Benson Island, British Columbia

Benson Island

Native name: C'isaa or Ćišaa?uḥ, also spelled Ts'isha' or Ts'isha?atH
Benson Island is one of the Broken Group located in Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island
Geography
Location	Barkley Sound, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Coordinates	48°53′0″N 125°22′56″W / 48.88333°N 125.38222°W / 48.88333; -125.38222
Archipelago	Barkley Sound
Area	17.4 ha (43 acres)
Administration
Canada
Province	British Columbia
Region	Vancouver Island
Demographics
Ethnic groups	Tseshaht First Nation territory

Benson Island, known to the Tseshaht First Nation people as C'isaa (Ćišaa?atḥ) or Ts'ishaa (Ts'isha?atH), is part of the Broken Group in Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is notable because the Tseshaht First Nation recognize it as the creation site where the first man and first woman of the Tseshaht people came into this world.

Benson is a small, irregularly shaped island on the northwestern edge of the Broken Group. It covers about 43 acres (17 ha) and is about .5 miles (0.80 km) at its longest points from north to south. The shoreline is mostly very rugged, with two rock beaches on the northeast and southeast sides of the island. The northeast beach is the site of a former Tseshaht village, and there is a large cultural shell midden extending approximately 985 feet (300 m) along the shoreline. There is a small blowhole on the west side that is active mostly during high tides.

The oral history of the Tseshaht people, part of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth culture of western British Columbia, identifies Ts'ishaa (C'isaa) (Benson Island) as the place where Kapkimyis, a supernatural being in their tradition, created the first Tseshaht man and woman. There are several versions of the story about this event. The following is taken from two current versions as told by the Tseshaht people:

The significance of C'isaa (Ts'ishaa) to the Tseshaht people is indicated by their very name: "Tseshaht" means "people of Ts'ishaa".

Archeological evidence shows the site at C'isaa was first occupied over 5,000 years ago, and Tseshaht oral history tells of continuing occupation of the site until after European contact. The Tseshaht people used Ts'ishaa as a home village as they followed sea mammals, salmon and other food and natural resources throughout Barkley Sound as the seasons changed.

In 1791 the Spanish Ship Santa Saturina entered Barkley Sound, marking the first European contact with the indigenous people living in the area. Over the next 100 years the Tseshaht and other First Nations in the area suffered enormous population declines, primarily from diseases such as smallpox that were brought by the European explorers.