[2] 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.

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.

Albert Edward Edenshaw built his house in Kiusta around 1840 after the details of the carvings on the corner posts, rafter ends and frontal pole were revealed to him in a dream.

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.

Although most of their lands were around Rose Spit, at the northeastern tip of the Islands, and in Naden Harbour, they were town chiefs of Kiusta village at the northwest end.

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.

"[10] Three new longhouses built at the site of the ancient village of Kiusta, amidst old poles that stand witness to the great civilization that was here are a testament to resilience and the future.