Lower Cowlitz Language (Stl'pulimuhkl)

Lower Cowlitz was a Salishan language of Washington state, related to Chehalis. The people called themselves Stl'pulmsh-- Cowlitz was the name of the river whose banks they lived on. The Upper Cowlitz, who used to live further up the same river, are a Sahaptin tribe who spoke a dialect of the unrelated Yakama language. Forced together onto the same reservation, the two tribes rapidly lost their languages, and today neither Cowlitz Salish nor Cowlitz Sahaptian is spoken any longer.

Cowlitz Language Resources

Cowlitz Vocabulary
Our list of vocabulary words in Cowlitz, with comparison to words in other Salishan languages.

Cowlitz
Demographic information about the Lower Cowlitz language from the Ethnologue of Languages.

Cowlitz Language Tree:
Theories about Cowlitz's language relationships compiled by Linguist List.

Cowlitz Culture and History Links

Cowlitz Indian Tribe
Official homepage of the Cowlitz tribe.

The Cowlitz:
Curtis' early 20th-century ethnography of the Cowlitz Indians.

Background and History of the Cowlitz Tribe
Article on Cowlitz history and culture.

Cowlitz Legends:
Collection of Cowlitz Indian legends and folktales.

Cowlitz Indians
History of the Cowlitz tribe's interactions with the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Books For Sale On The Cowlitz Tribe

Legends of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe
Book of traditional Cowlitz stories for sale online.

Links, References, and Additional Information

Lengua Cowlitz:
Information on the Cowlitz language in Spanish.
Wikipedia: Cowlitz:
Encyclopedia articles on the Cowlitz people and their language.

Back to the list of American Indian tribes
Back to our American Indian website for kids

Native Languages

Indian crafts Indian words Cherokee casino Indian names Tribal tattoos

Would you like to sponsor our work on the Cowlitz language?