Potlatch
A ceremonial feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast involving elaborate gift-giving, oratory, and sometimes destruction of wealth, serving to redistribute resources and reinforce kinship obligations.
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Origin
From the Chinook Jargon word patshatl ("to give away"), derived from the Nuu-chah-nulth language. Franz Boas documented elaborate Kwakwaka'wakw potlatches in the late 19th century, and Marcel Mauss made them central to his 1925 essay The Gift. The Canadian government banned the potlatch from 1885 to 1951.
Updated February 22, 2026