Jackson Langfeld In class The Last Yahi, Ishi

 Ishi, the last of the Yahi people was alone in the world. After white Americans had overrun his country and killed his people, he was the last person on earth. They were not human to him. Anthropologists labeled him an  "uncivilized", "unclean', and "savage" and turned him in to a spectacle for research known as "The last wild Indian".  As the last speaker of his language, everything he spoke upon deaf ears, even when linguistic experts of similar dialects tired to speak with him, there was still a disconnect in communication. When a white man finally spoke the Yahi word for "tree", Ishi's face lit up. This had likely been the first time in years that another person's voice sounded human.

 Over time, bonds strengthened between anthropologists and Ishi and so did their communication, this relationship aided Ishi's transition into the modern world. He grew accustomed to his new world quite quickly, speaking several hundred words of English, and riding trolley cars with ease. Sadly Ishi was turned into a living museum exhibit to live out the rest of his days as a thing to marvel over.

 It is interesting to me that both sides initially viewed each other the same way, inhuman. However over time the general public still viewed Ishi as less than. Ishi seemed to grow fond of this new world, even saying he wanted to grow old and die there. Meanwhile American's still saw him as a thing to point at and observe rather than someone to understand.

I cant help but think of how often something like this has happened in history. The first thing that comes to mind are the old "freakshows" where people with disabilities were treated as curiosities instead of people, made to perform for audiences who saw them as entertainment rather than living people with thoughts and feeling.

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