The Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians of the Las Vegas Indian Colony (

Southern Paiute language Colorado River Numic (also called Ute , Southern Paiute , Ute–Southern Paiute, or Ute-Chemehuevi ), of the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan language family, is a dialect chain that stretches from southeastern California to Colorado. Individual ...

: Nuvagantucimi, "people of "where snow sits" (i.e.

Charleston Peak Mount Charleston, including Charleston Peak (Nuvagantu, literally "where snow sits", in Southern Paiute or Nüpakatütün in Shoshoni) at , is the highest mountain in both the Spring Mountains and Clark County, in Nevada, United States. It is ...

)) is a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Southern Paiute The Southern Paiute people are a tribe of Native Americans who have lived in the Colorado River basin of southern Nevada, northern Arizona, and southern Utah. Bands of Southern Paiute live in scattered locations throughout this territory and ha ...

Indians in

Southern Nevada Southern Nevada (SNV) is a region and the southern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada which includes the Las Vegas Valley. It also includes the areas in and around Pahrump and Pioche. Tonopah and Hawthorne are sometimes also referred to as part ...

Reservation

1915R Las Vegas Indian Colony Locator Map

The Las Vegas Paiute Tribe has a reservation, the Las Vegas Indian Colony, at in Clark County adjacent to the northwest corner of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. The reservation was first established in 1911 and today is large. In 1992, 52 tribal members lived on the reservation and 71 people were enrolled in the tribe.

History

The tribe is descended from the ''Tudinu'' or "Desert People", ancestors of most of the tribes of

s whose traditional territory is the lower

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

valley as well as the mountains and arroyos of the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

."Tribe History."
''Las Vegas Paiute Tribe.'' (retrieved 14 Dec 2009) Beginning in the early 19th century non-native settlers moved into the area, resulting in the displacement of the local tribe from both its water-rich lowland winter and tree-rich mountainous summer campgrounds. Significant permanent settlement began after 1855 when the area was annexed to the United States. That same year a mission of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) built a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

at the

Las Vegas Springs The Las Vegas Springs or Big Springs is the site of a natural oasis, known traditionally as a cienega. For more than 15,000 years, springs broke through the desert floor, creating grassy meadows (called ''las vegas'' by Spanish New-Mexican explo ...

with the dual purpose of converting the Paiutes and acting as a node on a Salt Lake-to-the-sea shipping route. Although the mission was short-lived, it marked the beginning of permanent American settlement at the site when, ten years later, the fort was rebuilt, reinhabited and re-christened the Las Vegas Rancho. Settlement increased after

William A. Clark William Andrews Clark Sr. (January 8, 1839March 2, 1925) was an American politician and entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads. Biography Clark was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to Iowa in 1 ...

took ownership of much of the tribe's land, built the

San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad was a rail company in California, Nevada, and Utah in the United States, that completed and operated a railway line between its namesake cities (Salt Lake City, Utah and Los Angeles, California), via Las Ve ...

through it and established the town of

adjacent to the region's most significant water source. Seeing the tribe's dispossession, on December 30, 1911

Helen J. Stewart Helen Jane Stewart (April 16, 1854 – March 6, 1926) was a Southern Nevada pioneer, and was considered the "first lady of Las Vegas". Stewart Avenue in Downtown Las Vegas is dedicated in her honor. Biography Helen Jane Wiser was born in Springfi ...

, owner of the pre-railroad Las Vegas Rancho, deeded of spring-fed downtown Las Vegas land to the Paiutes, creating the Las Vegas Indian Colony. Until 1983 this was the tribe's only communal land, forming a small "town within a town" in downtown Las Vegas. The tribe ratified their constitution and bylaws on July 22, 1970. They were federally recognized, under the

Indian Reorganization Act The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...

. In 1983, Congress returned to the tribe of land between the eastern slopes of

Mount Charleston Mount Charleston, including Charleston Peak (Nuvagantu, literally "where snow sits", in Southern Paiute or Nüpakatütün in Shoshoni) at , is the highest mountain in both the Spring Mountains and Clark County, in Nevada, United States. It is ...

in the

Spring Mountains The Spring Mountains are a mountain range of Southern Nevada in the United States, running generally northwest–southeast along the west side of Las Vegas and south to the border with California. Most land in the mountains is owned by the Uni ...

and the western flanks of the

Sheep Range The Sheep Range is located north of Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States. It is found in both Clark and Lincoln Counties in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. The mountains reach a peak at Hayford Peak, above sea level between the Las Vegas ...

. This land now known as the Snow Mountain Reservation of the Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians.

Today

The Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians currently operates a minimart, a cannabis dispensary, two smoke shops; a health and human services program; the Las Vegas Paiute Police Department, with 10 law enforcement officers, and the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, located northwest of Las Vegas. The tribes hosts the Annual Snow Mountain

Pow Wow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow) is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today allow Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or pu ...

every

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend."Pow Wow."
''Las Vegas Paiute Tribe.'' (retrieved 14 Dec 2009) The tribal headquarters is located in

. The tribe is governed by a seven-person tribal council.

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

External links

Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Las Vegas Tribe Of Paiute Indians Of The Las Vegas Indian Colony 1911 establishments in Nevada American Indian reservations in Nevada Federally recognized tribes in the United States Paiute Populated places established in 1911 Populated places in Clark County, Nevada Native American tribes in Nevada