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Bay Curious · July 19 · 19 min

The Life of Ishi, Last of His Tribe

When Ishi walked into Oroville, Calif. in 1911, newspapers around the country trumpeted the news with headlines like "Last Wild Indian." He was the last of the Yahi, a tribe of indigenous Californians, who had been decimated by genocide, disease and loss of food sources. Ishi was taken to San Francisco, where he was studied by anthropologists, given housing and a job. Today his story raises questions about how he was treated, ethics in the field of anthropology, and how he’s portrayed. But Native people want to be sure we keep talking about the man himself — not just a victim of his circumstances — but for the remarkable human being he was. Additional Resources: Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Katherine Monahan. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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When Ishi walked into Oroville, Calif. in 1911, newspapers around the country trumpeted the news with headlines like "Last Wild Indian." He was the last of the Yahi, a tribe of indigenous Californians, who had been decimated by genocide, disease and loss of food sources. Ishi was taken to San Francisco, where he was studied by anthropologists, given housing and a job. Today his story raises questions about how he was treated, ethics in the field of anthropology, and how he’s portrayed. But Native people want to be sure we keep talking about the man himself — not just a victim of his circumstances — but for the remarkable human being he was.

Additional Resources:

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts


This story was reported by Katherine Monahan. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Christopher Beale and Olivia Allen-Price. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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