The Most Famous Images Of Ishi Can Mislead Us

Photographs are central to Ishi’s afterlife.

His face is recognizable because the University of California and associated photographers documented him repeatedly.

He was photographed in portraits, at the museum, in the outdoors, holding bows and tools, and during fieldwork.

These images make him feel unusually close.

That closeness is deceptive.

A photograph gives us surface detail: the line of a face, the arrangement of hair, the position of hands, the texture of clothing.

It cannot tell us what the subject chose not to say.

It cannot tell us what happened outside the frame.

It cannot resolve every question about consent.