Cowin paid careful attention to marketing, and his high-quality fruit stood out in the marketplace. In 1909-1910, Earle Cowin earned the distinction of being one of first Pacific Northwest fruit growers to plant an orchard on the Yakama Indian Reservation. Established as a result of the Treaty of 1855 between the U.S. government and 14 independent, but related, tribes and bands of Indians who shared a common language, the Yakama Reservation lands were originally owned by the tribal government. There were no individual landowners—Indian or non-Indian—until after the 1887 passage of the Dawes Act by the U.S. Congress. The Dawes […]