Ethics and the

    Columbia River Treaty

    Righting Historic Wrongs

1. -
   

     Philip Harju

     Chairman

     Cowlitz Indian Tribe

Philip Harju was born and raised in Clark County, Washington.  He graduated from Hudson’s Bay High School in 1972, from Clark College in 1974, from the University of Washington in 1976 with a BA in Political Science, and from the University of Puget Sound, School of Law in 1979 with a Juris Doctorate in Law.  He was admitted to the Washington State Bar in 1979. 

Philip served as a Thurston County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney from 1979-2008.  He served as the Cowlitz General Counsel from April 2008 to August 2020.

An enrolled member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, he was first elected to the Cowlitz Tribal Council in 2004 and was elected as the Cowlitz General Council Vice-Chairman in 2008, and re-elected in 2011, 2014, and 2017.  He became the Cowlitz Tribal Chairman on August 17, 2020. 

Philip currently serves on the Cowlitz Executive Council, Cowlitz Strategic Planning Committee, Cowlitz Tribal Gaming Authority, and the Cultural Board of the Cowlitz Tribe.