Ishi

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Alfred Kroeber (left) with Ishi, 1911
Ishi 1914
Portrait of Ishi, probably before 1916

Ishi (* around 1860 , † 25. March 1916 in San Francisco , California ) was the last survivor of the Yahi (Ya = People, hi = Postfix the southern settlements), a side branch of the Yana - Indians in Northern California .

Life

Ishi, the last known Yahi Indian, was born between 1860 and 1865 in one of the last intact villages of the Yahi tribe. Most of the tribe - including Ishi's father - were killed in an attack. A few years later, of the 300–400 Yahi, only seven people were left, all but one person closely related. This tiny group withdrew out of fear into the almost inaccessible Deer Creek Valley in order to be able to survive. The group decreased over the years, so that by 1908 only Ishi, his uncle, his mother and - this is unclear - his cousin or sister remained. In the forty years that they had been in hiding, they had looked for new places of refuge several times because white civilization (trappers, surveyors, settlers, etc.) was getting closer and closer. At last they lived in a tiny settlement that they had built in secret.

This settlement was discovered by surveyors in 1908. The group fled, but had to leave behind their seriously ill mother, who was no longer able to walk. The surveyors told of their discovery and the next day they went to this settlement. They discovered the woman, but did not take her with them, but stole most of the supplies and furs that the group needed for the winter. As a result, their survival was seriously endangered. After this event, two people in the group, the uncle and the "sister", disappeared; probably they were torn away from the raging, nearby brook while fleeing. Ishi cared for his mother for the next two to three years. Then she died and he lived alone.

Ishi went to the whites for reasons that could no longer be reconstructed and was discovered by the sheriff in Oroville on August 29, 1911 near the slaughterhouse, where his strength ran out. Terrified due to the lack of a common language, he remained in captivity for a few days until the anthropologist Thomas T. Waterman , who had learned about it through newspaper reports, managed to communicate with him on the basis of the Yahi language. While looking for ways to address him in various Indian languages, he called the word "siwini" ("yellow wood"), whereupon Ishi pricked up his ears. Incredibly for the anthropologist, he realized that there was an Indian before him, whose tribe had been considered extinct for 40 to 50 years. This Indian was given the name Ishi, which means 'man' in the Yana language, as it was not customary in their culture to address someone by their real name.

Ishi was taken to the University of California's Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley , San Francisco , where he lived and became famous. He helped the local anthropologists, especially Alfred Kroeber , in studying the Yahi language and customs. In return he was introduced to modern civilization, in which he found his way around quite well.

He also passed on his knowledge of classic Indian hunting techniques and the construction of hunting bows to Saxton Pope , who was one of the pioneers of modern bow and arrow hunting.

Waterman, Kroeber and Pope became Ishi's friends.

Ishi's quiver made of otter skin
Ishi's quiver made of otter skin

1916 Ishi died in the hospital of the Parnassus campus of the University of California, Berkeley, to tuberculosis .

In the late 1990s, it was discovered that Ishi's brain had been removed after his death, which Berkeley University denied. There was a scramble to hand over his brain to an Indian association that wanted to bury him in a dignified manner. This happened in 2000 in an undisclosed location.

In recent years there has also been an increased critical view of the anthropologist Alfred Kroeber and his treatment of the Indian. B. with regard to the pressure to collect data from him, to examine his body after death, etc. Therefore, the most widely known representation by Alfred Kroeber's wife, Theodora, has to be questioned in part.

In 2007 he was inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame .

For a long time, Ishi was considered to be the last Yahi Indians who were counted among the combative peoples and were exposed to attacks and massacres by US citizens outside of reservations as "Wild Indians". That is why he was also referred to as "The Last Wild Indian". On his urn was "Ishi, the Last Yana Indian" (German: "Ishi, the last Yana Indian"). Recent research, including by Native Americans, reconstructs that Yana Indians joined other tribes and escaped extinction on reservations by US citizens, prospectors and Indian hunters. Yana descendants were found in the Redding Rancheria reserve in 2000 . Ishi himself was originally supposed to be relocated from custody to an Indian reservation in Oklahoma.

Film adaptations

Ishi's fate, as the "last wild and unspoiled Indian", was used as a film theme in documentaries and feature films:

  • Ishi, the Last of his Tribe (German: Ishi, the last of his tribe ), feature film USA 1978. In three parts, approx. 150 minutes long. This docudrama, broadcast by ZDF on April 30, 1983, then broadcast again between June 1 and 14, 1986, depicts the life of the small group in the 40 years of their hiding in impressive scenes. It's about the fear of discovery, about their emotional problems; z. B. the impossibility to marry because of the close relatives of the last two almost of the same age; then about the slow shrinking of the group, about their connection to the spirit world and just about Ishi's life in the white world.
  • Ishi, the last Yahi (1992) Documentary, by Jed Riffe, available on DVD. This film shows Ishi's living environment as it looks today, reports on excavations and what is known today about the Yahi group. No scenic representations are shown, but the places where Ishi lived. It describes how his museum life went and illustrates a lot with still images and old photos.
  • Last of his Tribe (1992). This feature film describes Ishi's life after it was found in 1911. It is shown how it is used by emerging anthropology. Here the anthropologist Alfred Kroeber is presented critically. Ishi's abandonment and loneliness are shown, but also his previous life as it was there by traveling back to the area. In terms of content, there are no scenic re-enactments of his earlier life. Ultimately, this film ends with his death. It is particularly clear to what extent the interests of scientists clashed with respect for human dignity. The opening scenes, however, are fictitious. B. that his cousin / sister was shot.
  • The fate of the "last Indian" (2011, about 9 minutes within the episode, original title: Flying Car, Prison Riot, Dreamland Fire ), episode 12, season 2 of the documentary series Mysteries in the Museum (original title: Mysteries at the museum ). Based on Ishi's fur jacket with which he appeared in Oroville, his story is told based on current research.

literature

  • Theodora Kroeber : Ishi in Two Worlds (in German: The man who came from the Stone Age ). The book of Ishi by the second wife of the anthropologist Alfred Kroeber was the model for the film adaptations. ISBN 0-520-22940-1
  • CW Ceram : The First American . The discovery of Native American cultures in North America. Hannelore Marek and Artemis & Winkler Verlag, Munich and Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-1928-1 .
  • Othmar Franz Lang: The river erases my trail . Benziger Verlag, Cologne and Zurich 1978, ISBN 3-545-33072-9 . Novel, book for young people.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Thomson Gale: Yahi and Yana. In: encyclopedia.com. U * X * L Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, 2008, accessed February 21, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Orin Starn, Ishi's Brain: In Search of America's Last "Wild" Indian
  3. ^ Theodora Kroeber: Ishi, the Last Yahi - A Documentary History.
  4. ↑ Theodora Kroeber: Ishi, Last of his Tribe. (Children's book for use in schools)
  5. ↑ Gretchen Kell: Ishi apparently wasn't the last Yahi, according to new evidence from UC Berkeley research archaeologist. In: News Release. University of California at Berkeley Public Information Office, February 5, 2016, accessed February 21, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Mark R. Day, "Still Exploiting Him": Remembering Ishi, the "Last Wild Indian in California". In: indiancountrymedianetwork.com. National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), March 25, 2016, accessed February 21, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Ishi, the Last Yahi - Jed Riffe Films . In: Jed Riffe Films . ( jedriffefilms.com [accessed September 9, 2018]).
personal data
SURNAME Ishi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indians, last survivor of the Yahi
DATE OF BIRTH around 1860
DATE OF DEATH March 25, 1916
Place of death San Francisco , California , United States