Ku.éex' - Lingít (Tlingit), Wáahlaal - Xaad Kíl (Haida), Loolgit - Sm'algyax (Tsimshian)

When settlers and academics saw the ceremonies of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian, they called them potlatches. Potlatch is a word from the Chinook Jargon. Today, many prefer not to use the word potlatch, but their own traditional names for these ceremonies: ku.éex' in Lingít (Tlingit), wáahlaal in Xaad Kíl (Haida), loolgit in Sm'algyax (Tsimshian). It is often simply referred to as a party.

A ku.éex', wáahlaal, or loolgit is hosted by the clan raising the pole, and their guests are of the opposite clan. The balance of the relationship between the two clans is carefully dictated by protocol with every detail of the event holding meaning. The community works for months or even years leading up to the event, hand-making many items to share and gathering food for everyone attending.

At ku.éex', wáahlaal, and loolgit people come together to honor, arrange, and bear witness. During the celebration honorary names are bestowed, babies welcomed, leadership granted, and couples married. The celebration can last several days or even weeks, during which clan history is shared through storytelling and dances, the display of clan treasures, generous feasting, and the giving away of special gifts.

As part of the Canadian government's forced assimilation policies, potlatching was made illegal in 1885. The Potlatch Ban remained in effect in Canada until 1951. The U.S. government enacted similar policies forbidding the practice of Native cultures, traditions, and languages.

While some communities continued to hold cultural ceremonies in private during the early twentieth century, the effects of the potlatch ban were devastating to many Indigenous people who became cut-off from their cultures, traditions, and languages. Potlatches, ku.éex', wáahlaal, and loolgit are once again being held along the Northwest Coast, demonstrating the resilience, strength, and power of Indigenous peoples.