Here, Bulpitt juxtaposes the American nuclear family (in this case, The Simpsons) with Haida ceremony to illustrate the difference he sees between being programmed within a system and having a cultural identity and abiding by ceremonial law. Haida law was traditionally upheld through complex potlatch ceremonies, during which copper shields were placed by the fire, upheld and danced at appropriate times, and sometimes cut to shame people. Potlatches were made illegal by the Canadian government in 1885 in an attempt at assimilation and cultural abolition. While the ban did a great deal of damage, it was ultimately unsuccessful and the cultural knowledge was not lost. Most Indigenous people from the Northwest Coast know about their clans, ancestors, and traditional systems of law, which are still maintained to this day.