Tilikums of Elttaes & the Seattle Potlatch boosters

The Tilikums of Elttaes were “a bunch of boosters“.  Do you know more about them?  Add it in a comment.

Their early 20th-century organization was headed by a Hyas Tyee or Tyee Kopa Konaway.

It was organized into 3 or 5 tribes, the Ikht, Moxt, Klone (etc.)–I’m finding conflicting reports from different times. 

Each tribe was led by its Tyee Ikht, Tyee Moxt, Tyee Klone (etc.).

The Potlatch Bug was their theme song, I reckon, as well as their mascot.

They supposedly procured the chant called “The Potlatch Hoot” from the granddaughter of the late Haida chief Skowl, and arranged it into “The March of the Tilikums“.

They concocted a mythology that combined the fierce strength of the more northerly tribes with the optimistic progressivism of the Seattle business community.

They had a lot of fun with it.

They traveled the West Coast to promote their summer festival.  In San Francisco the newspapermen said “Klahowya Six! to the Potlatch Bug / City extends hyas skookum Chinook welcome to Seattle carnival tyees“.

In closing, here’s an unrelated manifestation of the dominant culture playing with the notion of “potlatch” for fun:

It’s a modern game “The Great Potlatch”, from Small Box Games.