The Cowlitz Indian Tribe held a council meeting (27 Jan. 1996), at which the
following was read by its author, Greg L. Grove.
[There is much conflict and turmoil within our tribe, compounded by the fact
that we are under active consideration by BIA/BAR. This recognition process
has been used as an excuse and a crutch as long as I've been aware, in order
that the status quo, the power structure, the dissemination of information,
remain unchanged. I have taken certain projects on myself in hopes of
levelling (sp?) the field, so that the tribal members who elected the council
are ensured access to that council.]
What follows is, with minor grammatical changes, what was read to the
council on 27 January...
[db]
Klohawya - Yah Ta Hai - Greeting
We the families of the Cowlitz Indian peoples have endured much in the
last 170 Christian years.
We were as many as 20,000+, when the greedy ones' diseased blankets and
flus came to us, and when they were through we were only hundreds, but we
endured.
When our head men and chiefs were shot and killed, the bluecoats
pointed to our brothers from over the hill. We knew the truth, even their
own admitted the deed years later, and still we endured.
When the old timers and elders were killed and the younger ones taken to
different reservations and forts, we endured.
When Isaac Stevens said, "You don't belong here. We will run our Iron
Horse where your houses sit. Here's some blankets, beads, and whiskey
for your trouble; sign this and leave." We turned our backs, went home
and endured.
When the bluecoats took our guns and horses and said, "Show us your
trails so we can fight your brothers, only then will we give back your
homeland," w believed, we helped -- and we were deceived. Yet, we endured.
When they burned our longhouses, built fences, divided our homeland into
farms, cities, freeways, concrete, and asphalt, they said "This is good,"
and called it their own. We endured.
When they dammed our rivers, drowned our burial grounds, poured cement
over our stories on the rocks, dug up our gifts and our bones, killed the
fish and left no old timers of our cedar people to talk to, again our
bellies were cut open; we hurt, still we endured.
Now days when we talk of taking care of our burial grounds, our food and
medicine gathering places, our homeland, we are told by some of our own
people, "We don't have any authority over these things, those people don't
owe us anything, and we should be glad for the little bit they give us."
BUT TODAY, WE WILL NO LONGER BE SILENT. THIS IS WHAT WE SAY:
We are a gathering of Cowlitz Indians, and our families and friends
from many places.
We are the Cowlitz Indian Peoples Coalition.
We are Cowlitz who have decided to gather again in the same spirit
as our ancestors, to pray, to sing, to dance, to laugh, to eat, to
gift. To turn our faces once again to our traditions and culture,
and our inherant rights as native peoples. To invite all our families
to come home again, no matter what reservation, city, town, or
land they live in or on.
We believe in our stewardship and authority within our prairies,
mountains, rivers, medicine/food gathering places, burial grounds,
villages, trails, and sacred places, and All Our Relation, whether
winged, four-legged, swimming, standing, walking, or crawling
within and around our homeland.
Our constitution and way is in our lands, culture, and our
ancestors, and we are a free people.
For all our past, present, and future ones to come, we are once
again turning our faces toward our namesake: Gatherers and
Keepers of the Spirit Medicine - the Cowlitz.
For information, comments, questions, please write:
Cowlitz Indian Peoples Coalition (CIPC)
P.O. Box 215
Bucoda, WA 98530
Contact persons:
Greg LaDue Grove
Wendy Kinswa
Patricia Donaldson
or email: davidb@spl.lib.wa.us
Feel free to ask me any questions about what I or we are doing...I have many
questions of my own which will undoubtedly be asking. By the way, I am also
on the council, in my second term.
All My Relations (db)