Paiute Tribe

Facts about the Paiute Native Indian Tribe
This article contains fast, fun facts and interesting information about the Paiute Native American Indian tribe. Find answers to questions like where did the Paiute tribe live, what clothes did they wear, what did they eat and who were the names of their most famous leaders? Discover what happened to the Paiute tribe with facts about their wars and history.

What was the lifestyle and culture of the Paiute tribe?
The Paiute tribe were originally seed gathers and hunters from the Great Basin cultural group of Native Indians. The Paiute tribe lived in a large area centered mainly upon Nevada, but extending east to Utah, west to California, south to Arizona, and north to Idaho and Oregon. The Paiute tribe had two major bands called the Walpapi and the Yahooskin, who were known as the Snake Indians. The locations of the Paiutes were divided into three groups:

• Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon

• Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada

• Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California, Nevada and Utah

The Paiute tribe lived in small family groups in small camps of grass houses or temporary wikiups. They spent most of their time gathering seeds, fishing and hunting especially for migratory ducks. The tribe used canoes to travel across the waters. The Great Basin social and cultural patterns of the Paiute tribe were those of the non-horse bands. The neighbouring tribes of the Paiute included the Koso, Washoe, Panamint, Walapi, Ute and the Shoshone tribes. The white settlers that rushing to reach the California Gold fields or the Comstock Lode silver passed through Paiute lands. Some traders and settlers decided to stay in the area, cut down trees ruining the Pine Nut forests and trampling across the grasses that had once provided the Paiute with their means to survive. In 1858, the Paiute tribe allied with the Coeur d'Alene in a 2 year war against the white invaders. After initial successes in the Pyramid Lake War of 1860, they were defeated. The Paiute tribe again came to the fore when Wovoka (c. 1856–1932) a Northern Paiute shaman who founded the Ghost Dance movement. 

The Ghost Dance
In Ghost Dance movement was initiated in by two Paiute shamans and prophets, called Wodziwob and Wovoka c.1870. The Ghost Dance was part of a mystical ceremony designed to re-establish the Native Indian culture and to bring a peaceful end of the westward expansion of whites and a return of the land to the Native American Indians. The ritual lasted five successive days and dances underwent rituals that resulted in hypnotic trances. Word of the Paiute Ghost Dance spread to other Native Americans tribes who sent delegates to Wovoka and Wodziwob to learn their teachings and rituals. In an incredibly short period of time the religion spread to most of the Western Native Indians. The Ghost Dancers wore Ghost shirts of white muslin, which the Native Indians believed could not be pierced by the bullets of enemy soldiers. The ghost dance was significant because it was a central feature among the Sioux tribe just prior to the massacre of Wounded Knee, in 1890.

What were the rituals and ceremonies of the Paiute tribe?
The rituals and ceremonies of the Paiute tribe and many other Great Basin Native Indians included the Bear Dance and the Sun Dance which first emerged in the Great Basin, as did the Paiute Ghost Dance.

What language did the Paiute tribe speak?
The Paiute tribe spoke in a Numic language, formerly called Plateau Shoshonean, which was a division of the Uto-Aztecan language.

The Paiute are people of the Great Basin Native American cultural group. The location of their tribal homelands are shown on the map.  The geography of the region in which they lived dictated the lifestyle and culture of the Paiute tribe.

• The Paiute tribe originally lived in the American Great Basin region but with the advent of the horse many migrated to the Great Plains

• Tribal Territories of the Paiute:  Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and California

• Land: Deserts, salt flats and brackish lakes

• Climate: Very hot summers and cold winters with very low levels of rainfall

• Animals: The  animals included deer, sheep, antelope, rabbits, hares, lizards and snakes. Fish was also available

• Natural resources: pine nuts, seeds, berries, nuts, roots, leaves, stalks and bulbs. Indian rice grass was harvested

What food did the Paiute tribe eat?
The food that the Paiute tribe ate included Indian rice grass, also known as sandgrass, Indian millet, sandrice and silkygrass.  Rice grass occurs naturally on coarse, sandy soils in the arid lands throughout the Great Basin. Other common names are sandgrass, sandrice, Indian millet, and silkygrass. The seeds of rice grass were a staple food of Native American Indians, including the Paiute tribe, who lived in the Great Basin area. The Paiute tribe were skilled basket makers and wove their baskets so closely that they could contain the smallest of seeds and hold water.

The Paiutes foraged for tubers and greens, including cattail sprouts, and for berries and pine nuts. The seeds of rice grass were ground into meal. Whenever possible they fished and hunted, especially for migratory ducks.

What did the Paiute tribe live in?
The Great Basin Paiute tribe lived in temporary shelters of windbreaks in the summer or flimsy huts covered with rushes or bunches of grass simply called Brush Shelters. The materials used for Brush shelters were sagebrush, willow, branches, leaves, and grass (brush) that were available in their region. 

Paiute Wickiups: The more permanent winter homes of the Paiute were  called Wickiups. These were cone-shaped huts that were built using a frame of willow boughs and covered with reeds, branches, brush and grass. The Paiute wickiup was rounded at the base and at the top of the dome was an open smoke hole. Rocks were often piled around the base of the grass house for added insulation. The Paiute wickiup houses were sometimes built over a 2 - 3 foot foundation. Bark and earth was added to the Paiute house covering to keep out the cold.