Ishi, the Last Wild Indian
The story of Ishi isn’t a happy one nor does it have a happy ending. This was a man who had seen war and murder. He had experienced pain and hunger as well as loss at a very early age. Ishi was born in 1860 or sometime around then, this date isn’t known exactly. He is recognized in history as the last wild Indian to have existed. He was the last of the Yahi, a group of Native Americans that lived in the state of California. They were a smaller tribe who were a part of a larger collection of Indians called the Yana. The Yahi resided on the most southern part of the Yana tribe. Most of the people who happen to have existed during that time considered Ishi a person who lived outside of the modern culture that was on…show more content… In this massacre, about 40 of his tribesmen were brought down leaving only 33 survivors who were later attacked by cattlemen reducing their number by half. The remaining half was composed of Ishi and his family. They escaped and spent 44 years of their lives in exile. This largely led to the belief that the tribe had become extinct. It is also important to point out that prior to the California Gold Rush, which took place between 1848 and 1855, their number was around 404. As a matter of fact, the gold rush came with a lot of repercussions which included increased pressure on the native population. This was due to the fact that the rush brought in tens of thousands of the miners and settlers who were now driven by the desire to exploit the gold that was available in the area…show more content… Professor Thomas Waterman, at the University of California’s Museum of Anthropology department, took him and studied him (Jacknis). Apart from using him as a specimen for anthropology studies and research, Ishi was also accorded the chance of working and helping the professors as a research assistant. One may raise the question as to what studies were being conducted on Ishi by the Museum Anthropology department? It is important to understand that their main purpose was to try and understand the culture and the way of life of the Yahi people. Now that the only survivor of these people who could easily be traced was Ishi, it was vital that the Museum seize the opportunity of using his presence to explore more on the culture and the way of life of the Yahi people. This research was majorly conducted by Waterman and Kroeber. They studied Ishi closely for a long time, part of which included being interviewed on various issues concerning the tribe. This was done to ensure that the Yahi culture was reconstructed correctly so that the information would be safely stored for future generations to
