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[article provided by LH. Thanks!]

http://www.spokane.net/news-story.asp?date=021500&ID=s744086&cat=section.tribal_news

Cowlitz tribe finally wins recognition
Status ends 25-year struggle to receive federal trust land
Associated Press -
02/15/2000

The Cowlitz Indians of southwestern Washington state embraced federal
leaders and tearfully recalled deceased elders Monday as they ended a
25-year struggle to become a federally recognized tribe.

The new status, which takes effect in three months if no appeals are filed,
would allow the Cowlitz to seek the placement of land into a federal trust
and then use the land to launch business ventures such as casinos. They also
would be eligible for federal aid in areas such as health care and
education.

Tribal leaders who spoke at an emotional ceremony at the Interior Department
said recognition came through the patience of tribal members and the efforts
of elders who helped begin the push for recognition in 1975 but who have
since died.

"They're all up there looking, they're watching," tribal chairman John
Barnett said. "They're with us."

Kevin Gover, who heads Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, thanked tribal
members for their perseverance and welcomed them to the family of 557 tribes
who have a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

"We wish things were done faster," Gover said. "We're sorry it took so
long."

Federal procedures, court challenges and tribal delays caused the
recognition process to drag on so long, said Lee Fleming, who heads
Interior's branch of acknowledgment research.

But the long wait seemed to make the recognition sweeter. About 40 tribal
members gathered around a large table for the ceremony, many using cameras
to capture the moment, others wearing brightly colored native garb and some
holding tribal photographs and other heirlooms.

Roy Wilson, the tribal shaman, waved an eagle feather in a blessing and
chanted "good it is" in an inter-tribal language as Gover signed some
recognition documents.
 

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