The Lake Cowichan First Nation government and reserve is located in Lake Cowichan, British Columbia

Lake Cowichan, British Columbia

Cowichan Lake is a large freshwater lake located on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located along the Cowichan Valley in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, with its eastern shore about west of Duncan, British Columbia. Cowichan Lake is about in length, running...

. The Lake Cowichan First Nation, while its own distinct group, is closely linked to the peoples of the Cowichan Tribes

Cowichan Tribes

The Cowichan Tribes First Nations government, located in and around the Cowichan Valley and Duncan, British Columbia, it is the single largest band government in British Columbia....

 band government, and is part of the Hul'qumi'num linguistic group

There are over 15 registered tribal members.

History

Early settlers to the Lake Cowichan area described "a small tribe of Indians" living in "houses constructed of bark." During the 19th Century the Lake Cowichan First Nation was decimated by disease and conflict with neighboring groups. In 1887 the surveyor Ashdown Green reported that the Lake Cowichan people had once been a large tribe but had been nearly wiped out by war with the neighboring Cowichan Tribes

Cowichan

Cowichan may refer either to:*the Cowichan peoples and their dialect of Hul'qumi'num*the Cowichan Tribes First Nation located in and around Duncan, British Columbia...

 and Ditidahts. In 1860, a prospetor by the name of Samuel Harris travelled to the area seeking minerals and reported that many of the Natives were dead and dying from smallpox. Archaeological investigations have revealed the historic presence of a village on the north east side of the lake, within the boundaries of the present day Cowichan Lake Indian Reserve.