I have enjoyed reading the following book:
Legends of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. By Roy I. Wilson. Cowlitz Tribe, 1998. 401 pages.
Mr. Wilson suggests to us, or maybe just to Cowlitz Peoples, that we personally identify with aspects of these legends and stories:
"As you read these ancient stories you might possibly recognize yourself as a Coyote, Bear, Cougar, Beaver, or some other type of Animal Person. Your community is the legend, and the legend is your community; also, you are the legend, and the legend is you. As you read these legends see if you can recognize yourself in these stories. Look and find other members of your community in these legends. When you look at the legends with the understanding that you are the legend and the legend is you, then you will look for each of the animal characteristic within yourself. It will be at this point that these legends will become more that just stories. They will become a guide to the way you live your life. At the end of each legend, or versions of a legend, you will find a section titled "LESSONS." An attempt is made here to give the basic teaching or purpose of the legend, along with other lessons that the legend teaches us. It is here that the basic understandings of the animals becomes important in order that we might understand these animal characteristics in our own individual lives and be able to interpret the legend personally, that is, to be able to make a personal application of it to our own lives."
- Roy I. Wilson, p. 13
Native Legends of Oregon and Washington. Collected by Franz Boas. 1893.
"The Cowlitz Indian 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." A large Indian Casino and Hotel, ilani, near the town La Center, part of a Cowlitz Indian Reservation town near the Lewis River.
The Lower Cowlitz people, with over 30 settlements and long houses, lived along the Cowlitz River from current Longview on the Columbia River north to Toledo. The Upper Cowlitz lived in the area from Mossyrock to Packwood and up into Yakima territory over White Pass.
Cowlitz Indian Tribe History "The name Cowlitz means "seeker" in a spiritual sense, according to some Cowlitz living today. Place Names of Washington also spells the name as "Ta-wa-l-litch," which meant "capturing the medicine spirit," referring to the Cowlitz practice of sending their youths to the river' s prairies to seek their tomanawas, or spirit power."
The Cowlitz River flows from the canyons behind the southeast side of Mt. Ranier down the broad Cowlitz River Valley, almost prairie like at times, flowing west past the Clowlitz Farm near Toledo, then flowing south to the Columbia River at Longview/Kelso/Ranier. The Toutle River meets the Cowlitz near present day.
Cowlitz People - Wikipedia
Cowlitz Indian Tribe Official Website
"Lower Cowlitz is a Salishan language of Washington state, related to Chehalis. The people's original name for themselves was Stl'pulmsh-- Cowlitz was the name of the river whose banks they lived on. The Upper Cowlitz, whose traditional homelands are located further up the same river, are a Sahaptin tribe who spoke a dialect of the unrelated Yakama language. Neither Cowlitz Salish nor Cowlitz Sahaptian are spoken as first languages today, but the Cowlitz tribes are working on reviving their traditional languages, as well as the Chinook Jargon trade language that was used extensively in this region."
Being Cowlitz: How One Tribe Renewed and Sustained Its Identity. By Christine Dupres. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2014. Bibliography, 160 pages. FVRL.
The Cowlitz tribe completed a yearly cycle where they inhabited locations during certain seasons and harvested seasonal crops, in preparation for cold winter months. The season started in spring, when the Cowlitzes left their cedar houses along the river and streams by traveling via canoe and horseback to harvest camas bulbs, roots, barks, and grasses to make mats, fishnets, and basketry. Followed by the arrival of summer, where they would move into the higher country to pick and harvest seasonal berries. Lastly, followed by the return to fall, where the Cowlitzes would return to their cedar homes along the river to harvest Salmon, for the upcoming season. Generally, hunting and fishing were practiced all year round, but only roots and fruits had to be harvested seasonally."
Cowlitz People Annual Activities Cycle Fishing, hunting, gathering, foraging, resources for food and clothing.
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