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Xaad kil: K’yuusda anglicised to "Kiusta: located on Haida Gwaii is the oldest Northern Haida village: and the site of first recorded contact between the Haida and Europeans in 1774. Haida lived in this village for thousands of years, due to the sheltered nature of its location it was used for boats offloading, especially in rough waters. Kiusta is one of the oldest archeological sites of human use in British Columbia, and continues to be a site for cultural revitalisation.

K'yuusda

The name K'yuusda means "where the trail comes out," in reference to a trail used from Lepas Bay to the village. The trail is substantial and is still used between these villages on the west coast of Graham Island.

Village Site

The village of K'yuusda lies on a sheltered beach facing Cloak Bay on the northwest corner of Graham Island, opposite Langara Island. It faces north onto Parry Passage, noted for its tidal currents, but is well protected by Marchand Reef along its northern end.

History

K'yuusda is one of the only sites that has been archeologically dated and ‘in 1986, archeologists from the Haida Gwaii Museum uncovered campfire charcoal dating back 10,400 years’ denoting it as ‘one of the oldest known sites of human activity in British Columbia’ .

“A drawing of Kiusta from the 1799 journal of the ship Eliza depicts eight houses and two empty house lots. The archaeologist Swanton had information that there were nine houses that stood at Kiusta in the middle of the last century and eight more at the nearby village of Yaku. The 1799 drawing shows only one frontal pole [and] two mortuary posts, one of which is very big with a large animal figure, possibly a bear, to contain the coffin on top. It was located beside the large house of then Chief Gunia.” The construction of houses in the 18th century has been described as “a simple support structure of two parallel round beams set on pairs of uprights. To this basic structure is added a framework of light rafters, sills, corner posts, and gables, which is then covered with planks. “The Eliza journal also speaks of “Coneehaw”, “Connehaw”, or “Cunneaw”, said to be a reference to then Chief Gunia. Chief Gunia was a territorial chief, he lived in a house on a small island near Kiusta. The town chief of Kiusta was Itltini. Soon after the departure of the Djus Island people, the main lineage of the Stastas relocated to the Kiusta area from their villages at the far eastern end of Graham Island near Rose Spit and at Hiellan. Although, the Stastas Eagle families, under their chief, Edenshaw, built a sizable town at Kiusta during the 1800’s, there are few records of this event other than the remains of the houses and monuments themselves.” “About 1850, according to Dalzell, Chief Edenshaw died and was succeeded by his nephew Gwai-gu-unltlin of Cape Ball village who was known to Europeans as Albert Edward Edenshaw. By 1853 the population of Kiusta had declined seriously and the remaining occupants followed their chief east to Naden Harbour where they built new houses at an old village site which they renamed Kung.”

Early European References: contact with Kiusta

K'yuusda was first portrayed in 1799, in a drawing in the journal of the ship Eliza. The illustration provided a panorama of the town from the water. “In 1774, during a ten-month voyage, the Spanish ship Santiago voyaged to British Columbia under Captain Juan Perez. Due to concerns of the ship’s water supply running low the Santiago approached Haida Gwaii (Graham Island) to find a secure harbour to drop anchor. It was here off the coast of Langara Island that three canoes approached the ship and the Spanish traded beads for dried fish. The following day twenty-one canoes appeared, and two of the Haida people boarded the ship.”

The first reference to the village was made by John Meares in the published journal of the expedition of the Iphigenia, under Captain William Douglas. Although few precise landmarks are given, it appears that their first day’s exploration on June 20th, 1789, brought them as far as the middle of Parry Passage. A trade relationship would develop between these captains and Chief Cuneah exchanging items such as naval uniforms for sea otter pelts.

Small Pox Epidemic: 1830’s

In the late 1830’s an epidemic of smallpox ravaged the North Coast resulting in the death of more than half the Haida (though others have estimated the deaths to be closer to 80 to 90 per cent of the population). There was another outbreak in 1862 when some of the Hiada were living in Victoria, and James Douglas and Hudson's Bay Company made a plan to "distribute smallpox infested blankets amongst the Haida in the hopes that they would spread this disease to all the other tribes". With the reduced population, trade became monopolized by a smaller number of chiefs. Over the next quarter-century other chiefs, including Chief 7idansuu of Kiusta, had to establish stronger links with other chiefs as a result of their remote location and dwindling population and many gravitated to Masset where there were missionaries and other service and commercial people.

Abalone trade

Evidence of trade in abalone shells is based in part on recovered abalone shells from a site in Kiusta. This was done before the Americans arrived, between the Haida and other coastal communities. It is suggested that traders imported California-area abalone shell because “they had noticed local peoples' use of "paler, smaller" abalone. Such importation was likely done by American traders who dominated the sea otter pelt trade in the Haida Gwaii area from the mid-1790s to the 1840s (Lyle Dick, Parks Canada, pers. comm. 2001).”

7idansuu

The name Edenshaw is an anglicised version of 7idansuu and is first mentioned by fur traders of the 1790s. As with all Haida chiefly names, it was passed down the matrilineal line to a chief's eldest sister's son. At least one Chief 7idansuu preceded the one who dominated most of the nineteenth century, Albert Edward 7idansuu. Albert Edward 7idansuu built his house in Kiusta around 1840 after the details of the carvings on the corner posts, rafter ends and frontal pole were 7idansuu to him in a dream. He named it Story House, and it stood on the site of his predecessor's dwelling, called Property House. When Story House was finished, Albert Edward gave a great potlatch and invited guests from Masset, Skidegate, Kaisun and Cha'atl, as well as from Kaigani villages. The noted artist Charles Edenshaw, who was Albert Edward's nephew and heir, made a model of Story House for John R. Swanton, and it is now at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Stastas Eagles

The Stastas Eagles are part of the Eagle contingent on the north coast of the Islands, the current chief of the Eagle clan is 7idansuu.

Art Mapping

“In 1966 the National Museum of Man launched a major programme of prehistoric research on the northern coast of British Columbia. …Mapping began at the village of K'yuusda in Cloak Bay in 1966… extensive files on each village were compiled, including references to village histories, house ownership, and the identification of the figures on the carved columns commonly known as totem poles. Over ten thousand historical photographs, assembled from museum and archive collections in North America and Europe, proved invaluable in checking the authenticity of the site maps. Careful records of the date and location of the photographs kept by the photographers, most of whom were attached to government survey parties, establish dates for the houses and monuments. The documentary photographs that survive are among the few remaining records which illustrate the richness and variety of Haida monumental art.”

K'yuusda Revitalisation

Three new longhouses built at the site of the ancient village of K'yuusda, amidst old poles that stand witness to the great civilization that was here are a testament to resilience and the future. Across the narrow strait separating K'yuusda from Ḵ'iis Gwaay Langara Island are three floating lodges for sport fishers are anchored. These are part of the Haida plan to manage the salmon resources of the islands to sustain the yield of a renewable resource.

Currently, ’island teens’ can also stay at T'aahllngsdhllng (Lapas Bay) for a 2-week “Rediscovery programme” to engage in "hands-on learning in environmental awareness, hands-on skills and respect for traditional Haida culture".