Cowlitz (tribe)

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Cowlitz is a group of Native American peoples from what is now western Washington state in the United States. The Cowlitz tribe actually consists of two distinct subtribes: the Upper Cowlitz, or Taidnapam, and the Lower Cowlitz.

The original language of Cowlitz tribes belonged to the Salish family of languages among Northwest Coast indigenous peoples. Later the Upper Cowlitz adopted the Sahaptin language from east of the Cascade Mountains.

The Cowlitz were federally acknowledged on February 14th, 2000 and their acknowledgement was reaffirmed in 2002. They are now recognized officially by the United States federal government, and are in the process of establishing federally recognized tribal lands (such as on a reservation).

The Cowlitz produced fully imbricated, coiled baskets with strong geometric designs. These were made of bear grass, cedar root, horse tail root and cedar bark and were used to gather berries and fruits.