Cowlitz (people)
The Cowlitz are Indians in the southwest of the US state Washington , who linguistically and culturally belong to the southwest coastal Salish , but z. Partly share cultural characteristics with the tribes further inland, the inland Salish and the Sahaptin-speaking peoples ( Yakama , Kittitas and especially Klickitat) who live east of the Cascade chain . They can therefore be seen as mediators between the peoples of the cultural areas of the Northwest Coast Culture and the Columbia Plateau.
Their tribal area lay in the river basin of the Cowlitz River of the same name , its tributaries (Cispus River, Toutle River and Tilton River) and along the Lewis River (a tributary of the Columbia River ) in the Pacific Northwest - the area is strongly characterized by active and extinct volcanoes - such as the Mount St. Helens ( Lawetlat'la in Klickitat: Loowit ; both: "fire mountain" / "the smoking mountain"), Mount Rainier ( Talol ; Tacoma , Tahoma ) and Mount Adams ( Pahto, Pa-toe, Paddo - "(very) high (towering) mountain"; also: Klickitat ) which strongly shaped the mythical world of the tribes living there.
The original residential area of the Cowlitz comprised 2.4 million acres (approx. 9,713 km²). The cities of Kelso (Tiahanakshih), Olequa (Kamatsih) and Toledo (Tawamiluhawihl) in Washington were created in place of Cowlitz villages.
Oral tradition says that the name "Cowlitz" means "seeker" in a spiritual sense ( medicine ). There are place names in Washington spelled "Ta-wa-l-litch," meaning "who catch the spirit of medicine," referring to the Cowlitz custom of sending their young people to the prairies by the river to to seek their "Tomanawas" or spiritual power.
Language and tribal groups
language
All Cowlitz originally spoke one language (possibly with several dialects) of the inland (inland) Samosan branch of the southwestern coastal Salish ; later, under the influence of the Sahaptin-speaking peoples ( Yakama , Kittitas and especially Klickitat) native to the Cascade Range , several groups increasingly adopted the culture, customs and language - the Northern Sahaptin (Ichishkíin Sɨ́nwit) , a plateau Penuti language .
The "Taitnapam (Upper Cowlitz)" and the "Lewis River Cowlitz" took over the northern Sahaptin of their eastern neighbors and the resulting Taitnapam dialect / Upper Cowlitz dialect is very similar to the Klikitat dialect of the Klickitat (Klikitat). Other related dialects are:
- the Mishalpam / Upper Nisqually dialect of the Upper Nisqually (Meshal / Mashel / Mica'l, also known as: Mishalpam) and
- the Pshwanwapam / Kittitas (Upper Yakama) dialect of the Kittitas (Upper Yakama; autonym: Pshwánapam / Pshwanpawam).
The Mámachatpam / Yakima (Yakama) dialect of the Yakima (Yakama) (Lower or actually Yakama; autonym: Mámachatpam) is the most different.
The "Stlpulimuhkl (Lower Cowlitz)", however, kept their Salish language - the Sƛ̕púlmš / Sƛ'púmš (Lower Cowlitz) - which is closest to the neighboring Q̉ʷay̓áyiłq̉ / Upper Chehalis of the Kwaiailk (Upper Chehalis) . In addition, the Łəw̓ál̕məš (Lower Chehalis) of the Lower Chehalis and the Kʷínayɬ (Quinault) of the Queet and Quinault are other closely related languages; however, the languages of the Stlpulimuhkl (Lower Cowlitz) and Kwaiailk (Upper Chehalis) were not mutually understandable with these .
Tribal groups
The approximately 2,000 tribesmen today are divided into two regional large groups or sub-tribes, which can be distinguished both culturally and linguistically (after taking over the Sahaptin):
- the Upper Cowlitz (Oberen Cowlitz) or Taitnapam (also Taitinapum , Taidnapam , Táytnapam ) in the northeast - today as Yakima Cowlitz or Cowlitz Klickitat Band part of the predominantly Sahaptin-speaking Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and
- the Lower Cowlitz (Unteren Cowlitz) or Stlpulimuhkl (English pronunciation: "Sht-poo-lum", in Sahaptin: T'lkwi'lipam ) in the middle and in the south - today part of the mainly Salish-speaking Cowlitz Tribe and the Quinault Indian Nation .
