The name Cowlitz Tribe refers to two Northwest Native American groups, the Lower and Upper Cowlitz, and the river drainage that was their aboriginal home. Positioned in the interior southwest of today’s Washington State, the tribes’ original territory comprised some 3,750 square miles. By some accounts, the name Cowlitz means “spiritual seeker.” The more numerous Lower Cowlitz inhabited 30 villages along the Cowlitz River, about a mile from the Columbia River northward to the present-day town of Mossyrock. The Upper Cowlitz lived in villages east of Mossyrock, then camped during warm weather at loftier elevations of the Cascade Crest, then along the Tieton River several miles east of the crest. In winter, the Cowlitz lived near fish-laden streams in sturdy cedar longhouses. Storytelling and ceremonies enlivened their cold-weather evenings. The performance of dance and song sought to ensure availability of food and to avoid evil. In the spring, families moved to the prairies to dig up wapato (Indian potato) and camas bulbs, which provided starch for their diet. They trekked to the mountains to harvest game and berries. In addition to its food-gathering function, camping provided a setting for social interaction. Upon reaching adolescence, Cowlitz youths departed on fasting quests to seek visions of a spirit guide to help them become productive members of the tribe. Owing to their insular location, the Cowlitz were more tightly knit than other Salish-speaking bands on the Columbia River and the coast.
The term Cowlitz people covers two culturally and linguistically distinct indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest; the Lower Cowlitz or Cowlitz proper, and the Upper Cowlitz / Cowlitz Klickitat or Taitnapam. Lower Cowlitz refers to a southwestern Coast Salish people, which today are enrolled in the federally recognized tribes: Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation, and Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation. The Upper Cowlitz or Taitnapam, is a Northwest Sahaptin speaking people, part of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Their traditional homelands are in western Washington state in the United States. There is an ongoing dispute over the Cowlitz people, their history, territory, ancestry, ethnicity, and language; which is important for land claims and treaty negotiations with the U.S. government by Cowlitz descendants. Some scholars believe that they were originally divided into four multi-linguistic tribal bands and generally spoke two different dialects of Salish; the common language of Western Washington and British Columbia native peoples, and one Sahaptin dialect. However, not every band understood the specific dialect of another, and they bridged the language barrier with an intertribal trade language called Chinook Jargon. Today, the majority is of the opinion that the tribal term “Cowlitz” is a regional collective designation applied by the Europeans to ethnically and linguistic different groups or bands of Indian peoples of the entire Cowlitz River Basin.
Cowlitz Covered the Miles in Canoes and Horses
The Cowlitz lived in villages along the river banks; therefore, their original form of transportation was the canoe. The Cowlitz used canoes of different styles. They were masters of river navigation. One of the styles of canoe was peculiarly Cowlitz. These red cedar dugout canoes were prowless, known as the “Cowlitz-type” canoe. Lewis and Clark called them “shovel-nosed dugouts.” They were made in a special way to be able to navigate in shallow waters, being very successful in the shallow rapids. They were very different from the graceful war canoes used on the Columbia. However, their burial canoes revealed many examples of the high-prowed “Chinookian” canoes (Nootkan) that were probably acquired through trade. The horse, which initially made its way into the Southwest because of the Spanish, in time found its way onto the Plains. Eventually it came over the Rocky Mountains to the Nez Perce who became the greatest horsemen of the entire Pacific Northwest. The horse made its way into the eastern Washington area about 1720. These horses finally made their way down the Klickitat trail into Cowlitz country. Some were traded for at the annual trading festivities at The Dalles.
Cowlitz Indian Tribe
The name Cowlitz Tribe refers to two Northwest Native American groups, the Lower and Upper Cowlitz, and the river drainage that was their aboriginal home. Positioned in the interior southwest of today’s Washington State, the tribes’ original territory comprised some 3,750 square miles. By some accounts, the name Cowlitz means “spiritual seeker.” The more numerous Lower Cowlitz inhabited 30 villages along the Cowlitz River, about a mile from the Columbia River northward to the present-day town of Mossyrock. The Upper Cowlitz lived in villages east of Mossyrock, then camped during warm weather at loftier elevations of the Cascade Crest, then along the Tieton River several miles east of the crest. In winter, the Cowlitz lived near fish-laden streams in sturdy cedar longhouses. Storytelling and ceremonies enlivened their cold-weather evenings. The performance of dance and song sought to ensure availability of food and to avoid evil. In the spring, families moved to the prairies to dig up wapato (Indian potato) and camas bulbs, which provided starch for their diet. They trekked to the mountains to harvest game and berries. In addition to its food-gathering function, camping provided a setting for social interaction. Upon reaching adolescence, Cowlitz youths departed on fasting quests to seek visions of a spirit guide to help them become productive members of the tribe. Owing to their insular location, the Cowlitz were more tightly knit than other Salish-speaking bands on the Columbia River and the coast. Nevertheless, the Cowlitz pursued trade and relations with neighboring tribes.
