Hist450
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?
Stanford
4. When did the author first visit Yahi Country?
1981, when he was 19
5. How did Ishi die?
Tuberculosis
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?
Occupied by Indians
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, it means “Man” in Yahi
12. How did Alfred Kroeber’s knowledge of “Yahi” compare to Ishi’s knowledge of English?
Ishi knew more about English than Kroeber did about Yahi
13. How did Kroeber feel about the proposed autopsy of Ishi?
Kroeber was very opposed to the autopsy, as he knew Ishi had not wanted it
14. Who was Kroeber’s lifelong guru of Antrhopology?
Franz Boaz
15. How did Franz Boaz and Kroeber feel about race and equality?
Believed all people created equal. Believed that people should be judged by their own culture’s standards, not by another culture’s
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, wanted to make Ishi’s biography into a story of
Healing and triumph of human spirit
18. How tall were
1. Who wrote this book?
Orin Starn
2. When did he write it?
2004
3. Where did the author do his dissertation research?
Stanford
4. When did the author first visit Yahi Country?
1981, when he was 19
5. How did Ishi die?
Tuberculosis
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?
Occupied by Indians
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, it means “Man” in Yahi
12. How did Alfred Kroeber’s knowledge of “Yahi” compare to Ishi’s knowledge of English?
Ishi knew more about English than Kroeber did about Yahi
13. How did Kroeber feel about the proposed autopsy of Ishi?
Kroeber was very opposed to the autopsy, as he knew Ishi had not wanted it
14. Who was Kroeber’s lifelong guru of Antrhopology?
Franz Boaz
15. How did Franz Boaz and Kroeber feel about race and equality?
Believed all people created equal. Believed that people should be judged by their own culture’s standards, not by another culture’s
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, wanted to make Ishi’s biography into a story of
Healing and triumph of human spirit
18. How tall were