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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why do the Yahi no longer spend the summer on the mountain?
(a) The family has grown attached to Tuliyani and do not want to move.
(b) Elder Uncle is afraid that they will be discovered by the saldu.
(c) The summers are no longer as hot, so the move is unnecessary.
(d) The gods have sent signs that the Yahi should not move from their village.

2. Why does Ishi not tell Elder Uncle or Mother about his visits to Black Rock?
(a) He knows they would worry, and they already have enough to worry about.
(b) Ishi is afraid that they would make fun of him.
(c) They have told him repeatedly not to go there.
(d) If he tells them, they will want to go with him.

3. What do the women do while the men hunt for deer?
(a) They dig for roots.
(b) They weave rugs and baskets.
(c) They clean the house.
(d) They plant seeds for their garden.

4. What prediction does Mother make about the New Year?
(a) She says that all of the saldu will have left by the New Year.
(b) She says that she will not make it to see the New Year.
(c) She says that it will be the most prosperous New Year they have ever seen.
(d) She says that she will walk into the New Year on her own feet.

5. How does Elder Uncle respond to the news that Tushi and Ishi bring to him from the outside world?
(a) He listens politely but does not believe that it is important.
(b) He ignores the news and does not want to hear what the saldu are doing.
(c) He refuses to hear anything that Ishi and Tushi have to tell him.
(d) He listens carefully and uses the information to protect his people.

6. Why do Ishi and his family smile when they hear the rush and roar of the wind coming down the canyon?
(a) They know that the winds will drive the animals down into the canyon.
(b) They know that the winds mean that spring has arrived.
(c) They know that they winds are the spirits of Yahi ancestors.
(d) They know that the winds will destroy the saldu settlement.

7. What advice does Elder Uncle give Ishi and Timawi regarding the saldu?
(a) Study them and learn their ways.
(b) Do not think about the saldu; avoid them in thought and action.
(c) Forgive them and offer them peace.
(d) Train faithfully and look for an opportunity to seek revenge.

8. What does Mother think the kind saldu wanted to do?
(a) To change her bandages.
(b) To carry her somewhere.
(c) To offer her some water.
(d) To find some food for her.

9. How tall is Black Rock?
(a) As tall as a grizzly bear standing on two legs.
(b) Three times the height of a man.
(c) As tall as four large pines trees.
(d) Three times the height of Ishi's house.

10. Why is Ishi concerned about Grandmother and Grandfather?
(a) They do not have much food to eat and are growing weak.
(b) They are too quiet and do not speak to the others anymore.
(c) They are getting older and will soon die.
(d) They are forgetting the stories that they have told for years.

11. What advice does Elder Uncle give to the tribe after Timawi expresses his anger with Ishi for letting the saldu escape?
(a) Timawi is an outsider and has no right to express his opinion.
(b) Everyone makes mistakes, and they should forgive others.
(c) They should find a new place for hiding.
(d) They should not let their fear and anger turn them against one other.

12. According to Grandmother, when did she first meet Ishi's mother?
(a) After Ishi was born.
(b) When Ishi's father brought her home as his wife.
(c) When Mother was Tushi's age.
(d) When Mother was first born.

13. What is difficult about the shot that Ishi had taken at the saldu on horseback?
(a) He was able to shoot him from behind without being seen.
(b) He was shooting from behind a dense thicket of brush.
(c) He was shooting uphill at a moving target.
(d) He was able to shoot the saldu without harming Tushi.

14. How does Ishi know that the saldu have made it to the ledge of their village?
(a) He can smell them approaching.
(b) He hears their knives cutting through the brush.
(c) He has had a dream that warned him of this.
(d) He can see them from the top of the pine tree.

15. How soon does Elder Uncle suggest that they move to the cave?
(a) Before the fall of the first snow.
(b) Before the end of the next Harvest Moons.
(c) After the warm weather returns in the spring.
(d) After the frogs stop singing.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Mother allow Tushi to go with Ishi to the beaver den?

2. What does Elder Uncle tell Ishi to seek when he leaves Tuliyani?

3. According to the Yahi creation story, how did creation begin?

4. What is Tushi collecting while Ishi counts Beaver?

5. How does Ishi think his mother feels when he sees that she is wearing her sweetgrass bracelet?

(see the answer keys)

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