

A SUGGESTION OF THE PLAN 
THE POTLATCH OF THE NORTH PACIFIC COAST 
By Lieutenant George T. Emmons 
HE potlatch is the distinctive feature of aboriginal life along the 
North Pacific Coast from the Strait of Fuca to the vicinity of 
Mt. St. Elias. It is the great giving ceremony when individ- 

OF THE TLINGIT RACE 
Underlying the potlatch as a social function is a deep 
religious fervor in the worship of ancestry and the com- 
munion with the dead 
uals and families gladly 
impoverish themselves 
that the dead may be 
honored, the emblem 
of the clan exalted 
and social standing rec- 
ognized or increased. 
What was probably 
a simple feast for the 
dead in primitive days, 
in the progress of time 
has become a most com- 
plex observance which 
however is regulated by 
the strictest laws of 
etiquette and though 
varying somewhat in 
minor details among 
different tribes is recog- 
nized in the main by all. 
