A map of California showing the distribution of Indian territories. The Yana tribe lived in the northern part.
It was the first encounter with Ishi, the last Yahi Indian. The Yahi, or Southern Yana Indians, were a subgroup of the Yana Indians who lived in the northern part of California as hunters and warriors. When the California Gold Rush began in 1849, many gold seekers from the east flooded the area inhabited by the Yana. The newcomers exterminated the Yana over the next few decades. The last major massacre took place in 1872, when most of them were killed. The survivors, mostly women, children, and elderly, retreated to vast and secluded areas where they lived hidden from the white man. Over time, new settlers forgot about them, and news of the Indians was rarely heard, so the mentioned incident sparked great interest.
The day after, a small expedition came to the same place to verify the credibility of the workers’ statement. , as it was believed that the “wild” Indians had disappeared from that area half a century ago. They were greeted by two arrows that flew past them, and in the distance they saw two men running away. Not far from that spot, they discovered their little hideout where they found a frightened and motionless old woman. They tried to communicate with her in Spanish and a few Indian languages, but she didn’t understand any of them. On that occasion, as souvenirs, they took their bows and arrows, kitchen utensils, fur caps, and from the pantry, dried salmon and acorns – everything necessary for winter survival.
When they returned the next day, the old woman was gone. Later, it was discovered that she was Ishi’s mother, and the men – Ishi and his uncle. Shortly after leaving the hideout that the white people had discovered, Ishi’s mother died, followed by his uncle; Ishi was left alone in the world, there was no one he could turn to, talk to, hunt with, etc.
In the meantime, the white people neither heard nor saw that little settlement. Until one morning in 1911, in the town of Oroville, located about 50 km from where they were first seen, the barking of a dog in the slaughterhouse yard revealed a hidden opportunity. It was Ishi, the last surviving Yahi Indian. Lost and starving, he was taken to the city jail. For the Yahi Indian, everything related to the white man was death, and Ishi was convinced that that was his fate. He did not eat or drink in jail. Every attempt at communication, in multiple languages, was unsuccessful, leading them to believe he was completely wild or mentally retarded.
The newspapers had headlines like: Wild Indian from Oroville, Primitive savage from the Stone Age, and so on. When the news from Oroville reached San Francisco, Alfred L. Kroeber, who founded the anthropology department at the University of Berkeley, and his associate Thomas T. Waterman were quick to seize this opportunity. Kroeber believed that it was only a matter of time before the traces of the original American culture would disappear. Their knowledge of their ancient customs and rituals “Institutions and traditions, preserved from the earliest Aboriginal times to the twentieth century, could be a rich mine for future ethnologists and anthropologists,” wrote Kroeber in his report on the Yahi Indian.
“From left to right: Sam Batwi, Dr. A. L. Kroeber, and Ishi.”
“Journey to San Francisco”
“Dr. Kroeber and Dr. Waterman explained to the sheriff of Oroville that they wanted to study the Indian for scientific purposes and that they would take good care of him. The sheriff readily accepted the proposal, relieved to have elegantly resolved the unusual case. Since there were no formal accusations, and the Indian seemed to have no complaints, Waterman took him to San Francisco.”
“Ishi arrived at the university campus on September 4, 1911, and a month later, the Anthropological Museum was inaugurated, where Dr. Kroeber, the museum director, assigned Ishi a comfortable room. There, Ishi became the subject of research and lived his last years contentedly. Dr. Kroeber named him Ishi, while…” Ishi called him “Big Chiep” [Chief]. In fact, when asked what his name was, he would reply that he had no name because there were no people who could give him a name, but the elders called him Ishi, which means “strong and upright”. The language barrier posed a significant problem in communication. The Yana tribe had many dialects that were so different from each other that they seemed to not belong to the same group. Sam Batwi, one of the oldest Indians of the northern Yana, who understood and translated many words of the Yahija language, was called upon for help and became Ishi’s translator.
A typical Yahija dwelling that Ishi built for museum visitors.
Salmon fishing on Deer Creek during a trip to Ishi’s homeland.
Ishi’s popularity grew very quickly. Newspapers across the country wrote about the “last savage,” a man untouched by civilization who had stepped out of the stone age into the modern era. Before coming among the white people, he had lived naked, so they compared him to the Aboriginals at the moment of the arrival of Europeans on Australian soil. a brat.”
People came to see and study him; Ishi didn’t seem to mind – he studied them too! He tirelessly answered the questions of all interested in the customs and culture of his people, and he himself learned to live in a world unimaginably different from the one he knew. He quickly adopted the ways of the modern world, and he was particularly fascinated by the number of people he saw in San Francisco.
