Tuesday, November 17, 2009

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.




21 comments:

  1. margaret - what an amazing post!!! end-to-end a rich telling of so much. thankyou for this. steven

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  2. This was fascinating Margaret. And somewhat sad as well. I really felt for Ishi. All the while thinking about how hard life must have been for your parents and grandparents back then. Do you still live there or any of your family? This was most interesting! Thanks for sharing the story!
    Love Di

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  3. Margaret - wow, what a riveting recount of your parents and grandparents history - and the terribly sad tale of the loss of a tribe. Look at that proud face mask of Ishi. Most of us just have to bear the loss of family at the end - not our entire civilization! Riveting and heartbreaking.

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  4. That was so fascinating. And sad as well, as some family stories can be. Thankyou for sharing it Margaret.

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  5. Hello, dear Margaret,

    This post is fantastic! Especially the addition of your family's connection to the history of California.

    I'm especially excited about the topic of Ishi, because I found an old book about him at a sale of old books at a local library a few months ago.

    I was looking for old books to use in art, though I actually find it difficult to cut up any books. When I took a closer look at the book about Ishi, I knew I could never do anything to harm this book about such a heartbreaking story.

    In fact, I was going to do a post about him at some point! But yours is so much better than anything I could ever have done!

    It really is a small world, isn't it, dear friend?

    Love and hugs,
    Angela

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  6. Your post was very moving Margaret, it made me think of the bigger picture...the world as it is today and the problem of global warming. I enjoyed reading your family history, it and the photos remind me of my grandparent's home in Virginia...and my Native American Heritage, Pocahantas was my grandmother, 11 generations back!

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  7. What a fascinating story, Margaret! I half expected the naked native woman to disappear, though, having been only a ghostly apparition. Even more unreal that she was real and that she had been subsisting out in the wilds so near to white folks' settlements.

    I love old family photographs! What a treasure chest you have there.

    (BTW I left you my email address over at my place)

    Lynne xo

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  8. margaret, this is fascinating. have you ever thought of writing a memoir? i am doing that now via a three month workshop. it is painful! but there's a wonderful purging and sharing that happens. i can't explain it.

    i got a kick out of your father's legs. good legs.

    this whole post is wonderful.

    xoxo

    p.s. okay, meet me in santa fe someday! maybe angela will come too! hee hee

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  9. Hi Steven~ I see your understanding of this quasi-personal and historic tale. My friend!
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    Hi Diana~ I think my comment about your beautiful haircut disappeared! I'll check tomorrow and re-send if need be. Ishi's tale was so sad, yet his pride came through, and I think he triumphed at the end. My mother and brother still live on a neighboring farm. It's hard to keep up big properties and still have to go to work, too.
    LOVE
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    Hi Bonnie~ I wish Ishi's story could be embedded in the teaching curriculum. There is so much to learn from it: respect for people who are different from us, compassion for our neighbors, etc. Do you have many Native American stories in Canada? LOVE
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    Hi Sharon~ I'm so glad you got to read it. I'm wondering if your parents remember similar stories on their ranch? LOVE
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    Hi Angela~ I know exactly what you mean: to find a book about Ishi and then use it for collage would be impossible. He had so much pride, dignity, class; you feel you want to preserve his integrity. It's so hard to understand the cruelty of the white settlers. LOVE
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    Hi Wanda~ It makes you want to go to Copenhagen in December for the global summit on carbon footprints. I have a quote I want to share with you: "Think, if you will, of all the Indians who have emerged from fact, fancy, and fear to take their places in the pantheon of the American imagination: in history Squanto, who fed the Pilgrims; Pocahontas, who loved an Englishman; Chief Logan the eloquent; Sacajawea, the girl-mother who guided white men across the Continental Divide; Sequoia, who invented an Indian alphabet; Crazy Horse, who outfought Custer..." LOVE
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    Hi Lynne~ No, my grandmother said that really happened! The being-dressed thing was just a quirk my grandmother had; however, it was so cold, you would think the Native American would want to put the dress on... Are there Native American stories of recent vintage out in Vancouver? Could you ask your Mom? Thanks! Bon voyage! Bises!
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    Hi kj~ Welcome back! Get to bed, will you?! It's funny you noticed my Dad's legs: my sister called from Hawaii today after seeing the post and said the same thing! I'm taking a writing course in which I'm writing memoir online from the Daily OM. It's hard to keep up with when you're also trying to write for your blog. I don't know how you do it! LOVE p.s. That's where we could go! Hawaii!

