#0809 Discovery Site of the Last Yahi Indian

Title

#0809 Discovery Site of the Last Yahi Indian

Site information:

2547 Oroville-Quincy Hwy at Oak Ave, Oroville

Nothing historical remains at this site, as far as I know.

39.511977,-121.52148

Plaque information:

State plaque

Plaque text:

The Last Yahi Indian

For thousands of years the Yahi Indians roamed the foothills between Mt. Lassen and the Sacramento Valley. Settlement of this region by the white man brought death to the Yahi by gun, by disease, and by hunger. By the turn of the century only a few remained. Ishi, the last known survivor of these people, was discovered at this site in 1911. His death in 1916 brought an end to stone age California.

Plaque placed by the California State Park Commission in cooperation with the N.S.G.W. Argonaut No.8 and N.D.G.W. Ophir No.190, January 29, 1966.

OHP description:

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.

Registered 10/5/1965

Collection

Geolocation