Cowlitz Indian Ethnic Identity, Social Memories and 150 Years of Conflict with the United States Government

Abstract

In a comparative study of Pacific Northwest Native Americans (or American Indians) attempting to regain some semblance of their former lands and resources, anthropologist Kenneth Tollefson argued that: land, or some other form of a tangible estate which includes water, property, and other natural resources, is indispensable to the economic and social well-being of tribal people … Dislocated tribal people generally seek some tangible estate in order to maintain their common fund and their system of values (Tollefson etal., 1996, p. 321)