Ishi in Two Worlds: Anthropological Perspectives on Native Life

The perspective brought by the Kroebers and Waterman is primarily an anthropologist perspective, where in taking Ishi in, their main objective was to salvage his culture so that the world could learn about his extinct people. This is a major fallacy in the thinking of anthropologists, who assume that since other cultures seem interesting to them, they will be interesting to everyone regardless of whether the culture wants to be studies or not.

Theodora Kroeber writes her book in the dichotomy perspective, and frequently refers to Ishi leaving one life and entering another. She claims that Ishi’s arrival into the “ordeal of civilization” began when he wandered, “sick of life” to the slaughter house. She says he now had a new “personal myth, powerful enough to replace the old one of the Yahi people as plunderers, murderers and savages” (Kroeber 117). First of all, I am unsure whether in this passage she is calling Ishi these things, or noting that it was the ideology of the times. In my opinion, the constant opposition of ideas tells a romantic story, and Theodora took advantage of it.  I do believe Ishi felt a good deal of this dichotomy, that he was transitioning to a new type of life, however I think his two lives are more intertwined than Kroeber’s romantic dichotomy of savagery to civilization. Ishi adopted some of western culture, but did not abandon his Yahi culture. For example, he never spoke his name, nor the name of any of his relatives, Ishi was given to him by Waterman.

In regards to Waterman and Alfred Kroeber, they were interested in Ishi both as a person, and as a specimen. Kroeber took on the role of Ishi’s protector, deciding where and when he could go places, and attempting to find some “Indian” friends to aid in Ishi’s transition (Kroeber 150). The main goal was to salvage this last remaining man of the Yahi culture. Although it sounds demeaning to be on display at a museum for spectators, I believe Ishi may have actually enjoyed it on occasion. For example, he would hold demonstrations where he would make an arrowhead in front of a crowd, and then present the finished piece to a crowd member. Ishi probably relished the notion that something that was necessary for his survival in the past was now a show, it was making him famous. I am not claiming that he had a great life as a living display, especially having a room next to the dead, but there are times he probably got a kick out of White people being so fascinated with his everyday life.

Ishi’s new life may not have been his ideal choice of lifestyle (I assume he would want to go back and have his family and live on his land), but nonetheless there were advantages of not wandering alone anymore. He now had contact with other people, even if they were White anthropologists and food, even though his own food choices would have been different. I believe Ishi adapted and made the best of what life threw at him.

Kroeber, Theodora. Ishi in Two Worlds; a Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America.     Berkeley: University of California, 1961.