Cape Sutil is the

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

at the northernmost point of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, in the

Canadian Province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Toponymy

Cape Sutil was named in 1792 by Spanish explorers

Dionisio Alcalá Galiano Dionisio Alcalá Galiano (8 October 1760 – 21 October 1805) was a Spanish Navy officer, cartographer, and explorer. He mapped various coastlines in Europe and the Americas with unprecedented accuracy using new technology such as chronomete ...

and Cayetano Valdés y Flores during their circumnavigation of Vancouver Island, done in partial cooperation with

George Vancouver Captain (Royal Navy), Captain George Vancouver (; 22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for leading the Vancouver Expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern West Coast of the Uni ...

. The name refers to Galiano's goleta, '' Sutil''. In 1860 or 1862

George Henry Richards Sir George Henry Richards (13 January 182014 November 1896) was Hydrographer of the Royal Navy from 1863 to 1874. Biography Richards was born in Antony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G. S. Richards, and joined the Royal Navy in 1832. His eld ...

named the headland Cape Commerell. The name Sutil was restored by the Geographic Board of Canada in 1905 or 1906.

Geography

Cape Sutil is the northernmost point of Vancouver Island. It is located at the western end of

Goletas Channel Goletas Channel is a channel and strait on the north side of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It separates Vancouver Island from Hope Island and Nigei Island, located just east of Cape Sutil, the northernmost point of Vancouver Islan ...

near

Hope Island Hope Island may refer to: Places Antarctica * Hope Island (Graham Land), an island on d'Urville Island * Nadezhdy Island (Hope Island) Australia * Hope Island, Queensland, a suburb of Gold Coast City * Hope Island (Tasmania) * Hope Islands (Queen ...

. The westernmost point of Hope Island, Mexicana Point, was named for Cayetano Valdés's vessel, '' Mexicana''. Goletas Channel was also named by Galiano and Valdés in 1792.

BC Geographical Names The BC Geographical Names (formerly BC Geographical Names Information System or BCGNIS) is a geographic name web service and database for the Canadian province of British Columbia run by the Base Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch of the Integr ...

uses a line between Cape Sutil and

Cape Caution Cape Caution is a headland along the Central Coast of the Canadian Province of British Columbia. It is the point where Queen Charlotte Strait meets Queen Charlotte Sound, as well as where Mount Waddington Regional District meets Central Coast R ...

to separate Queen Charlotte Sound and

Queen Charlotte Strait Queen Charlotte Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It connects Queen Charlotte Sound with Johnstone Strait and Discovery Passage and via them to the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound. It for ...

History

Nahwitti was a

Kwakwakaʼwakw The Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw (), also known as the Kwakiutl (; "Kwakʼwala-speaking peoples"), are an indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, indigenous group of the Pacific Northwest Coast, in southwestern Canada. Their total population, ...

First Nation village located just east of Cape Sutil. It was a major trading site during the maritime fur trade era of approximately 1790 to 1850. Today it is an

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve () or First Nations reserve () is defined by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." ...

under the administration of the Kwakwakaʼwakw Tlatlasikwala Nation. During the early 19th century Nahwitti was the principal town of the Nahwitti First Nation. It was one of the most popular sites for

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

trading vessels on the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

coast, and the primary point of contact with the Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples. Hundreds of trading vessels, mostly

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, visited during this time, mainly seeking

sea otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...

skins to take to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, where they commanded a high price. In 1850–1851 the village of Nahwitti was shelled and burned to the ground twice by the

British Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. Most of the inhabitants fled to Bull Harbour on Hope Island. The Nahwitti people called their new village on Hope Island "Meloopa". Many eventually relocated again to

Alert Bay Alert Bay is a village on Cormorant Island, near the town of Port McNeill on northeast Vancouver Island, in the Regional District of Mount Waddington, British Columbia, Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statist ...

. The village site on Hope Island remains an Indian reserve called "Hope Island 1". Near the original village, on Cape Sutil, is a reserve called "Nahwitti 4".

References

{{Reflist First Nations history in British Columbia Headlands of British Columbia Kwakwaka'wakw Northern Vancouver Island