Destroying wealth also gives evidence of wealthiness, as you cannot
destroy what you do not have. Among the Kwakiutl, the central symbol of
wealth, power, and prestige was the copper, "a shield shaped plate of beaten
copper that usually has a painted or engraved representation of a crest
animal on its surface" Qonaitis 1991, p. 12). Referring to this symbol,
Jonaitis notes: