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 Ishi (final Yana person) in 1912 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 0 (1980) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
United States ( California) | |
| Languages | |
| English, formerlyYana | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Yahi |
TheYana were a group ofNative Americans indigenous toNorthern California in the centralSierra Nevada, on the western side of the range. Their lands, prior to encroachment by white settlers, bordered thePit andFeather Rivers. They were nearly destroyed during theCalifornia genocide in the latter half of the 19th century. Descendants of the Central and Southern Yana continue to live in California as members ofRedding Rancheria.[1]
The Yana-speaking people comprise four groups: the North Yana, the Central Yana, the Southern Yana, and the Yahi, two of which - the Central and Southern - have living descendants. The noun stemYa- means "person"; the noun suffix is -na in the northern Yana dialects and -hi [xi] in the southern dialects.
AnthropologistAlfred L. Kroeber put the 1770 population of the Yana at 1,500,[2] andSherburne F. Cook estimated their numbers at 1,900 and 1,850.[3] Other estimates of the total Yana population before theGold Rush exceed 3,000. They lived on wild game, salmon, fruit, acorns and roots.[4]
Their territory was approximately 2,400 square miles, or more than 6,000 km2, and contained mountain streams, gorges, boulder-strewn hills, and lush meadows. Each group had relatively distinct boundaries, dialects and customs.[5]
The Yahi were the southernmost portion of the Yana.[6] They werehunter-gatherers who lived in smallegalitarian bands withoutcentralized political authority, were reclusive and fiercely defended their territory of mountain canyons. The Yahi initially[when?] numbered around 400.[7]
The Yahi were the first Yana group to suffer from theCalifornian Gold Rush, as their lands were the closest to thegold fields.[6] They suffered great population losses from the loss of their traditional food supplies and fought with the settlers over territory. They lackedfirearms, and armed white settlers committedgenocide against them in multiple raids.[7] These raids took place as part of theCalifornia Genocide, during which the U.S. Army and vigilante militias carried out killings as well as the relocation of thousands of indigenous peoples in California.[8] The massacre reduced the Yahi, who were already suffering from starvation, to a population of less than 100.[when?][6]
On August 6, 1865, seventeen settlers raided a Yahi village at dawn. In 1866, more Yahis were massacred when they were caught by surprise in a ravine. Circa 1867, 33 Yahis were killed after being tracked to a cave north ofMill Creek. Circa 1871, fourcowboys trapped and killed about 30 Yahis in Kingsley cave.[7]
The last known survivor of the Yahi was namedIshi by American anthropologists. Ishi had spent most of his life hiding with his tribe members in the Sierra wilderness, emerging at the age of about 49, after the deaths of his mother and remaining relatives. He was the only Yahi known to Americans. Ishi emerged from the mountains nearOroville, California, on August 29, 1911, having lived his entire life outside of the settler-colonial culture.[9]
Ishi would teachSaxton T. Pope archery as referenced in Pope's book on archery by the last Yana Indian.[10] He died in 1916.
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