A red cedar model potlatch figure: a carved figure of a man standing with arms outstretched, wearing a breech clout and twined cedar bark or grass hat; with an integral rectangular base with rounded corners, inscribed.

This figure is a model of the large anthropomorphic welcome figures used in a potlatch, a First Nations ceremony of feasting, gift-giving and wealth redistribution. Guests arriving in a village are greeted by figures of this kind, often depicted with arms outstretched or shading their eyes as if looking out across the water for arrivals.

Doug LaFortune is a master carver from the Tsawout people of the Coast Salish First Nation, north-western Canada.