We are Cowlitz

Book excerpt: Cowlitz are a Coast Salish group of southwestern Washington who are defined by where they are from, their line of descent, and their level of prestige vis-á-vis other groups along the coast and in the interior. In this book, Darleen Fitzpatrick probes the interconnection between culture and the boundaries that surround it, suggesting that Coast Salish ideology, which centers upon a class/prestige system and a code of ethics, links social structure with culture. These features initiate Cowlitz ethnic boundaries and the development of related cultural signs, which both transmit and communicate Cowlitz collective ethnic identity, as well as salience of ethnicity. Dr. Fitzpatrick provides a modest semiotic analysis of culture that distinguishes the cultural signs Cowlitz expresses, some of which are not attached to the ideology, to help readers understand their meaning.