Guidebook

NO. 809 DISCOVERY SITE OF THE LAST YAHI INDIAN - Ishi, a Yahi Yana Indian, was the last of his people. Prior to European contact, the Yana population numbered approximately 3,000. In 1865 Ishi and his family were the victims of the Three Knolls Massacre, from which approximately 30 Yahi survived. The remaining Yahi escaped but were forced into hiding after cattlemen killed about half of the survivors. Eventually all of Ishi's companions died, and he was discovered by a group of butchers in their corral at Oroville, August 29, 1911. Alfred L. Kroeber and T. T. Waterman, anthropologists at the University of California, Berkeley, brought Ishi to San Francisco where he helped them reconstruct Yahi culture. He identified material items and showed how they were made. Ishi's death in 1916 marked the end of an era in California.

Location

2547 Oroville-Quincy Highway
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