# When did the last Native Americans in North America make contact with Europeans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 10, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306 "2012-10-10T14:03:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/1 "2012-10-10T14:03:57Z")
There have been reports in the very recent past about indigenous tribes in the Amazon rain forest who had been living in total isolation and have never had any contact with the outside world: > **['Unconquered' Explores An Isolated Amazon Tribe](https://www.npr.org/2011/11/26/142701523/unconquered-explores-an-isolated-amazon-tribe)** > > In his book The Unconquered, journalist Scott Wallace goes deep into the Amazon rain forest to learn about a group that has never come into contact with modern civilization. Now obviously, this is totally different from the situation in North America, geography being only one reason among many. But I was wondering when and where did the last Native Americans in North America (that is, for the purpose of this discussion, the territory of what is today Canada and the United States) get into contact with Europeans or Americans of European descent? Were there, let’s say, in the 18th century (or maybe even later) Native Americans in North America who had not even heard stories about the vast number of foreigners who were making inroads? ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/2 "2012-10-10T14:15:23Z")
There’s the famous case of [url=]Ishi, last of his tribe and “the last wild indian in North America”, who first made contact in 1911. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/3 "2012-10-10T14:19:31Z")
Your question brings to mind the case of Ishi, the last Yahi indian, who came into Oroville, California in 1911. It wasn’;t that he didn’t know about white people – his tribe had essentially been wiped out by them. But he had lived outside the encroaching European culture with no interaction with them (aside from the one-sided raids). He was called things like “the last wild indian” or “the last of his tribe”, or “the last stone-age man” (which was the title of the first piece I read about him – inaccurate and somewhat insulting). “Ishi” wasn’t his name (it means “man” in the Yah lanuguage. It’s what anthropologist Alfrede Kroeber\* called him They hired and studied him after he came out of the wild for the remainder of his life, and Kroeber wrote a popular book about him. There were a number of books, plays, and movies about him, including a cable TV movie in the 90s. > **[Ishi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishi)** > > Ishi (c. 1861 – March 25, 1916) was the last known member of the Native American Yahi people from the present-day state of California in the United States. The rest of the Yahi (as well as many members of their parent tribe, the Yana) were killed in the California genocide in the 19th century. Ishi, who was widely described as the "last wild Indian" in the United States, lived most of his life isolated from modern North American culture. In 1911, aged 50, he emerged at a barn and corral, 2 mi (... \*Science fiction author Ursula K. LeGuin’s father. The “K” is for “Kroeber”. Now you know why she wrote so much anthropological SF. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/4 "2012-10-10T14:39:38Z")
Ishi is interesting. But I don’t think that is what I think the OP is asking for. Ishi met white people, at the latest, when they slaughtered his village in 1865. And he told the stories of several other encounters throughout his life. His appearance in 1911 wasn’t a first contact. It can be hard to isolate a first contact. Mexico has the Lacandon, who were perhaps first contacted in the 1920s. But from what I have read, they had adopted a lifestyle designed to avoid European contact. So they were already affected by their European neighbors, and were “interacting” with them on some level. Even if that interaction can best be described as avoidance. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/5 "2012-10-10T14:45:23Z")
I believe I have read about Ishi before. He indeed appears to have been one of the very last Native Americans who lived for many years outside of “civilization”, but he was certainly aware of the world around him and had (extremely violent) encounters with it. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/6 "2012-10-10T15:15:49Z")
> [@Bartman](#): > > Ishi is interesting. But I don’t think that is what I think the OP is asking for. Ishi met white people, at the latest, when they slaughtered his village in 1865. And he told the stories of several other encounters throughout his life. His appearance in 1911 wasn’t a first contact. > > . If you read my post, this is _exactly_ what I have said. ---
