World's Most Generous People: Alaskan Tribes Celebrates Gift-giving Event That Amounts To Millions Each Year

There are lots of generous countries in the world but nobody does it better than Alaska which spends millions worth of gifts to celebrate their gift-giving event. A ceremony that is celebrated every year has been practiced for a long time by the local tribes in the area.

Southeast Alaska is where the world's most generous people can be found which are the Tlingit and Haida tribes. The BBC reported that these native tribes have inhabited the region for almost 10,000 years now.

In the early days, these tribes have an unusual way of expressing their gratitude through a ceremony called ku.éx' which means "invitation to a ceremony." This event is where grand feasts occur with home-cooked meals, songs and gift giving.

It's a way of honoring important events in their lives like deaths, weddings, birthdays and social status advancements. The hosts would prepare for every invitee's gifts and during the big event, they would give away money, kitchen utensils, boats and food to every person who attended the ku.éx'.

However, the custom changed when foreign settlers came into the region. According to the New World Encyclopedia, the settling of the foreigners also brought foreign goods into the area like blankets and sheet copper. The sacred ceremony became an event of wealth acquisition which led to criminal acts and violence.

Due to the turn of events, Potlach, the other name which it's famously known for, was banned in 1867 by federal law. Clan leaders and noblewomen were put to jail and the clan houses and ceremonial objects were destroyed.

But the ban was lifted on 1951 and fortunately, the traditions and customs of generosity still remained. Until this day, the natives still practice the ceremony but preferred to use the traditional name ku.éx' since the term potlatch had some bad history connected to it.

Nowadays, there are about 30 ku.éx' being celebrated every year all over southeast Alaska. In fact, the total worth of gifts given have amounted to about $2 million each year.