The Cowlitz already have hunting and fishing rights. They were (by the Federal Government) made part of the Quinault reservation. I believe they are one of 5 tribes in that group. Roy Wilson (a native) is a past chief and spiritual advisor has written several books on the history of the tribe. The Cowlitz tribal areas were very large when the white man arrived here. They were not granted a reservation at the time primarily because they were a peaceful nation and just allowed themselves to be pushed off the land by settlers. The approximate boundary of the native lands was from the Columbia to Mt. Rainier and from the coast to the lands bordering the Yakima reservation just over the pass . They numbered over 50000 members when the whites first made contact. After the intentional/unintentual arrival of new diseases not natural to them the number dropped to around 2400.
After they were put into the Quinault unit, they began petitioning the government to be given their status as a tribe . The biggest opponent to this was the Quinault Nation. They were granted status only recently and have been trying to establish a reservation once again. There was a land settlement deal in which they gave up rights to any land claims to around 2 million acres for less than 1 dollar an acre. This money was put into a trust (as is the case with most tribal awards because of the language in the treaties describe the Indian people as wards of the government) this had not been used until they aquired the land by LaCenter.
Mr. Wilson's book on the history of the tribe is a very informational read.