Ishi (13)

Ishi was the last surviving member of the Yahi, a subdivision of the Yana Indian tribe of northern California. Living in isolation from white society, he and a small group of fellow Yahi pursued their traditional way of life well into the 20th century. Pursued by white settlers throughout the latter part of the 19th and the early 20th century, the last of Ishi's family disappeared in 1908. After successfully eluding pursuers for three years, Ishi was found in 1911 and came to live in the University of California anthropology museum in San Francisco. There, he demonstrated for museum visitors such Yahi skills as arrow manufacture and hide preparation. He also worked with linguists and anthropologists to preserve a record of Yahi language and culture. In a series of recordings made for the museum, Ishi documented and interpreted Yahi myths, songs, and historical narratives. Ishi died of tuberculosis in 1916.