Watermark Bookkeeping
Where We Work
North Cowichan, British Columbia
My wife and I moved to the Cowichan valley in 2023, and we are still stunned that we live in such a beautiful place! We have had the privilege of attending local Cowichan Tribes sponsored events, and we want to do all we can to fulfill our responsibilities as uninvited settlers on this land and to move forward in the spirit of reconciliation.
Watermark is based in North Cowichan, on southeastern Vancouver Island — the unceded territory of the Quw'utsun (Cowichan) Tribes and the neighbouring Hul'qumi'num-speaking Coast Salish nations who share this valley: 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 Nation 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.
Watermark fully endorses and supports the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which can be reviewed here.
If anything on this page is inaccurate, out of date, or should be said differently, we want to hear it. Email [email protected].