<P> A potlatch is a gift - giving feast practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States , among whom it is traditionally the primary economic system . This includes the Heiltsuk , Haida , Nuxalk , Tlingit , Makah , Tsimshian , Nuu - chah - nulth , Kwakwaka'wakw , and Coast Salish cultures . Potlatches are also a common feature of the peoples of the Interior and of the Subarctic adjoining the Northwest Coast , though mostly without the elaborate ritual and gift - giving economy of the coastal peoples ( see Athabaskan potlatch ) . </P>
<P> A potlatch is a gift - giving feast practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States , among whom it is traditionally the primary economic system . This includes the Heiltsuk , Haida , Nuxalk , Tlingit , Makah , Tsimshian , Nuu - chah - nulth , Kwakwaka'wakw , and Coast Salish cultures . Potlatches are also a common feature of the peoples of the Interior and of the Subarctic adjoining the Northwest Coast , though mostly without the elaborate ritual and gift - giving economy of the coastal peoples ( see Athabaskan potlatch ) . </P>
the redistributive feast of the pacific northwest coast is called a
the redistributive feast of the pacific northwest coast is called a
potlatch
potlatch