However, in the opinion of the representatives of the Cowlitz Tribe (see: Dr. Verne F. Ray before the Indian Claims Conference , 1966 and 1974) there were two other large regional groups or sub-tribes:
- the Lewis River Cowlitz along the eponymous Lewis River in the east are now mostly regarded as the Lewis River Klickitat Band , sometimes also as the Lewis River Chinook - today part of the predominantly Sahaptin-speaking Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and
- the Mountain Cowlitz in the Willapa Hills to the west.
history
Each of the four tribes had a traditional residential and tailing area. The traditional residential area of the Lower Cowlitz is the lower and middle reaches of the Cowlitz River , but it also extended to the Columbia . Therefore, the proportion of salmon in their diet was higher than in the other three groups. The more numerous Lower Cowlitz inhabited 30 villages on Cowlitz from today's Mossyrock / Cowlitz Landing south to two or three kilometers from the Columbia River. That cut them off from the coast. But that wasn't the only thing that separated them from the Coast Salish. The Upper Cowlitz took over the Sahaptin language from the peoples east of the Cascade Range by marriage . They lived in villages east of Mossyrock, where a reservoir was later created. Their contacts reached beyond the Lewis River .
The Mountain or Mountain Cowlitz , who lived on the upper Chehalis River , allied with the Kwalhioqua , who adopted the Cowlitz language. They also allied with the Upper Chehalis . Unlike most coastal Salish groups, neither Mountain nor Upper Cowlitz had access to the sea.
The Upper Cowlitz (sometimes also called "Stick Indians") lived at the foot of Mount Rainier and on Upper Cowlitz. They in turn connected with the Klickitat from the east side of the coastal mountain range and adopted their language, although this language spread was more likely through the marriage of Klickitat women. The same happened to the groups called Lewis Cowlitz who lived on the river of the same name, a tributary of the Columbia. Both tribes sought their livelihood in the mountains and grazed their horses there. Her wives were considered to be particularly artistic basket weavers who interwoven the fibers of the giant tree of life with grass fibers, a technique that they probably brought with them from the Klickitat and further refined.
Europeans and Americans
An early oral report shows that some Cowlitzs raided a Chinook village on the Cowlitz estuary, and their ventures continued to expand. We learn of an unsuccessful attempt by Warchief Wieno of Vancouver Island to catch slaves.
The first visits by whites took place in 1811. You came from Fort Astoria and belonged to the Pacific Fur Company . Two years later the North West Company sent some Iroquois to their area as trappers . But in 1818 there was a dispute over women, in which one Iroquois was killed and two injured. The Iroquois took revenge by murdering 13 Cowlitz. The fur trade broke down and the companies fled the area.
The first white man who lived among the Cowlitz (probably before 1830) was Simon Plamondon from Québec . He married Thas-e-muth, daughter of Scanewea, the chief of the Lower Cowlitz - and worked for the North West Company . Numerous Cowlitz descendants from this marriage. On the other hand, the fur trading company opened the Cowlitz corridor with it.
The first catastrophe befell the Cowlitz with a fatal epidemic in the years 1829/30, probably a wave of flu . Probably only 500 of them survived.
In 1832/33 the fur trading company set up Nisqually Farm as a trading post. Plamondon set up a farm nearby and Catholic missionaries appeared. In December 1838 the Catholic priest François Norbert Blanchet established the Saint Francis Xavier Mission in what is now Toledo . In the same year, the Anglican priest Herbert Beaver vaccinated around 120 Lewis River Cowlitzes, and more were vaccinated by an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company . In 1842 there were 350 Upper Cowlitz, 100 Mountain and around 330 other Cowlitz. Epidemics reduced their number to 600 to 700 in the 1950s.
Attempted briefing on reservations and land sales
Although the Cowlitz took part in the Chehalis River Treaty Council in February and March 1855 with Governor Isaac Stevens , no treaty was concluded because they wanted to remain in their own territory. Still, they were expected to move to other reservations. So the Upper Cowlitz fought against the Americans (1855–56). The Indian agent in charge, Sydney S. Ford, was already forcing the remaining Cowlitz into reservations and the Lewis River Cowlitz was sent to Fort Vancouver . Meanwhile, their horses were stolen and what was left behind destroyed. In 1860 they were relocated again by agent RH Lansdale because of violent clashes. 43 Lewis River Cowlitz were deported to the Yakima Reservation via the Cascade Range .
