Our People | Our People | Living Tradition, The Kwakwaka'wakw Potlatch on the Northwest Coast

Our People

Potlatch Means to Give

Film: Barbara Cranmer, UCC

Close-up view of a transformation mask, carved from cedar and brightly decorated, shown in the open position.

My people, the Kwakwaka'wakw, have been guided by our ancestors. Our stories of origin are based on our first ancestors. Ceremonial masks tell of our beginning and share our identity and where we come from.

Image of a Kwakwaka’wakw dancer at a potlatch wearing ceremonial regalia consisting of a button blanket, carved and decorated frontlet.

When one's heart is glad, he gives away gifts. It was given to us by our creator, our way of doing things, of who we are. The potlatch was given to us as a way of expressing joy. Everyone on Earth is given something. This was given to us.

Image shows a group of Kwakwaka’wakw taking part in a mourning ceremony during a Potlatch, front row of elders in button blankets.

Today, most potlatches are held as memorials for loved ones. Mourning songs are sung to shake off the sadness, wipe away tears, and set the spirit free.

Legend: How Gwa’nalalis Became a River

Film: Barbara Cranmer, UCC

Aerial photograph of the Nimpkish River with forest in the background.

The most important part of our identity and who we are as ‘Namgis is established by our first ancestors' story and places us directly at our Gwa'ni River.

Photograph of a forest setting in which the camera aims upward to the sky and tree tops.

When the Transformer, K´aniki’lakw, travelled around the world, he eventually returned to the place where Gwa'nalalis lived.

Photograph of a mountain range with traces of snow near the peaks and a band of forest in the foreground.

K´aniki’lakw asked, "Would you like to become a cedar tree?" Gwa'nalalis replied, "No. Cedar trees, when struck by lightning, split and fall. Then they rot away for as long as the days shall dawn in the world." K´aniki’lakw asked again, "Would you like to become a mountain?" "No," Gwa'nalalis answered. "For mountains have slides and crumble away for as long as the days shall dawn in the world."

Photograph of a backlit mountain top set against a bright cloudless sky.

The Transformer asked a third question, "Would you like to become a large boulder?" "No, do not let me become a boulder, for I may crack in half and crumble away for as long as the days shall dawn in the world." "Finally, K´aniki’lakw asked, "Would you like to become a river?"

Aerial perspective photograph of the Nimpkish River show in the center of the image with forest on both sides.

"Yes, let me become a river, that I may flow for as long as the days shall dawn in the world," Gwa'nalalis replied. Putting his hand on Gwa'nalalis' forehead, and pushing down prone, K´aniki’lakw said, "There, friend. You will be a river and many kinds of salmon will come to you to provide food for your descendants, for as long as the days shall dawn in the world." And so, the man Gwa'nalalis became the river, Gwa'ni.

Wakas pole in front of family’s Bighouse

Alert Bay, early 20th Century, K´wamx’udi, Chief Charlie Walkus, also called Numas, was the owner of this Bighouse. Guests would enter through the beak of the Raven, which was made from a canoe. The right to display the Wakas house-front and pole comes from the neighbouring Wuikinuxv First Nation, River’s Inlet.

Photo: National Archives of Canada, PN 47754

People of the Potlatch

“We are the Kwakwaka'wakw, the Kwak´wala-speaking people. We are eighteen tribes whose territory reaches from northern Vancouver Island southeast to the middle of the island, and includes smaller islands and inlets of Smith Sound, Queen Charlotte Strait, and Johnstone Strait.”
— Barb Cranmer, ‘Namgis Nation

The Kwakwaka'wakw (pronounced: KWOK-wok-ya-wokw) of British Columbia have built a rich culture that reflects and acknowledges the riches in our natural environment. Our songs, stories, dances, and ceremonial objects honor the animals, rivers, cedar trees, salmon, and all those things that help to sustain the Kwakwaka'wakw physically and spiritually. Since a time beyond memory, the Kwakwaka'wakw have been hosting potlatch ceremonies and potlatching continues to play a central and unifying role in community life today.

The First Nations peoples of the North Pacific Coast region of North America share some cultural similarities that relate to our shared surroundings—the land, sea, climate, and resources. Over time, First Nations groups have changed in various political, social, and economical ways; yet they maintain their traditions. In Canada, First Nations people prefer to be identified by their tribal affiliations. As a group of people, the commonly accepted term in Canada is First Nations peoples. There are 197 distinct First Nations in British Columbia alone.

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