THE ALKATCHO CARRIER OF BRITISH COLUMBIA 3779

the dead, after the completion of the grave box, and to a large
extent these feasts follow the old forms. But potlatches for rising
in rank are completely gone. The funeral potlatch itself bestows
no rank distinction upon the family, and is no longer the occa-
sion for the assumption of names and prerogatives by the heir.

Two principal factors may be cited as forming the causal
nexus for the breakdown of the potlatch-rank complex. First,
the contact with the Whites and the gradual acceptance of West-
ern evaluations upon property have tended to make the Indians
rather reluctant to give up property. The Whites, they observe,
either spend their money on luxuries or put it in the bank.
Finally, the changes in trap-line ownership and their effects upon
the structure of the extended family, the codperative potlatch
unit, removed the essential props from the body of the potlatch-
rank system. Direct pressure for the elimination of potlatching
was applied by the government and by the Church. But inas-
much as neither agency could effectively enforce a potlatch pro-
hibition it is obvious that external sanctions alone could not
have disrupted the system. The concurrence, however, of this
direct pressure along with a changing valuation of property and
the weakened sanctions maintaining the unity of the extended
family was a blow that the potlatch-rank complex could not long
withstand. The operation of the latter factor was probably de-
cisive.

Today the basic social group is the individual family, each
economically and politically independent. A younger brother
who at one time was economically dependent upon the senior
sibling now has his own trap-line and need not codperate in any
way. Furthermore, just as the breakup of the codperative unit
would hinder potlatching, any tendencies effective in invalidat-
ing the potlatch structure would in turn weaken the family struc-
ture which had achieved its initial unity through the potlatch
system. The reciprocal interaction of these two forces was then
instrumental in effectuating the gradual disintegration of the
potlatch system. The individualization of families in terms of
land ownership must also have led to individualization of be-
havior. Sadeku members no longer live together, and individual
families are separated for long periods during the hunting season.