Watermark Bookkeeping
Where We Work
North Cowichan, British Columbia
Watermark is based in North Cowichan, on southern Vancouver Island — the unceded territory of the Quw'utsun (Cowichan) people and the neighbouring Hul'qumi'num-speaking Coast Salish nations who share this valley: Cowichan Tribes, Stz'uminus First Nation, Penelakut Tribe, Halalt First Nation, and Lyackson First Nation.
This land was never sold, and no treaty has ever been signed for it. Cowichan Tribes is the largest First Nations band in British Columbia, and it's still in active treaty negotiation with Canada over this territory today — not a historical footnote, an open question.
Hul'qumi'num place names cover this valley, and they were here long before "Cowichan Valley" showed up on any map. The people who gave this place those names never left it.
We're a small bookkeeping practice, not a government or an institution, and we're not going to pretend a page like this settles anything. It's a starting point, not a finish line.
If anything on this page is inaccurate, out of date, or should be said differently, we want to hear it. Email mark@watermarkbookkeeping.ca.