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  10. Margaret, you are rich by knowing your amazing heritage. I loved this post. (Especially your parents on the old motorcycle!) What a treasure this is. Thank you for sharing it with us. Blessings!

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  11. Hi my dear friend Margaret. I invite you to come to my blog to receive your award as I have promised to you!! Please see here

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  12. a fascinating story.
    why must we always be afraid of people and things that are strange to us. Mankind's first instinct is always to attack as you film clip shows once again. I am glad that you were able to tell a different story about your grandma.

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  13. This is a post full of soulful surprise, Margaret. I am so touched by the story of Ishi. It's important that you share his and your grandparents' stories...and I'm so glad you have done so. Exquisite.

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  14. Hi Marion! Thanks for stopping by--let's always keep in touch, ok? I do feel lucky that I was able to come by these photos and stories. I think that that motorcycle was an Indian Chief--wouldn't that be synchronicity! (It might be a Harley, though: also synchronicity because that was my Dad's first name!) xxox
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    Hi Phivos! I'm so unbelievably pleased with my award! I'am also very impressed with your Blogger IT ability! To make all these links, to put me in the slideshow, etc.!! The rest of my comments I will make chez vous! Thank you very much, Phivos!
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    Hi Friko! It is so sad. The world missed an amazing opportunity to live side by side and learn from the Native Americans. Some times the Native Americans would attack, and then things would just escalate. (The white settlers were of course by far the worst ofenders.) xxox
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    Hi Lydia! The Ishi story is a very painful, affecting story. I admire so much his class, pride, and courage. It is interesting to see his story in a personal way when I think my ancestors were the "enemy." Have you been to Shasta or Butte Counties? Oroville? I think you weren't too far at one time. xxox

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  15. Hi Margaret, I really enjoyed reading all of your story here and the pictures are marvellously evocative of past days, gone forever. Perhaps you've come across the French author Jean Raspail ? You might really like his book "Qui Se Souvient des Hommes" which is about the last native tribe at the very far southern tip of South America...

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  16. Hi, I also loved your post. I like the history of the pioneers and homesteading. Loved it when we had it at school in our english lessons and right now I'm watching little house on the prairie so much. Strange to think that for people like you and many other people who live on the other side of the world, this is part of their family history and that people still live on the land that their ancestors homesteaded. Tragic and sad though what happened to the native people.

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  17. Hi Owen! I'm glad you saw this post! It's incredible what happened to all our aboriginal peoples. I will get that book--the subject matter is fascinating to me. The Last of the Mohicans was all about violent clashes between the two groups, but that's the reality of it. Bises, mon neveu!

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  18. Hi Katharina! You're back! I'm so happy! I had no idea your English was so good! But Norway has one of the highest levels of education in the world. I couldn't agree with you more that the pioneer days in the U.S. were a fascinating time. And I love The Little House on the Prairie! I'm going to go visit you! Thanks again! xxox

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  19. Hi Margaret! What a great story. These are the tales you can't learn from a history book, so happy to have read your post today!
    Hugs!

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  20. Hi Rain! You're right! Remember how nonchalantly Squanto went about making acorn mush? With all those Pilgrims breathing down his neck? They tried to play down the violence in the textbooks. Anyway, Squanto and the Pilgrims is American. I'm sure you have your own Native American stories? xxox

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  21. What a fantastic story! Thank you so much for sharing that.

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