The Cowichan Tribes are an amalgamation of several small bands in the Cowichan Valley, which comprises the largest band in BC, with a population of more than 3,700 community members. The traditional ancestral Cowichan territory is in and around the city of Duncan BC.

Traditionally ... the Cowichan people were involved extensively in forestry, in order to provide them with the materials they required for most of the necessities of life, such as houses, canoes, boxes, paddles, firewood, most tools and implements as well as for barks, roots and branches that were used for a variety of purposes. Most traditional forestry was accomplished by felling trees by burning the roots or by controlled burning through the tree. Bark was obtained by making cuts on the tree and then pulling off strips of the bark.

The Quw'utsun' People realized very early that the cedar was one of the most versatile trees and they used it extensively. The large winter houses were constructed from cedar using a complicated system of rope pulleys and mounds of dirt. The trunks would become canoes and totem poles. The bark would be fashioned into clothing, baskets and rope that are stronger than any modern nylon equivalent.