Raptor, condolences on your loss. The one year anniversary is usually the toughest to get through.

This is very common practice in native communities, though I haven't heard the term 'feast for the dead' before. Here in the upper midwest, these are simply called 'memorials'. They include a feast, a pow wow, and a give away put on by the family of the deceased. Was your wife a member of a native community, and her family that is putting this on? Putting on a memorial is a complex thing to do.