1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:12,200 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: a show that pays tribute to people of the past 4 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 1: by telling their stories. Today, I'm Gay Bluesier, and in 5 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: this episode, we're reflecting on the tragic tale of Ishi, 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: a Native American man who lost his family and his 7 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: way of life to western expansion. After resisting assimilation for 8 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: half a century, he was compelled to join the society 9 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: of his oppressors, where he quickly learned how right he'd 10 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: been to avoid it. The day was August nine, nine eleven, 11 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: the last surviving member of the Yahee people was found 12 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: on the brink of starvation near a slaughter house in Oraville, California. 13 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: He never divulged his true name, but he came to 14 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 1: be known as Ishi, the Yanna word for man. And 15 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: his family had spent decades living in the remote mountains 16 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:18,000 Speaker 1: of northern California, but accident, disease, and even murder had 17 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: claimed each of his companions until only he was left. 18 00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: In desperation, she walked out of the wilderness of Butte 19 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:30,080 Speaker 1: County and ventured into modern civilization for the first time. 20 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,679 Speaker 1: Is is believed to have been born sometime between eighteen 21 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: sixty and eighteen sixty two, just after the conclusion of 22 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,120 Speaker 1: the California Gold Rush. He was a member of the 23 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: Yahi people and especially secluded branch of the Yana tribe. 24 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,560 Speaker 1: In the previous decade, miners in search of gold had 25 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,920 Speaker 1: pushed deeper and deeper into the California wilderness. This brought 26 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: them into direct conflict with isolated groups of Native Americans, 27 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: including the yah He, who happened to live in close 28 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: proximity to the region's minds. Soon, the influx of white 29 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: settlers began to disrupt the Yahi's traditional way of life. 30 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: They set up camps on Yahi hunting grounds and polluted 31 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: local streams with a runoff from their excavations. Gradually, the 32 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: deer and other wildlife scattered, and the once boundless supply 33 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:27,119 Speaker 1: of salmon dried up. As if the threat of starvation 34 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: weren't bad enough, the settlers also brought unfamiliar diseases like 35 00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: smallpox and measles, for which Native Americans had no immunity. 36 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: Some tribes fought against this encroachment, but they were outnumbered 37 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: and outgunned by the settlers. By the time of Yhi's birth. 38 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,639 Speaker 1: The newly established towns were so annoyed by these attempts 39 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,920 Speaker 1: at resistance that they started to set bounties on the 40 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: native population. Robert Anderson and other so called Indian hunters 41 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,919 Speaker 1: led numerous raids on the Yahi or an fifty cents 42 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 1: for every scalp they collected and five dollars for every head. 43 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:10,040 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty five alone, approximately seventy members of the 44 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 1: Yahi people were killed in such raids. This led the 45 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: remaining few hundred members, including Ish and his family, to 46 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: split off into smaller groups, and his family made a 47 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: quiet life for themselves on a cliff overlooking Deer Creek. 48 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: There they carried on the Yahi traditions as best they could, 49 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: while elsewhere the remaining members of their people were systematically slaughtered. 50 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: The family kept to themselves for the next forty years, 51 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: careful to remain out of sight of the Anglo society 52 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,640 Speaker 1: that steadily grew all around them. By the first decade 53 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century, Ishi was all that remained of 54 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: his family and his people. Driven by starvation, he eventually 55 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: made his way to the town of Oreville, about seventy 56 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:01,119 Speaker 1: miles north of Sacramento. He was discovered there by ranchers 57 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: and taken to the local jail, not because he'd committed 58 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: a crime, but because the sheriff couldn't think of a 59 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 1: safer place to keep him. Ishi was approximately fifty years old, 60 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: was clearly lost and emaciated, and spoke no English. The 61 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 1: townspeople gawked at the so called Stone Age Indian, but 62 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: beyond that, they weren't sure what to do with him. 63 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: News of Ishi traveled fast, and by the end of 64 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,039 Speaker 1: the week, two anthropologists from u C. Berkeley had come 65 00:04:30,080 --> 00:04:34,280 Speaker 1: to Oreville to meet him in person. These professors, Alfred 66 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: Kroeber and Thomas Waterman, recognized Ish's dialect and were able 67 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: to identify him as the last known survivor of the Yahi. 68 00:04:43,160 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: They arranged to bring Ishi back to live on their campus, 69 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,240 Speaker 1: and over the next five years he taught them everything 70 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: he could about his disappearing culture. It wasn't a comprehensive account, 71 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:57,440 Speaker 1: as Ishi had been born when his population was already 72 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: in decline, and since he'd been raised apart from most 73 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: of his people, he didn't know as many traditions as 74 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:07,440 Speaker 1: earlier generations would have. Still, he was able to demonstrate 75 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 1: toolmaking and hunting skills, and to describe aspects of Yahee 76 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: society such as family units, naming patterns, and even a 77 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: few sacred ceremonies. Is also helped preserve his own language 78 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: by recording many tribal stories and songs onto wax cylinders. Thankfully, 79 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:30,280 Speaker 1: these century old recordings still exist, allowing us to hear 80 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:34,039 Speaker 1: the Yahi language through the voice of its last native speaker. 81 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:44,040 Speaker 1: Take a listen rundon in an author and an rndon 82 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:57,839 Speaker 1: in an undonor. The work that Kroeber, Waterman, and Ishi 83 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,719 Speaker 1: completed together was of great his oracle importance, and over 84 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:04,719 Speaker 1: time the men developed a mutual respect for one another. 