Each reversal makes the story more complicated.

And each makes it more truthful.

The simple version asks readers to feel sad for the last man.

The deeper version asks why he was alone, who benefited from his isolation, what institutions did with his knowledge, and who ultimately had the authority to bring him home.

That is why Ishi’s story has endured.

It keeps changing depending on which part of the record we are willing to see.

Why Ishi’s Story Still Matters

Ishi died in 1916.

The questions raised by his life are not dead.

Museums still hold Native objects gathered under unequal conditions.