the Yahi tribe, most of whom had been killed either
by Americans or by the diseases Europeans brought
to North America. Unable to communicate with
the non-Indians who find him, the man is placed in
protective custody in the Oroville jail.
News of Ishi’s discovery is widely reported.
When anthropologist Alfred Kroeber hears the
story, he arranges for the man to be transported
to the University of California’s museum in San
Francisco. There he is named “Ishi,” the Yahi word
for man, and shares his knowledge of the Yahi lan-
guage and culture with researchers. Ishi continues
to live at the museum until his death from tuber-
culosis in 1914.October 12The Society of American Indians (SAI) holds
its first conference.
At a conference in Columbus, Ohio, held on Colum-
bus Day for symbolic reasons, 50 Native American
delegates found the Society of American Indians.
The Society of American Indians (SAI) grows out
of a meeting of prominent Indian men and womenA Society of American Indians banquet held during the association’s fourth annual meeting in 1914
(National Archives, Neg. no. RG75-M-3)