Casey Pender
@caseyjoepender.bsky.social
Post Doctoral Fellow in the Frank McKenna School of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) at Mount Allison University || Hobby woodworker and a big curling fan || www.caseypender.ca
(6/6) Link to the working version here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
The Potlatch as Memory: Ceremony and Gift-Giving along the Pacific Northwest
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, government and church officials actively sought to suppress Indigenous potlatch ceremonies along the Pacifi
papers.ssrn.com
June 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
(6/6) Link to the working version here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
(5/6) Together, we aim to provide a unique economic interpretation of Indigenous institutions, caution against paternalism, and advocate for Indigenous self-determination.
Still a working paper, so feedback and comments are very welcome!
Still a working paper, so feedback and comments are very welcome!
June 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
(5/6) Together, we aim to provide a unique economic interpretation of Indigenous institutions, caution against paternalism, and advocate for Indigenous self-determination.
Still a working paper, so feedback and comments are very welcome!
Still a working paper, so feedback and comments are very welcome!
(4/6) I’m so excited to share this paper finally—it’s been years in the making! Along the way, I gained a great coauthor, Till Gross.
June 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
(4/6) I’m so excited to share this paper finally—it’s been years in the making! Along the way, I gained a great coauthor, Till Gross.
(3/6) Oral societies, therefore, can invest in ceremony—feasts, song, dance, and dramatic retellings of history—as a form of collective memory. We argue that this explains some key economic benefits of the ceremonial aspects of the Potlatch.
June 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
(3/6) Oral societies, therefore, can invest in ceremony—feasts, song, dance, and dramatic retellings of history—as a form of collective memory. We argue that this explains some key economic benefits of the ceremonial aspects of the Potlatch.
(2/6) Gift-giving networks, however, are challenging to sustain without reputation-building mechanisms and the ability to punish free riders. Written ledgers (recordkeeping) solve this—oral societies needed another way.
June 17, 2025 at 12:39 PM
(2/6) Gift-giving networks, however, are challenging to sustain without reputation-building mechanisms and the ability to punish free riders. Written ledgers (recordkeeping) solve this—oral societies needed another way.