While visiting her auntie and uncle, Amelia Rea paused and stared into a kitchen cabinet overflowing with mugs gifted over the years at potlatches. Each mug, she said, was filled with family history: ...

Among the Kwakiutl and several other indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest, the potlatch was a ritual of hospitality. The host would invite guests to a big feast and then distribute gifts. The ...