CA History Study Guide
Study Guide for Ishi’s Brain In Search of America’s Last “Wild” Indian
1. Who wrote this book? Orin Starn
2. When did he write it? 2004
3. Where did the author do his dissertation research? Andes
4. When did the author first visit Yahi Country? 1997
5. How did Ishi die? Tuberculosis, March 1916.
6. How many Native Americans were estimated to be in California in 1848? 150,000
7. How many Native Americans were estimated to be in California in 1900? 20,000
8. What happened on Alcatraz Island in 1969? A band of young Indians seized and occupied Alcatraz Island for a year as a kind of liberated republic.
9. Who was most responsible for beginning the movement to “retribalize” Ishi? Art Angle
10. Where did the author (and others) first get a clue that there was an issue surrounding Ishi’s brain? In Ishi in Two Worlds by Theodora Kroeber
11. Who came up with the name “Ishi”? What does it mean? Alfred Kroeber. Anglicization of the Yani word I’citi meaning man.
12. How did Alfred Kroeber’s knowledge of “Yahi” compare to Ishi’s knowledge of English? Ishi learned more English than Kroeber ever grasped of Yahi.
13. How did Kroeber feel about the proposed autopsy of Ishi? He wanted to honor Ishi’s wishes and block the autopsy.
14. Who was Kroeber’s lifelong guru of Anthropology? Franz Boas
15. How did Franz Boaz and Kroeber feel about race and equality? Believed that all race were equal and their people should be judged by their own standards
16. Who was most responsible for ensuring that the legacy of Ishi would endure to our era today? Theodora Kroeber
17. What factors influenced the writing of Theodora Kroeber? Encouraged by Alfred and friends and wanted to make the biography into a story of healing and triumph of human spirit
18. How tall were the Yahi? Short even among California’s Indians. The average man stood about 5’4”, the average woman 5’2”.
19. How did white clam shell beads get to Mill Creek? Obtained by trade from the distant Pacific Coast.
1. Who wrote this book? Orin Starn
2. When did he write it? 2004
3. Where did the author do his dissertation research? Andes
4. When did the author first visit Yahi Country? 1997
5. How did Ishi die? Tuberculosis, March 1916.
6. How many Native Americans were estimated to be in California in 1848? 150,000
7. How many Native Americans were estimated to be in California in 1900? 20,000
8. What happened on Alcatraz Island in 1969? A band of young Indians seized and occupied Alcatraz Island for a year as a kind of liberated republic.
9. Who was most responsible for beginning the movement to “retribalize” Ishi? Art Angle
10. Where did the author (and others) first get a clue that there was an issue surrounding Ishi’s brain? In Ishi in Two Worlds by Theodora Kroeber
11. Who came up with the name “Ishi”? What does it mean? Alfred Kroeber. Anglicization of the Yani word I’citi meaning man.
12. How did Alfred Kroeber’s knowledge of “Yahi” compare to Ishi’s knowledge of English? Ishi learned more English than Kroeber ever grasped of Yahi.
13. How did Kroeber feel about the proposed autopsy of Ishi? He wanted to honor Ishi’s wishes and block the autopsy.
14. Who was Kroeber’s lifelong guru of Anthropology? Franz Boas
15. How did Franz Boaz and Kroeber feel about race and equality? Believed that all race were equal and their people should be judged by their own standards
16. Who was most responsible for ensuring that the legacy of Ishi would endure to our era today? Theodora Kroeber
17. What factors influenced the writing of Theodora Kroeber? Encouraged by Alfred and friends and wanted to make the biography into a story of healing and triumph of human spirit
18. How tall were the Yahi? Short even among California’s Indians. The average man stood about 5’4”, the average woman 5’2”.
19. How did white clam shell beads get to Mill Creek? Obtained by trade from the distant Pacific Coast.