USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Often, potlatches were held as a form of celebration or commemoration. For example, welcoming a new chief, a marriage, an initiation ceremony, or the funeral of a significant tribe member. The chief would give food, gifts, and other items to guests to show off the wealth within a clan or tribe.

Detailed explanation-2: -The potlatch celebrated a change of rank or status with dancing, feasting, and gifts. Like many other societies, those of the Northwest Coast associated prestige with wealth, and the potlatcher gained prestige according to the liberality of his giving.

Detailed explanation-3: -Totem poles are monuments created by First Nations of the Pacific Northwest to represent and commemorate ancestry, histories, people, or events. Totem poles are typically created out of red cedar, a malleable wood relatively abundant in the Pacific Northwest, and would be erected to be visible within a community.

Detailed explanation-4: -Today potlatches are most often held to honor the passing of an elder or important person in the community. Potlatch hosts might take years to gather, make, and prepare gifts to be given away at a potlatch, including what is needed for the feast. Over time, potlatch gifts have changed.

Detailed explanation-5: -potlatch, ceremonial distribution of property and gifts to affirm or reaffirm social status, as uniquely institutionalized by the American Indians of the Northwest Pacific coast. The potlatch reached its most elaborate development among the southern Kwakiutl from 1849 to 1925.