The Somena are one of several Hulquminum-speaking indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast

The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...

 living in the Cowichan Valley

Cowichan Valley

The Cowichan Valley is a region around the Cowichan River and Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. There is some debate as to the origin of the name Cowichan, which many believe to be an anglicized form of the First Nations tribal name Quw'utsun.Communities include...

-Duncan

Duncan, British Columbia

Duncan is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.-History:The community is named after William Chalmers Duncan . He arrived in Victoria in May 1862, then in August of that year he was one of the party of a hundred settlers which Governor Douglas took to Cowichan Bay...

 region of Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The Somena were one of seven tribes or nations that were forced to amalgamate into one "band"

First Nations Government (Canada)

The fundamental legal unit of government for Canadian First Nations is the band.-Band:A band is typically, but not always, composed of a single community. Many bands, especially in British Columbia, control multiple Indian reserves, that is, multiple parcels of land...

, named 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....

 after their general location, the Cowichan Valley

Cowichan Valley

The Cowichan Valley is a region around the Cowichan River and Cowichan Lake on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. There is some debate as to the origin of the name Cowichan, which many believe to be an anglicized form of the First Nations tribal name Quw'utsun.Communities include...

 and Cowichan Bay. The other peoples henceforth known as "the Cowichans" were the Quamichan

Quamichan

Quamichan is a traditional nation of the Coast Salish people, commonly referred to by the English adaptation of Qu'wutsun as the Cowichan Indians, or First Nations, of the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, in the area of the city of Duncan, British Columbia...

/Kw’amutsun (the largest cultural group), Clemclemaluts (L’uml’umuluts), Comiaken (Qwum’yiqun’), Khenipsen (Hinupsum), Kilpahlas (Tl’ulpalus), and Koksilah (Hwulqwselu).

See also