Ishi (1860? - March 25, 1916) was the name given to the last member of the Yahi tribe of California, and means man in the Yahi language. Ishi is believed to be the last Native American in Northern California to have lived completely outside the European-American culture. He emerged from the wild on August 29, 1911 near Oroville, California, after leaving his ancestral homeland in the foothills near Lassen Peak.

After being noticed by townspeople, Ishi was taken into custody by a local sheriff for his own protection. He was then moved to the Museum of Anthropology at UCSF where he lived the remainder of his life, studied closely by the anthropologists Alfred L. Kroeber and Thomas Talbot Waterman . Ishi died of tuberculosis on March 25, 1916.

His story was popularized in a book by Theodora Kroeber, wife of Alfred L. Kroeber, who worked with her husband's notes and comments to create the story of a man she had never met. The book, Ishi in Two Worlds, was published after Alfred Kroeber's death in 1960.

Ironically, Ishi's real name was never known, because in his society it was taboo to say one's own name. Since he was the last member of his tribe, Ishi's real name died with him.

External link

• Encyclopedia of North American Indians entry on Ishi