I like to think that I have a healthy contempt for political correctness; I do not overly romanticize communities that enjoy long, traditional social systems; and I am largely skeptical of the way the epithet "wisdom" is so facilely applied to ancient cultures. But I'd have to choke a little hard to apply the phrase "primitive societies" to the Coast Salish, Haida, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Gitxsan, and Tsimshian First Nations who practice the potlatch. Quite aside the pejorative aspect of the description, it obscures the fact that the potlatch remains a vibrant, contemporary practice. While the potlatch was banned in Canada between 1855 and 1951 – and for a similar period within the United States, I believe – it did not disappear and retains a social and economic relevance in those First Nations communities for whom it is customary.
Still your basic point is a good one: potlatching is a superb example of a gift economy practice.
Yvonne Wilson of Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations has written an interesting explanatory comment on potlatching in the context of a discussion on the gift economy, here.
On Dec 18, 2011 MBJ wrote:
Paul:
I like to think that I have a healthy contempt for
political correctness; I do not overly romanticize communities that enjoy long,
traditional social systems; and I am largely skeptical of the way the
epithet "wisdom" is so facilely applied to ancient cultures. But
I'd have to choke a little hard to apply the phrase
"primitive societies" to the Coast Salish, Haida, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Gitxsan, and
Tsimshian First Nations who practice the potlatch. Quite aside the pejorative aspect of
the description, it obscures the fact that the potlatch remains a vibrant,
contemporary practice. While the
potlatch was banned in Canada between 1855 and 1951 – and for a similar period
within the United States, I believe – it did not disappear and retains a social
and economic relevance in those First Nations communities for whom it is
customary.
Still your basic point is a
good one: potlatching is a superb example of a gift economy practice.
Yvonne Wilson of Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations has written an interesting
explanatory comment on potlatching in the context of a discussion on the gift
economy, here.
MBJ