Cumshewa, also Go'mshewah, Cummashawa, Cummashawaas, Cumchewas, Gumshewa, was an important chief of the Haida people of the Queen Charlotte Islands

Queen Charlotte Islands

Haida Gwaii , formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of...

 on the North Coast of British Columbia

British Columbia Coast

The British Columbia Coast or BC Coast is Canada's western continental coastline on the Pacific Ocean. The usage is synonymous with the term West Coast of Canada....

, 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...

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

Kwak'wala

Kwak'wala is the Indigenous language spoken by the Kwakwaka'wakw. It belongs to the Wakashan language family. There are about 250 Kwak'wala speakers today, which amounts to 5% of the Kwakwaka'wakw population...

 or Heiltsuk

Heiltsuk language

Heiltsuk , also known as Bella Bella and Haihais, is a dialect of the North Wakashan language Heiltsuk-Oowekyala that is spoken by the Haihai and Bella Bella First Nations peoples of the Central Coast region of the Canadian province of British Columbia, around the communities of Bella Bella and...

 (Bella Bella) origin, meaning "rich at the mouth of the river". He is mentioned by Captain George Dixon

George Dixon

George Dixon may refer to:*George Dixon , Canadian boxer*George Dixon , Canadian Football League Hall of Fame player*George Dixon , sea captain and explorer...

 who traded with him in 1787. In 1794 Cumshewa and his warriors massacred the crew of the American vessel Resolution

Resolution (ship)

The Resolution was an American trading vessel whose crew were massacred by Haida chief Cumshewa and his followers in 1794, at Cuomo Inlet near Moresby Island in the Queen Charlotte Islands of the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada.-References:**...

.

Legacy

Cumshewa is commemorated on the map of the archipelago by Cumshewa Inlet

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 Queen Charlotte Islands of the North Coast of British Columbia...

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

Cumshewa, British Columbia

Cumshewa is a former village and of the Haida people located on the north flank of Cumshewa Inlet in the Queen Charlotte Islands of the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada...

(which is on the inlet of that name).