Paiutes Photo courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

Prior to European settlement and Spanish exploration in the West, the Native Americans inhabited the land. In Southern Nevada, the Paiute Indian tribe called the Mojave Desert home.

Life for the Paiutes
Paiute tribes lived in small groups, usually families. They survived in the desert by shielding themselves from the desert sun and drinking the water that the desert provided. The Paiutes built wikiups, or tent-like structures, to live in. The Las Vegas Springs provided a free-flowing river, which helped keep them cool and gave them water to drink.

Paiute sustenance
The Paiutes set up camps near a source of water. The Paiutes would then dig trenches for irrigation of their crops. Seeds of corn, beans and pumpkins were sprinkled in the dirt and they’d wait for their crops to grow a bounty of food to harvest.

The Paiutes hunted native animals like rabbits and mountain sheep. They ate the seeds of wild grasses and pine nuts. The prickly pear cactus gave them fruit. The tribes lived off of the land, sharing what they had with other local tribes. Once the European settlers spread to the West, the Paiutes were exposed to new foods like peaches, plums, wheat and oats.