of the North Pacific Coast Indians. It means a gift or to give. In a larger sense the Indians applied it to a great festival at which gifts were made. Seattle's Golden Potlatch will be a great festival in celebration of the gift of gold by Alaska to the world through this City, the gateway of the Northern Empire. It will be a week of carnival and jollity. The opening date, July 17th, is the anniversary of the arrival of the first treasure ship." Recipient: "Miss Reid, 223 E 69 St." Message: "Am going to take a trip to this Mt Rey soon. Della" Description of the Golden Potlatch festival: "The success of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition encouraged local boosters to plan another ambitious event to showcase the city. The Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Advertising Club and the Press Club decided to create a civic celebration loosely modeled on the Northwest coastal Indian tribes' potlatch, a ceremony of friendship and sharing. Seattle held its first Potlatch in 1911, but the Golden Potlatch of 1912 was a far greater festival, meant to attract visitors from far and near.The summer carnival was both a cynical exploitation and a madcap spectacle. The Potlatch shamelessly looted the heritage of Pacific Northwest Indian people. The Golden Potlatch began with the arrival of the 'Hyas Tyee' -- or Big Chief -- in his great war canoe, visiting the city from his home in the far north. The Tillikums of Elttaes (Seattle spelled backward) paraded the streets in white suits, their hats draped in battery-powered lights, gladhanding any visitors who came their way. Bright-eyed members of the Press and Ad clubs, as well as the Chamber, slathered themselves in greasepaint, donned Chilkat blankets and pretended to be 'tyees' and 'shamans.' But the Golden Potlatch volunteers also offered a week of entertainment free to anyone in the city. Every day there was a different parade downtown -- of the fraternal orders, the labor unions, the ...
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