The word ''potlatch'' comes from the Chinook language, and means ''to give.'' A typical potlatch ceremony would take years to plan, and was held to recognize significant events in one's life: a birth, a marriage, a house-building, or mourning of the dead, for example. Potlatches were part of the ceremonies of the Kwakiutl, the Tlingit, and the Haida tribes.
The host and his relatives lavishly distributed gifts to invited guests, who were expected to accept any gifts offered with the understanding that at a future time they were to reciprocate The more gifts the host gave, the higher the status the host would achieve. Privileges such as names, dances, and songs cannot be used without out being publicly acknowledged and accepted by the witnesses of the potlatches.
Rivalry potlatches were also held to settle a claim to a song, dance, or perhaps a fishing spot. Each claimant would hold a potlatch; whoever gave the most away would be given the claim. Sometimes, the host of the potlatch would give away all of their posessions.
Franz Boas wrote in The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutle Indians (1897), ''The rivalry between chiefs and clans finds its strongest expression in the destruction of property. A chief will burn blankets, a canoe, or break a copper [shaped copper plates that served the function of money], thus indicating his disregard for the amount of money destroyed and showing that his mind is stronger, his power greater, than that of his rival. If the latter is not able to destroy an equal amount of property without much delay, his name is 'broken.'''
Take one item, and leave one item,
OR
Bring all of the items you've collected while geocaching (at least 10), take all of the items from the cache (except the logbook and pen), and leave all of your items.
The cache currently contains all item's I've found while geocaching, except for the things that GeoGrrrl found and any food items.
Resources used in this description include http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/articles/cyr0301.htm, Encyclopedia.com, http://www.schoolnet.ca/aboriginal/umista2/potlatch-e.html, and http://aboriginalcollections.ic.gc.ca/kwakwakawakw/potlatch.htm.
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