Language Revitalization

The Cowlitz, being a fairly small tribe surrounded by larger tribes such as the Quinalt and Chehalis, shared many qualities with their neighboring tribes. Originally, all of these tribes and more were a part of the large group, or family, of Salishan languages, meaning each tribe usually spoke their own unique variation of the same language. In the early 1800’s, the Cowlitz were known as two distinct and separate – although connected – tribes; The Upper Cowlitz, or Taidnapam and the Lower Cowlitz.

The Upper Cowlitz were closer to the east and gradually became closer to the tribes plateau tribes east of the Cascade Mountains. One of the larger tribes most associated with the Taidnapam, or Upper Cowlitz, are the Yakima. Eventually, through intermarriage with the Yakima and other plateau tribes, the Taidnapam adopted the Sahaptan language from them. They developed their own variety of this language and spoke it exclusively from that point in history on, until the desolation of a large majority of the entire Cowlitz, leaving the language to be very rare and almost desolate.

The Lower Cowlitz, being so closely related to that of their nearby neighbors, the Chehalis, continued to speak Salishan just as their neighboring tribes did. However, just like the Upper Cowlitz, as time went on and the Northwest areas were overtaken by Europeans through fur and trade companies, the Cowlitz variation of this language slowly began to disappear. When three fourths of the Cowlitz nation was wiped out by Gray Fever, brought to them by European settlers, the remaining Cowlitz were forced to conform to the European’s ways in order to continue on in life. Being able to preserve what little was left of their original tribe was nearly impossible.

Today, the Cowlitz are continuing to fight and build up what was once torn down by sickness and defeat. Since the majority of Cowlitz members still live in the Northwest, they have been working on banding together and bringing back what has been lost in history for so many years. Part of this restoration is the process of language revitalization. In the last couple of years, since gaining government recognition as a tribe and starting the construction of a community on their original reservation, the Cowlitz have been continuing to build upon the original tribal foundation and create togetherness and peace within the tribe once more. Both the Taidnapam and Lower Cowlitz languages are beginning to be retaught in the community. Many tribal elders are even promoting language lessons and spreading the original language to younger generations within the tribe.