85 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,680 Speaker 1: For instance, in Waterman's writings, he remarked on Ishi's quote 86 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: gentlemanliness which lies outside of all training and is an 87 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 1: expression of inward spirit. That said, there was an undoubtedly 88 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: exploitative side to their relationship. Is was given free room 89 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: and board at the U C. Museum of Anthropology in 90 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,080 Speaker 1: San Francisco, but in exchange, she was put to work 91 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: not only as our research subject, but as an assistant janitor. 92 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: That arrangement on its own may seem fair enough, but 93 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,679 Speaker 1: Ishi was also expected to contribute in other more detrimental ways. 94 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: Every Sunday the museum held a kind of reception where 95 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: is she was required to shake hands with the paying guests, 96 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: who sometimes numbered in the thousands. Over time, those events 97 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: grew in scope until Ishi was also hosting weekly demonstrations 98 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: of tribal customs and how to make arrowheads and how 99 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 1: to weave a fish net. His financial compensation for this 100 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: work was minimal, and at the time of his death 101 00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: he had less than two hundred dollars to his name. Exploited. 102 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: Though he was, I was not a prisoner of the museum, 103 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: and he reportedly took great pleasure in exploring the parks 104 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: of San Francisco, including the Bison Enclosure and Golden Gate Park. 105 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: He also developed an appreciation for modern conveniences such as 106 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: street cars and fairies. Oh and apparently he also had 107 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,040 Speaker 1: a bit of a sweet tooth, being especially partial to 108 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: donuts and ice cream sodas. Sadly, although she was able 109 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: to adapt to some aspects of Euro American civilization, he 110 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: remained incredibly vulnerable to its diseases. He was often sick 111 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:52,000 Speaker 1: during his years at the museum, almost certainly as a 112 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 1: result of being exposed to germs during his compulsory handshaking sessions. 113 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixteen, he contracted to berculosis and died from 114 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: it on March twenty five that year, at the estimated 115 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: age of fifty six. She had witnessed several post mortem 116 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: examinations while working at the museum and had been greatly 117 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: disturbed by the idea of human autopsies. He believed that 118 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: dismembering the body did violence to the spirit as well, 119 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: so before his death he requested that his body be 120 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 1: cremated so his spirit could be released. Intact. Alfred Kroeber 121 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 1: promised to honor that request, but when is She fell 122 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:36,079 Speaker 1: ill in early nineteen sixteen, rumors began to swirl that 123 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: an autopsy would indeed be performed. At the time, Kroeber 124 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,160 Speaker 1: was away in New York, but he caught wind of 125 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,719 Speaker 1: the plan to remove and preserve is She's brain. To 126 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: his credit, Kroeber tried to prevent this desecration. In a 127 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,720 Speaker 1: letter to the museum's director, he wrote, quote, please shut 128 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 1: it down. I must ask you, as my personal representative 129 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: on the spot in this matter, to yield nothing at 130 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: all under any circumstances. If there is any talk about 131 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: the interests of science say for me that science can 132 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,640 Speaker 1: go to hell. We propose to stand by our friends. 133 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:17,319 Speaker 1: That letter was written on March four, nineteen sixteen, one 134 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:22,040 Speaker 1: day before is She's death. It arrived in California too late. 135 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:26,079 Speaker 1: In the end, is She's body was burned in accordance 136 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,959 Speaker 1: with his wishes, but not before Dr Saxon Pope removed 137 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: is She's brain in the interest of science telling Lee. 138 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,319 Speaker 1: When Alfred Kroeber returned to the museum in October, no 139 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:41,400 Speaker 1: use had been found for the preserved brain, and it 140 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: was eventually offered to the Smithsonian in Washington, d C. 141 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,839 Speaker 1: As you might expect, the researchers there didn't have much 142 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,040 Speaker 1: use for it either. As a result, Is She's Brain 143 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: was stowed away in a storage facility in Maryland, where 144 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: it remained for the rest of the twentieth century. In 145 00:10:00,520 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: Native American activists and allies learned of the brain's whereabouts. 146 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:07,599 Speaker 1: For the better part of three years, they lobbied for 147 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: it to be repatriated to the closest relatives of the Yahi, 148 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:15,079 Speaker 1: the Reading Rancheria and Pitt River tribes of the Yana people. 149 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,599 Speaker 1: Recent studies had suggested that the yah He may have 150 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 1: intermarried with those tribes during their decline. If that was 151 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: the case, then their descendants were entitled by law to 152 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: the remains of their ancestor. The Smithsonian eventually bowed to 153 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: public pressure, and in August of two thousand, Ishi's brain 154 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: was returned to his people. Later that year, it was 155 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: reunited with the ashes of his body and finally laid 156 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,839 Speaker 1: to rest in an undisclosed location on Mount Lassen in 157 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:49,800 Speaker 1: northern California, in the ancestral home of his people, Ishi 158 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:56,319 Speaker 1: finally rests in peace. I'm Gabe Louzier and hopefully you 159 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: now know a little more about history today than you 160 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: did yes your day. You can learn even more about 161 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:06,640 Speaker 1: history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 162 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: t d i HC Show, and if you have any 163 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,360 Speaker 1: comments or suggestions, feel free to send them my way 164 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 1: at this Day at I heart media dot com. Thanks 165 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:19,959 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank you 166 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 167 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:25,680 Speaker 1: another day in History Class.