Professor Waterman And Ishi Summary

Kroeber and Waterman invited Ishi to travel back with them to San Francisco. As a result, the University of California anthropology museum would become his new home for the next five years. September 1911 to March 1916, Ishi lived a simple life, enjoying his quarters, in a small room above the university’s anthropology museum. Ishi earn wages by doing janitorial work around the campus, although his main focus was helping professor Waterman and Kroeber with research regarding his tribal heritage. Professor Waterman was a linguistic teacher at the university and in order to make Ishi feel more comfortable in his new environment taught him to speak over 100 English words. Professor Kroeber was an anthropologist professor and he focused more …show more content…
Ishi was hesitant at first for he feared his ancestors would be disrupted. After further consideration, Ishi agreed to take the two men and their research party. Ishi was a great educator and taught professor Waterman and Kroeber the ways of the Yahi. He described their family units, the ceremonies and how they gathered plants for medicine, as well as hunting and fishing. Ishi exhibited his excellent craftsmanship of bow-and-arrows, and demonstrated how to kill a rabbit by using his archery technique. Professor Waterman and Kroeber took numerous photographs to document Ishi’s hunting skills, specifically the spiritual aspect of killing a deer. The Native American Indians honored all that Mother Nature and the Gods provided for them and did not hunt for sport but rather for nourishment. The natives would thank the animal that they hunted and killed for their contribution to their nourishment. Ishi demonstrated such an act of gratitude that was taught to him by his people. In addition, Ishi identified over 100-plant life that could be used for the purpose of healing and curing the sick. Because of the vast information and his excellent demonstrations professor Kroeber and Waterman were able to have a better understanding of the Yahi tribe. In addition, their valuable …show more content…
In this act it states that all Indian artifacts and remains be returned to their native and rightful tribes. In 1997 a public announcement to the Smithsonian was made by several California Native Indian tribes to return Ishi’s remains. Nonetheless, the Smithsonian denied they had ownership of Ishi’s remains and would not discuss this issue further. A year later the Smithsonian admitted fault and began an investigation of who was the rightful tribe to receive his remains. In the mid 1990’s there were studies conducted that indicated that the Yahi Indians had practiced intermarriage between other tribes. These studies indicated that Ishi’s heritage could very well be the descendants of the Redding Rancheria and the Pit River Tribes. After proving these two tribes were the descendants of Ishi his remains were given to them in August 2000. The two tribes upon receiving Ishi’s remains voted unanimously to grant Ishi his dying wish and cremate his body and declare his final resting place to be in Deer Creek Canyon. In conclusion, Ishi’s life from the very beginning was a life of pain and loss. At a very young age Ishi experienced and witnessed the brutal killing of his Father and several of his tribe members. Ishi was exposed to multiple massacres and tremendous bloodshed, and endured pain and loss that no child should ever have to experience. Ishi’s lived a life of isolation and fear