Witness History
Witness History
The 'Last Indian'
Up next
August 30, 2022
9 minutes
Available for over a year
In 1911, a mysterious Native American man called Ishi emerged from the North Californian forest after more than three decades in hiding. He is thought to be the last survivor from the Yahi tribe. Ishi became a tourist attraction in San Francisco and many recordings were made of his stories and music.
In 2012, Louise Hidalgo retraced his story. She spoke to the author Ursula Le Guin and filmmaker Jed Riffe.
(Photo: Ishi. Credit: Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California)