the last of his tribe

Ishi, the last survivor of the Yahi tribe, Shasta County, northern California,
ca. 1860 - 1916



My pioneer ancestors settled in this area, creating a ranch on Bear Creek.



My father was raised here after the last remaining Native American, Ishi, had died.



Ishi returned to Deer Creek with anthropologists from the University of California where he showed them the Yahi method of salmon spearing.



Years later, my father fished a different way.



My parents traveled a different way.



My parents are on the original family homestead.



My grandparents on the right were born and raised here when a handful of Native Americans still lived there, too (my parents on the left).



My grandmother told my sister and me the following story: "One day in the late fall it started to feel like the first snow of winter: geese were flying overhead, squirrels were scurrying around collecting acorns, dark clouds were forming, and the sheets weren't getting dry on the line. I brought them in for ironing.
As I went back to the woodshed for more firewood, I found myself staring at a shriveled up, tiny Indian woman standing there stark naked. She began speaking rapidly in a language I couldn't understand. She pointed to her stomach and I could see her ribs sticking out. The first thing I thought to do was grab a housedress and hand it to her. How could I even think of communicating with her standing there totally nude?"



"She took the dress, distractedly folded it up and put it in a bundle she was carrying made of birch twigs and deer hide. She was so distressed she did it without thinking and continued gesturing and speaking excitedly.
I just could't invite her in undressed, so I ran to get something for her to eat. Some dried venison and a jar of canned cherries were the best I could do that afternoon. She carefully wrapped the food in the dress and securely fastened it into the backback, touched her heart, and ran away."



Ishi's tribe dwindled down to just him in 1911, and he walked to Oroville, California, where he was ultimately turned over to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California. They were very kind to Ishi and in turn learned much of an extinct civilization from him.



Ishi died from a "white man's" disease, tuberculosis, in 1916 at the age of 56. This is his death mask.