The Cowlitz People are a Coast Salish group whose historic lands are along the Cowlitz and Lewis Rivers, in what is now southwestern Washington. Traditionally, the annual cycle of resource gathering determined where the Cowlitz People traveled and at what time of year – from river fishing in the spring, gathering roots and berries in summer and fall, and making crafts and repairing nets in the winter to prepare for the next spring. In 1855, Cowlitz leaders left negotiations with the Washington territorial government when the government required them to abandon their homeland in exchange for a reservation on the coast, to be shared with the other Indigenous peoples of southwestern Washington. The Cowlitz signed no treaty with the United States, but after the Puget Sound War of 1855-56, the Cowlitz’s land was taken by the US and sold to settlers. Many Cowlitz people remained in their historic lands and maintained their tribal ties to each other through the 20th century. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe was federally recognized in 2000 and the Cowlitz reservation was established near Ridgefield, Washington in 2010.
This image shows the Cheholtz family, from the Toutle River band of the Cowlitz people. From left to right: Kathleen Cheholtz, Elisha Cheholtz, John Cheholtz, Peter Cheholtz (seated), Lemmea Cheholtz, and Henry Cheholtz. The man wearing a hat standing behind Peter is unidentified. Henry was the chief of the Toutle River band and Kathleen and Lemmea were his wives. The Cheholtz family lived on the banks of the Cowlitz River near the town of Castle Rock and this photo was taken in front of a fishing shack as they returned home.
Caption information source: Email exchange with Clarence Koch, descendant of the Cheholtz family, November 2022 Caption information source: "Cultural Resources Department," Cowlitz Indian Tribe, retrieved from https://www.cowlitz.org/services/cultural-resources.html Caption information source: "That the People May Live: The Cowlitz Tribe’s Journey of Peace and Justice," by Eugene A. Wiggins, Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, 1(2), page 44-53, retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1375/prp.1.2.44 Caption information source: "Castle Rock," by Vicki Selander, Arcadia Publishing, page 10
