The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Unite ...

Cowlitz people 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 southw ...

. They are a tribe of Southwestern

Coast Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the C ...

and Sahaptan indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest located in Washington. Other Cowlitz people are enrolled in the

Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Upper and Lower Chehalis, Klallam, Muckleshoot, Nisqually, and Quinault peoples. They are one of the Northern Straits branch Central Coast Salish peoples ...

, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation, and

Quinault Indian Nation The Quinault Indian Nation ( or ; QIN), formerly known as the Quinault Tribe of the Quinault Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Quinault, Queets, Quileute, Hoh, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz peoples.reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

is located near Ridgefield, in Clark County, Washington.

Government

The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is headquartered in

Longview, Washington Longview is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. It is the principal city of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cowlitz County. Longview's population was 37,818 at the time of the 2 ...

. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected board of tribal council members. Salish is commonly spoken by the tribe. The

Cowlitz language The Cowlitz language is a member of the Tsamosan branch of the Coast Salish family of Salishan languages. Cowlitz people The Cowlitz people were originally two distinct tribes: the Lower Cowlitz and the Upper Cowlitz. Only the Lower Cowlitz spok ...

belongs to the Tsamosan branch of

Salishan languages The Salishan (also Salish) languages are a family of languages of the Pacific Northwest in North America (the Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana). They are characterised by a ...

. A dictionary has been published for Cowlitz.

Economic development

The Cowlitz Indian Tribe has built the

Ilani Casino Resort The ilani Casino Resort ( ) is a casino operated by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and located near La Center, Washington. The casino opened on April 24, 2017, after a lengthy legal battle over the tribe's right to establish a reservation on which to ...

with ten restaurants and plans for a hotel, located near

Ridgefield, Washington Ridgefield is a city in northern Clark County, Washington. The population was 10,319 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 4,763 in 2010, making it the fastest growing city in the state of Washington. Located within the Portland metropolit ...

History

Cowlitz people actively traded with other tribes and later European Americans. 19th century treaties were not ratified by the United States or were unacceptable to the Cowlitz. In 1906 the tribe, under the leadership of Chief Atwin Stockum, began formal political relations with the United States. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe has had its constitutional elective tribal council system of government since 1950.

Federal recognition This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Unite ...

was confirmed in 2000, and was reaffirmed in 2002."Cowlitz Tribes."
''Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.'' Retrieved 29 Sept 2013.

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

External links

Cowlitz Indian Tribe
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowlitz Indian Tribe Coast Salish governments Native American tribes in Washington (state) Geography of Clark County, Washington Federally recognized tribes in the United States Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast