Cuneah, also Gunia, Cunneah, Cunnyha, Cunniah, Coneehaw, Connehaw, Cunneaw ( Haida: ''Gəniyá'' ( 1789–1801), was the chief of

Kiusta Kiusta ( hai, K’yuusda) 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 o ...

, a town at the northwestern tip of

Graham Island Graham Island () is the largest island in the Haida Gwaii archipelago (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands), lying off the mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is separated by the narrow Skidegate Channel from the other pr ...

during the era of the

Maritime Fur Trade The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in ex ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Heca ...

off the

North Coast of British Columbia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

, Canada. This town was an important port of call for acquiring sea otter skins in the early years of the maritime fur trade. Cuneah seems to have avoided the violence that plagued other Haida chiefs, like

Koyah Koyah, also Xo'ya, Coya, Coyour, Kower, Kouyer ( Haida: ''Xhuuyaa'' - "Raven" ( 1787–1795), was the chief of Ninstints or Skungwai, the main village of the Kunghit- Haida during the era of the Maritime Fur Trade in Haida Gwaii off the North Coas ...

. George Dixon visited the Kiusta area in 1787 and called the inlet where he traded

Cloak Bay Cloak Bay is a bay in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the west side of Langara Island, between Langara and Graham Island, at the northwestern end of Haida Gwaii. It adjoins Parry Passage, the strait between Langara and Gra ...

, for the large number of beautiful sea otter cloaks he acquired there from Cuneah's people. The first European to go ashore and meet Cuneah was William Douglas, in June 1789. In addition to trading goods, Cuneah and Douglas exchanged names, a gesture of good will and honour among the Haida. From that time on the log books of various traders mention the chief as "Douglas Cuneah". A number of American traders visited, one of whom described Cuneah as "humane" and "friendly". Unfortunately the details about Cuneah after Douglas's visit are difficult to trace due to the fragmentary nature of the historic material available.

Robert Haswell Robert Haswell (November 24, 1768 – 1801?) was an early American maritime fur trader to the Pacific Northwest of North America. His journals of these voyages are the main records of Captain Robert Gray's circumnavigation of the globe. Later du ...

of the ship ''

Columbia Rediviva ''Columbia Rediviva'' (commonly known as ''Columbia'') was a privately owned American ship under the command, first, of John Kendrick, and later Captain Robert Gray, best known for going to the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. ...

'' under Robert Gray wrote an account of events at Kiusta. About Cuneah, Haswell wrote that he was "a very good old fellow - his wife was off ship and had vast authority over every person alongside."

Sigismund Bacstrom Sigismund Bacstrom (c.1750-1805) Harvard Divinity School. 2007. Introductory bio. was a doctor, a surgeon, and a notable artist of the early Maritime Fur Trade. His drawings of the people and places he encountered on his voyages show the meticulo ...

drew a picture of Cuneah's eldest daughter, Koota-Hilslinga, in 1793. Another description of Cuneah is found in Bishop's journal of the ship ''Ruby''. He describes Cuneah as chief of the whole district in 1795, probably meaning the area of

Kaigani Strait Kaigani Strait (also, Kaigahnee, Kaigan, Kaijani) is a waterway in the U.S. state of Alaska, the southern part of the strait between Long Island and Dall Island. The Alaska Native name, as reported by Etolin is 1833, is Kalgan. Kaigani is the na ...

and much of the north coast of Graham Island. Cuneah had a major influence over the Haida of Kiusta,

Dadens Dadens (''daa.adans''), also referred to as Tartenee and Tatense by some early European settlers and Tatense Reserve 16 under the Indian Act is village on the southern coast of Langara Island (Xaad Kil: K'íis Gwáayaay) belonging to the Haida Nat ...

and Kaigani. The chiefs Eldarge, Cowe, Skilkada, and Shakes were secondary to Cuneah. By 1811 Kiusta had lost its place of prominence in the fur trade, and Chief Cuneah was either very old or dead. His successor seems to have kept the name and title, but lost the chiefdom.

See also

References

Further reading