By appearance, he seemed to be in his forties, although he was probably closer to his sixties. The way of life he lived made him physically strong and mentally alert. Kroeber, Waterman, and Pope, who spent the most time with him, testify that he was withdrawn, but sharp, cheerful, gentle, and pleasant in nature, kind, hardworking, patient, honest, reliable, and dignified. Everyone who spent some time with Ishi sincerely loved him and called themselves his friends. Dr. Pope wrote about Ishi: His kindness and constant good mood made him beloved by everyone… I loved him like a brother. Brother, and he saw in me one of his compatriots. He called me Ku wi or Shaman. Waterman described him like this: He had an inherent caution and attentiveness that surpassed the refinement of the majority of the “civilized” ones. What was particularly surprising about his behavior was that he showed no bitterness towards white people who had massacred his people.
His philosophy of life and morals were far above the morals of most people he encountered in the “modern” world. He knew the history and meaning of everything in nature. Over fifty of Ishi’s songs and stories about nature spirits, animals and their adventures have been recorded or written down, but unfortunately they have remained mostly untranslated.
There were attempts to convert Ishi to Christianity, but he seemed unable to grasp the basic concepts of a foreign religion. The way of life of his tribe was deeply rooted in him. Ishi lived with nature, knew the language of animals and was an exceptional hunter. Dilig Ishi would prepare for the hunt, which would begin at dawn after he bathed in the stream and end at noon. He never hunted when the sun was on its descent. Dr. Saxton Pope, who often accompanied him on hunts, said that Ishi, with a bow in his hand, became something lighter than air and quieter than falling snow. He excelled at mimicking animals and luring the game towards him. Time was of no importance to him; he patiently waited for the perfect moment to catch the animal. He would sometimes observe them for an hour, but he would always eventually catch them. Once, when he went hunting with Dr. Pope, he suddenly stopped. When asked why they stopped, he replied that a blue jay had just alerted everyone, “People are coming!” He was convinced it made no sense to go further because all the animals would be aware that a human was approaching. Only a white man would continue hunting under such circumstances. Dr. Pope published what he learned from Ishi about archery in his book “Hunting with a Bow and Arrow – The Story of the Last Y ana was an Indian.
Ishi was skilled in making bows. This particular bow had excellent properties and was one of the best hunting bows. Dr. Saxton Pope, Ishi’s close friend, an avid archer and bow hunter, left us a testimony of this in his book “Hunting with the Bow and Arrow – the story of the last Yahi Indian.”
The Departure of the Last Yahi
Ishi lived with the white people for almost five years. In the third year after arriving in San Francisco, at the urging of Kroeber, Waterman, and Pope, he visited his native place Wowomopono tetna (Bear’s Hideout), where they camped together for a month. Ishi taught them how to hunt with the bow and arrow, how to fish the way the Yahis did, how to set up a tent, how to gather edible and medicinal plants, and many other native skills. In the evenings, he sang songs of his people around the fire and taught Pope’s eleven-year-old son the circular dance of the Yahis. This camping experience was invaluable for Ishi’s friends personally and for their understanding of native cultures. tropolis studies. As if they had gone back in time and asked a man from another era to show them how people used to live long ago… Kroeber took hundreds of photographs that are kept in the archives of Berkeley University.
Ishi himself enjoyed hunting and bathing in the streams of his childhood, but he still didn’t want to stay there. His land was full of the spirits of the deceased ancestors, and over time, he grew to like living among the white people. However, since he didn’t have inherited or acquired immunity to the diseases of the white people, he often became ill. When it was discovered that he had tuberculosis, his friends intended to send him to a climate that would better suit his health condition, but the disease progressed rapidly, and he passed away after a few months – in March 1916. He wasn’t afraid of death; he died with dignity and peacefully, according to the customs of his people. He was cremated along with his most beloved belongings.
By 1961, Ishi’s story had almost faded from memory when Alfred Kroeber’s wife wrote a book about him. With the title “Ishi in Two Worlds: The Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America,” she revealed that Ishi’s white friends learned about the lost culture of the Yahi people thanks to Ishi, but what left the deepest impression on them was his noble humanity.
Dr. Saxton Pope, speaking about Ishi’s death, said: … And so, stoically and without fear, the last wild American Indian departed. He closed a chapter in history. He looked at us as highly developed children, intelligent but not wise. We knew many things and much that was incorrect; he knew nature, which is always true. He possessed qualities of character that are eternal. He was kind, courageous, and unassuming, and although everything was taken from him, he had no bitterness in his heart. He had the soul of a child, the mind of a philosopher.
He had no word for ‘goodbye,’ only: I am going, you will stay. He left and now hunts alongside his people…