**Author:** ![ecoaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/7 "2012-10-10T15:54:28Z")
The Lacandon, 1924 in Southern Mexico. > **[Lacandón: The Last Uncontacted People in North America](http://endlesscancun.blogspot.com/2011/01/lacandon-last-uncontacted-people-in.html)** > > Through the ages of exploration and empire building, into the age of communication, it can sometimes feel like humanity knows every inch of ... ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/8 "2012-10-10T16:20:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > If you read my post, this is _exactly_ what I have said. Sorry **Cal**. That wasn’t intended as a response to you. Got interrupted and didn’t preview when I submitted. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/9 "2012-10-10T16:30:11Z")
> [@ecoaster](#): > > The Lacandon, 1924 in Southern Mexico. > > [Endless Tours Cancun: Lacandón: The Last Uncontacted People in North America](http://endlesscancun.blogspot.com/2011/01/lacandon-last-uncontacted-people-in.html) That’s an interesting case, however: > [@](#): > > At first, it was believed that the Lacandón were an undiscovered Maya tribe, living in the lush, dense Lacandona jungle, away from the influence of the Spanish conquistadors. This was true, as far as it went, but it transpired that the Lacandón knew all about the Mexicans. Some especially selected people had even traded with Mexican ranchers, over the centuries, though none had suspected how many lived out there nor even that those individuals were part of an unknown tribe. > > The Lacandón began as a composite people, made up originally of survivors from Maya villages. Their ancestors might have been women and children, hidden away, as the Spanish appeared on the horizon; or men limping away from the horrors of an uneven battle. Or there could have been other reasons for their personal tragedies. Coming back to my original question, the point in time when the last Native American at least had heard about Europeans must have been rather early, maybe around the beginning of the 17th century when the English colonization of North America started?. Or did the Native Americans in the American heartland remain isolated from the French, the Spanish and the British longer than that? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/10 "2012-10-10T17:46:01Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > There have been reports in the very recent past about indigenous tribes in the Amazon rain forest who had been living in total isolation and have never had any contact with the outside world: Although they might not be in direct contact with the outside world, they are certainly aware that it exists. And although isolated from western culture, they are almost certainly in contact with other Indians who are in frequent contact with outsiders. > [@](#): > > Were there, let’s say, in the 18th century (or maybe even later) Native Americans in North America who had not even heard stories about the vast number of foreigners who were making inroads? That might have been the case in the interior of Alaska or the Yukon in the late 1700s. Europeans (at first Russians, then Spanish) didn’t really begin to explore even the coastal regions until the mid-1700s, and didn’t penetrate inland much until much later. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/11 "2012-10-10T21:04:52Z")
I just read Philbrick’s _The Last Stand_ and it talked about Lakota who as of 1876 had never seen a “white man”. Undoubtedly they had heard of them though. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/12 "2012-10-11T04:50:23Z")
At least in the contiguous US/southern Canada, I doubt there were any peoples without some form of indirect contact much past 1700. Even groups that didn’t take to horses and guns were profoundly affected by their spread in the 1600s. Many of the groups that were contacted relatively late in the game (such as some of the Northern Rockies bands first contacted by Lewis and Clark) were contacted so late precisely because they had been driven into more out-of-the-way areas during the previous centuries by groups that had embraced horses and guns. ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/13 "2012-10-11T05:52:41Z")
What about Canada’s islands? Many of those islands were not visited by Europeans until the 19th century. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/14 "2012-10-11T05:58:52Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > There’s the famous case of [Ishi](http://Ishi), last of his tribe and “the last wild indian in North America”, who first made contact in 1911. Ninja linking attempt fail! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/15 "2012-10-11T06:33:50Z")
I heard there were Apaches who avoided the white folk till the 1930’s at least in SW Arizona. Anybody heard that? ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/16 "2012-10-11T07:18:16Z")
> [@user\_hostile](#): > > I heard there were Apaches who avoided the white folk till the 1930’s at least in SW Arizona. Anybody heard that? There were still holdouts who resisting being settled on the reservation at the end of the Apache wars at least as late as 1924 (the date of the last raid) and probably later, but they lived a lifestyle more similar to modern guerrillas than their traditional one. They also freely traded and lived with non-natives in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-last-native-americans-in-north-america-make-contact-with-europeans/637306/17 "2012-10-12T06:28:26Z")
Thanks, **GreasyJack**