As an Indian agent among the Kwakiutl, Halliday described the potlatch as 'evil'. In 1914 he wrote, "The law against the potlatch has been passed because it has been seen that where the potlatch exists there has been no progress and the Government wants to see the Indians advance to that they are on the same footing as the white men, and this can not be as long as the potlatch continues."

BOOKS:

Potlatch and Totem: The Recollections of an Indian Agent (Toronto: J.M. Dent, 1935)

[BCBW 2004] "Anthropology" "First Nations" "1900-1950" "First Nations"