Alfred Kroeber and Ishi, Essay Example

Despite the genocide that the white men had inflicted upon his fellow native people, Ishi felt there was great benefit in working with Kroeber for numerous reasons. Kroeber on the other hand also felt in a similar manner (Steward & Kroeber, 1973). Kroeber felt that working with Ishi would help him understand the native people and their ways. Ishi would also acts as an invaluable source of cultural knowledge of the Indians. Ishi benefited immensely by getting all the first-hand information on the culture, beliefs and ways of the native Indians.

Vulnerable research subjects such as survivors of genocide are a vital source of first-hand information, as such, they ought to be accorded a considerable protection. Such subjects should only be handled by qualified research personnel and not research students. The identity of the vulnerable subjects should be handed with the highest bit of integrity, disclosure of the identity of vulnerable research subjects is unethical (Ember, Ember, & Peregrine, 2011). This allows for the victims to have control in the manner in which research is conducted.

Ishi’s story is framed as that of the “last wild Indian” or the last of his tribe owing to the reverence that the Americans accorded the native Indians after they had massacred them. This was a depiction of the guilt that Americans felt towards the Indians after employing barbaric ways of eliminating the native Indians so that they can have control over the much needed natural resources.

The research on Ishi is a classic case of the categories that exists within the fundamental principles of anthropology. Ishi is largely regarded as the last wild Indian, showing the imagery that the non-native Americans within society at that given time wished to portray Ishi and his people. It draws a definite line between the “Us” (non-native Americans) and “them” (the native Indians).

References

Ember, C. R., Ember, M., & Peregrine, P. N. (2011). Anthropology. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Steward, J. H., & Kroeber, A. L. (1973). Alfred Kroeber. New York: Columbia University Press.