It is a rainy morning in late April, less than two months after his tribe signed a formal agreement with the federal government for a 152-acre reservation near La Center, and Cowlitz Indian Tribe Chairman Bill Iyall has come to his tribe’s Vancouver offices to discuss plans for the land. On this particular day, the Cowlitz leader is caught between celebration and sorrow — celebration because his people finally have land to call their own, sorrow because the tribe’s eldest member has died away. A positive man, Iyall finds the silver lining: Before she died, this 108-year-old Cowlitz woman, born two decades before the start of the Great Depression, knew that her people had been victorious. “We’ve lost a lot of elders, waiting for this (reservation) to happen, but this elder knew that the tribe got their land back. She saw it in her lifetime,” Iyall said. “I’m glad we were able to provide that for her.” Certainly, the reservation has been a long time coming for the Cowlitz people. Landless for more than 160 years, the Cowlitz is a tribe that has fought to retain its identity as its members scattered, settling with other tribes and finding homes many miles away from their ancestors’ aboriginal lands. In December of 2014, a federal judge cleared the way for the Cowlitz reservation, taking the land into federal trust for the Washington tribe.
The air smelled of burning sage as the honorary chief of the Cowlitz Tribe held a smudging ceremony to purify those in attendance before a pole raising ceremony at Bear Raven, an American Indian cultural and spiritual center in Winlock. The purification ceremony held before the raising of the totem pole was celebrated by Roy Wilson, the honorary chief of the tribe. Sage burned in a wooden bowl with an antler handle as Wilson made the rounds, wafting the smoke with an eagle feather into the faces of those who stood in the crowd. “In all of our cultures, we have our way,” Wilson told the crowd. After explaining the importance of the purification ceremony, the totem pole was slowly lifted by some of those who had worked on it, while Wilson and others drummed and chanted.
The legacy of an ancient people in southwest Washington is rich with descendants who manage a growing portfolio of health, education, scientific research, housing, transportation, development, elder care, conservation and legal issues. The Cowlitz Tribe is a growing force in community building in what are now Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis and parts of Pierce, Skamania and Wahkiakum Counties, a vast territory occupied by numerous Cowlitz villages prior to non-Cowlitz exploration and seizure. Today, an elected Tribal Council is composed of professionals adept at managing multiple programs and projects. Tribal members engage in a rich cultural practice of old Cowlitz lifeways such the Smelt, Salmon and River Ceremonies. They join coastal tribes in Canoe Journeys on major waterways. They drum and sing at ceremonies throughout the year and as called upon for funerals, naming ceremonies, healings and celebration. The Cowlitz Pow-Wow is one of the largest in southern Washington. The Cowlitz Tribe is a significant employer and contributor to local economies. When the Federal Government recognized the tribe officially in 2000, the Tribe thought of it as belated acknowledgement of a cohesive culture spanning centuries. Without cover of Federal status, tribal members overcame tremendous obstacles during millennium changes, holding firm to their remembered past as one of the largest and richest tribes in what is now Washington State. Over time, Tribal employees leveraged a few grants into a multi-million dollar operation that has successfully produced a modern health clinic in Longview, health services in Tukwila and Vancouver and viable housing units at its St. Mary’s complex near Toledo. The St. Mary’s school site, part of the Cowlitz Mission complex established by a Catholic order in the 1800’s to bring Christianity to natives of the early Territory, is now owned by the Cowlitz Tribe.
Honor Spirit of Cowlitz People
Moccasin-clad feet stepped to the beat of pounding drums as an American Indian song echoed through the Toledo High School gymnasium Saturday. War-painted men wearing feather headdresses and women adorned in bright, beaded jewelry sang and danced in traditional Native American dress during the 14th annual Pow Wow grand entry ceremony. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe honored their heritage with the full-day of Pow Wow festivities. “Our ancestors are here today to welcome you,” Tribal Chair William Iyall told the crowd in the packed gymnasium. “I’m proud to see the growth of this pow wow. It’s phenomenal.” As mandated by tradition, veterans of military service, native and non-native alike, received recognition and handmade gifts following the grand entry. “It’s a time of celebration,” said Roy Wilson, the Cowlitz spiritual leader, who gave a blessing in the Native tongue. “It’s not only a collective thing but an individual thing we’re all celebrating.”
World Mythology 