Potlach events were usually hosted by a numaym in the culture of Kwakwaka'wakw, an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
N.B. This overview concerns the Kwakwaka'wakw potlatch. Potlatch traditions and formalities and kinship systems in other cultures of the region differ, often substantially. The event was hosted by a numaym, or 'House', in Kwakwaka'wakw culture. The Kwakwaka'wakw (IPA: [kakkwak), also known as the Kwakiutl (/kwkjtl/; "Kwak'wala-speaking peoples") are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. 
