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Frederick Dally
First Nations Peoples gathering during a Potlatch : 'Indian Potlach [sic] at the Songish Rancherie'
1870 (ca)
Albumen print
10.7 x 20.9 cm (image)
The Royal Collection
RCIN 2368824
LL/105253
Photograph of a Potlatch showing a large congregation of First Nations Peoples outside a wooden building and on which people are sitting on the roof. In the foreground stand two vertical stone pillars and on the left stands a totemic figure comprising two boulders placed on top of one another with a carved face at the base.
A Potlatch is gift-giving event practised by the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. These events were often held at a time when family gatherings would take place such as births, deaths and marriages. The totemic figure on the left may be a 'Speaker Figure' and was a representation of the speaker at a Potlatch.
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