780 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 5 SEPTEMBER 2021
Halliday reported that the court—he had apparently involved another
justice of the peace—decided that if the Indians signed this agreement and
surrendered the property, it would be prepared to give suspended sentences
to first offenders and recommend to the Minister of Justice that several
second offenders be given parole. Halliday reported to Ottawa his firm
belief “that the potlatch has been killed as they are all afraid to go on any
further with it realizing that they are fighting a losing game. They have
spent in the last few years possibly $10,000.00 in deputations and lawyer’s
fees etc. in connection with it and they feel that it is money thrown away.”
The accused and their communities faced a difficult choice. There was
some threat that some or all of the remaining attendees at the December
potlatch could still be charged. However, the objects that would need to be
surrendered were incredibly significant. Ultimately, different communities
decided to proceed in different ways. Accused were ultimately sentenced,
in April 1922, “according to which tribe they belonged”, so individuals were
either sent “to jail or released … on suspended sentence in accordance to
the manner in which their tribe had accepted the agreement.”34 The
‘Namgis—to which Dan Cranmer and, through marriage, Emma Cranmer,
belonged—were among those who accepted the agreement and surrendered
large quantities of items.
The surrendered material was taken to Halliday at Alert Bay. A teenaged
witness at Cape Mudge (whose community also proceeded with the agreement)
later told of seeing the scow that “picked up the big pile of masks
and headdresses and belts and coppers – everything we had for potlatching”;
“our old people who watched the barge pull out from shore with all
their masks on it said: ‘There is nothing left now. We might as well go home.’
When we say ‘go home’ it means to die”.35 Halliday reported that at first he
piled the “at least 300 cubic feet” of surrendered material in his wood shed.
However, he “arranged with the Anglican Church to obtain the use of the
parish hall to open this stuff up and tabulate it on condition that we allow it
to be put on exhibition for a couple of days to pay for the use of the hall.”
The plan was then to direct the material to museums in Canada.
Not all Kwakwaka’wakw communities surrendered their potlatch items,
and as such, some of their members went to prison. Halliday’s tally in April
1922 was as follows. Fifty-eight informations had been laid, leading to 9 dismissals,
23 suspended sentences, 22 sentences of two months’ imprisonment
(including for four women), and four sentences (for second offenders)
of six months, though for three belonging to groups that had ascribed to the
agreement, arrangements were made for early release. Some appeals were
initiated but unsuccessful.