Cumshewa, also Go'mshewah, Cummashawa, Cummashawaas, Cumchewas, and Gumshewa, was an important hereditary leader of the

Haida people The Haida (, , , , ) are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. They constitute one of 203 First Nations in British Columbia and 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, tribes in Alaska. T ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

on the

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, an urban area and major division in the parish of Saint John * North Coast, Barbuda, an administrative district of Barbuda Australia * New South Wa ...

of what is now

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 ...

, Canada. His name is believed to be of either Kwak'wala or

Heiltsuk The Heiltsuk , sometimes historically referred to as ''Bella Bella'', or ''Híɫzaqv'' are an Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Indigenous people of the Central Coast Regional District, Central Coast region in British Columbia, ...

(Bella Bella) origin, meaning "rich at the mouth of the river". He is mentioned by Captain George Dixon, who traded with him in 1787. In 1794, Cumshewa and his warriors massacred the crew of the American vessel '' Resolution''.

Legacy

Cumshewa is commemorated on modern maps of the archipelago by several places named for him, including

Cumshewa Inlet Cumshewa Inlet (), also recorded or referred to in exploration logs as Cumchewas Harbour and Tooscondolth Sound, is a large inlet on the east coast of Moresby Island in the Haida Gwaii islands of the North Coast of British Columbia. The inlet was ...

, Cumshewa Mountain, Cumshewa Head (a point), Cumshewa Island, the Cumshewa Rocks, and the modern First Nations locality of

Cumshewa Cumshewa, also Go'mshewah, Cummashawa, Cummashawaas, Cumchewas, and Gumshewa, was an important hereditary leader of the Haida people of Haida Gwaii on the North Coast of what is now British Columbia, Canada. His name is believed to be of either Kw ...

(which is on the inlet of that name).

References

* Haida people Indigenous leaders in British Columbia Pre-Confederation British Columbia people 18th-century indigenous people of the Americas {{FirstNations-stub