Before Ishi: The Life and Death of the Yahi

Long time Chico newsman, Steve Schoonover will be speaking on his book “Before Ishi: The Life and Death of the Yahi”. The book sprung from a failed effort Schoonover made to share with his son some of the on-the-scene knowledge about a bit of local history, namely the life and death of the Yahi Indians of eastern Tehama County. The failure prompted several years of research that found the accounts of the destruction of the tribe were just plain wrong. The author feels an obsession with promoting the myths of Ishi made getting the story right important. The book is an effort to correct the mistakes and focus on the Yahi rather than Ishi.