After a decision by President Abraham Lincoln on March 20, 1863, the sale of the Cowlitz reservation began . The Cowlitz refused the offered Chehalis reservation in 1864. Therefore, in 1868, they also refused gifts from government officials, fearing that this symbolic act would cause them to lose their claim. The government never recognized the Cowlitz tribe. The Cowlitz also did not accept the Chehalis Reservation in 1872 when all Indians from southwest Washington were to be forced to move there. At the end of the century the tribe lived scattered, but many still maintained contacts.
Negotiations for the return of the traditional area and recognition
Cowlitz chief Atwin Stockum began negotiations with the United States government in 1906 by suing them for the return of several parcels of land. To do this, however, he had to find a congressman . Indeed, from 1915 to 1917 the tribe managed to get several bills recognizing their claims. However, none of the twelve proposals were approved by Congress.
The Halbert vs. United States . The judgment said that the Cowlitz had a share in the Quinault reservation, and that they should be part of the Treaty of Olympia (1855).
Another success came in the 1920s when Washington State began restricting salmon fishing and cowlitz hunting. Cowlitz was often caught and taken to prison by the authorities. When Frank Wannassay submitted a petition on October 15, 1934 to end these attacks, he proposed an identification system that would make it possible to distinguish between the Cowlitz who were entitled to fish. The Ministry of Hunting introduced some kind of Indian identification card that ended the conflict.
The development within the tribe went from an authoritarian chieftain system to a kind of presidential system that prevailed in the 20s to 50s. After 1950 this was replaced by elected tribal councils.
New conflicts arose when the city of Tacoma wanted to build a dam on the Cowlitz River (above Mossyrock) in the 1950s, regardless of the Cowlitz village of Taoup . The dam threatened burial sites and the property of several tribes. Nevertheless it was built.
The establishment of the Indian Claim Commission in 1948 shifted disputes from Congress to the new commission. Therefore, the Cowlitz filed a lawsuit against the United States on August 8, 1951 - a lengthy process through several instances. On April 12, 1973 the commission ruled in favor of the Cowlitz. The fact that the tribe had been expropriated without compensation on March 20, 1863 was branded injustice. They granted the tribe an area of 6,718 km², which corresponded to around two thirds of the traditional area. The US government offered 50 cents per acre , totaling $ 830,000 for 1.66 million acres . 280 members of the tribe chose to accept the money, 40 decided against because they wanted land. The smaller group separated from the larger and formed the Sovereign Cowlitz Tribe , while the larger continued to be called the Cowlitz Tribe of Indians . The legal situation was made even more complicated by the fact that the payments should go to all members of the tribe, with many members of the Klickitat and also the Yakima claiming to be Cowlitz - from a historical perspective certainly rightly. But the entire process of assigning individuals to tribes corresponds to the racial notions of the 19th century, which is offset by the ambiguity of individual affiliation in the entire area of the coastal Salish and also other indigenous groups.
In 2000 the Cowlitz were recognized and negotiations for tribal land began.
Current situation
Only about 30 families live on the Cowlitz River. The majority of the tribesmen live within 150 km. The tribe's office is in Longview, Columbia, trying to maintain contact with the scattered Cowlitz, most of whom live in western Washington. A tribe member is accepted who is at least one sixteenth of a Cowlitz, i.e. who can prove at least one Cowlitz ancestor in the generation of the great-great-grandparents. In 1980 the tribe had 1,689 members accordingly.
See also
Web links
literature
- Robert H. Ruby, John A. Brown: A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest. 2nd Edition. University of Oklahoma Press, 1992, pp. 69-71
- Wayne Suttles (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 7: Northwest Coast. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 1990, ISBN 0-87474-187-4 .
Remarks
- ↑ The Cowlitz Indians ( Memento of the original of July 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Genealogical Technical Report Cowlitz Indian Tribe ( Memento of the original dated December 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Anthropological Study of Yakama Tribe: Traditional Resource Harvest Sites West of the Crest of the Cascades Mountains in Washington State and below the Cascades of the Columbia River
- ↑ Ruby / Brown p. 69.
- ^ Judith W. Irwin: The Dispossessed: The Cowlitz Indians in Cowlitz Corridor. ( Memento of the original of July 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Cowlitz Indian Tribe.
