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The Paiute Indians were hunter-gatherers whose spirituality centered on the coyote and wolf. They lived in dome-shaped houses and wove baskets. European explorers first came into contact with them in 1776. The Paiutes were relocated to reservations in Utah and Nevada in 1865, and in 1951, they sued the federal government over lost lands. Today, many tribes have opened businesses to promote economic development, but unemployment remains high.
The Paiute Indians are a Native American tribe that originally settled near the Muddy River and the Virgin River in what is now southeastern Nevada in the United States. The Paiutes were hunter-gatherers whose spirituality centered on the stories of the coyote and the wolf. Paiute Indians live on reservations in parts of Nevada and Utah.
Early Paiute men hunted deer and rabbits, while women foraged for berries, seeds, roots, and nuts. Some Paiute Indians lived in arid, desert regions, depending on springs and waterholes for their water. Others lived near rivers and could grow corn, melons, gourds, and sunflowers using irrigation systems.
During the winter, the Paiutes moved into dome-shaped houses for warmth. They told stories of trickster Coyote and the more responsible wolf to illustrate survival tricks and proper behavior. The Paiute Indians wove baskets and made their own tools and clothing.
The Paiute chiefs wielded some power, but were respected for building consensus rather than opposing voices. The very center of Paiute society was the family. Weddings took place in the autumn and were based on monogamy and mutual respect.
European explorers first came into contact with the Paiute in 1776, when Fathers Dominguez and Escalante came across some Paiute women looking for seeds. Fifty years later, Jedediah Smith blazed a trail through Paiute territory en route to California. Over the next few decades, white settlers and fur trappers followed the trail in search of land and business opportunities. The new arrivals took to Paiute food and crops for themselves and their oxen. Navajo and Ute Indians captured and sold Paiute women and children to whites as slaves.
Mormon settlers were considered even more devastating to the Paiute way of life. Beginning in the 1850s, Mormons moved into Paiute land and claimed it for themselves. Increased contact with white settlers brought disease to the Paiute, and the population dwindled from several thousand to several hundred. The railroads also divided the Paiute land and hindered its movement.
Beginning in 1865, the United States government began negotiating treaties with the Paiute to relocate them off their lands and onto reservations. In 1891, the first Paiute tribes were relocated to a reservation in Utah near the city of St. George. Over the next several decades, the Paiute Indians gave up their lands and moved on small reservations in Utah and Nevada. Federal aid was low; many Paiutes had to earn a living by working as maids or as temporary laborers on farms and railroads.
In 1951, the Paiutes sued the federal government over the value of lands lost by the tribe in a lawsuit that dragged on for nearly 15 years. A setback came in 1954 when Senator Arthur V. Watkins of Utah introduced a bill in the United States Congress that ended federal aid to the Paiute and other Native American tribes. This policy was not reversed until 1970; the following year, reparation payments finally began.
The Paiutes have taken advantage of federal aid to build new homes and improve education and health care facilities. Many tribes have opened gas stations, golf courses, shops and factories to promote economic development. Unemployment still hovers around 45% in some reservations.
