Former Cowlitz Indian Tribe chairman and non secular chief Roy Wilson died early Tuesday morning at age 97, simply days earlier than the twenty fifth anniversary of the tribe’s federal recognition on Thursday.
Cowlitz Chairman Invoice Iyall mentioned in an announcement that Wilson’s service and dedication to the tribe is immeasurable.
“He was a warrior, who will be remembered for his work on the front lines of our fight for federal recognition,” he mentioned. “Roy will always be remembered for the legends he would share when opening meetings at St. Mary’s and the Grange Hall, to pass our Tribe’s culture and history along to the youth, while using our teachings to guide the Tribe’s path into the future.”
Wilson, often known as Itswwot Wawa Hyiu (Bear Who Talks A lot), served on the tribal council for practically three a long time. He was normal council chairman from 1973 to 1982. After that, he grew to become the tribe’s non secular chief and carried out ceremonies and rituals till 2018.
Born to a Native father and non-Native mom on the Yakama Indian Reservation, Wilson grew up solely Christian earlier than he started to see the concord between Christianity and the spirituality of his Native tradition.
Wilson lived in Chico together with his spouse, Cherilyn Wilson, who ran a enterprise in Bremerton known as Pleased Tails Pet Grooming. In 2020, the couple was convicted in Lewis County Superior Courtroom on a number of accounts of animal cruelty for preserving 36 pets in squalor, in line with court docket information. Although Roy Wilson pleaded responsible, The Columbian beforehand reported Wilson denied any prevalence of animal cruelty.
Nonetheless, Wilson had many achievements, together with writing dozens of books recording a lot of the Cowlitz Tribe’s historical past and teachings.
“He was an embodiment of Cowlitz heritage and was instrumental in the preservation of our Tribe’s history, through the many books he published and his efforts to revive our language,” Iyall mentioned.
He would usually current seminars on the Drugs Wheel and Native American spirituality and present the similarities between the instructing of various religions, in line with an interview with him on the web site Knowledge of the Elders.
“I believe that the healing for the world in its diversity will find unity through our Indian teachings, the healing that is there. That’s basically my life as a storyteller and teacher,” he mentioned within the interview.
