Being Cowlitz: How One Tribe Renewed and Sustained Its Identity Paperback – October 1, 2014

Dupres writes endearingly about what it means to “do Indian” vs. “be Indian.” This is at the root of all native identities but it is at the root of identity regardless of one’s heritage. She investigates what it means to “BE” Cowlitz selecting those parts of herself with which she identifies and singles out apart from other identities she could have chosen. She looks to examples and models of behavior and ceremony and analyzes them through her academic lens as well as her compassionate native lens. In doing so she lays open a to the reader a journey of vulnerability to the core of what is left of this once noble tribe of the Pacific Northwest. The text comes directly from Dr. Dupres’ doctoral dissertation and maintains some vestiges of rhetorical analysis and theory. You may take the woman out of academia, but you cannot take the academy out of the woman. She cannot just relate a history and leave it unparsed. But in the parsing, she finds deeper meaning and reveals the essence of how stories are passed on and what they tell about the people who use them to perform the memory as architects of a collective identity.

Interesting and informative. I expected it to be just some facts, but it's so much more. I read the entire book in a very short time, because once I started, I couldn't put it down.

A great bit of local history. Just a fun little book to sit down with. I had a free afternoon, some fine tea and enjoyed a glimpse of life in another culture and time.