Doug Cranmer Huxwhukw mask
Timeline of the Potlatch Conflict
The Museum Compromise
Stories of the Potlatch Collection
Timeline of the Potlatch Conflict
In 1906, William M. Halliday became Alert Bay's Indian Agent. His supervisor, William Ditchburn, took office in 1910. Ditchburn was sent in 1913 to investigate a complaint against Halliday, and he became concerned about the potlatch during his visit. His report to Ottawa passed through the hands of clerk Duncan Campbell Scott, who later became Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Affairs. He commented, "It seems a great pity that we cannot do something to break up this abominable and wasteful aboriginal custom." (Cole and Chaikin 91) Though the potlatching custom had largely ceased in the wider area, it was still very much alive among the Kwakwaka'wakw, and these three wanted desperately to see this change. Daisy Sewid-Smith, a Kwakwaka'wakw, tells of the community's feelings about Halliday: "William May Halliday, Indian Agent, took it upon himself to make the Indians 'subject' to his laws. He would write letters to his superior suggesting changes in the present law to guarantee prison for those who would not 'submit' to his wishes." (7)
Left to right: Halliday, Ditchburn, Scott (Cole and Chaikin 104-105)
Halliday had tried to prosecute violators of the Act, but the cases resulted in dismissal or suspended sentences. The public no longer viewed the potlatch as a problem. As Judge McInnis, a judge in one case, said, "…no crime had been committed, even if there was a statute making it such." He thought it unlikely that "any judge in B.C. would do anything else than give a suspended sentence." In 1913, Halliday suggested in a letter to Scott, "it would very much simplify matters if the Indian Agent would summarily deal with this indictable offense." (Cole and Chaikin 102) Scott passed this recommendation to Parliament, and in 1918, they changed the law as requested. This major change made for "…greater control of cases being placed in the hands of Indian Agents." (Cole and Chaikin 102) Now, instead of the Indian Agent relying on the court system to indict and convict violators, he could act as detective, prosecutor, judge, and jury in the cases.