Description
Paiute refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. The Southern Paiute, who speak Ute, at one time occupied what are now southern Utah, northwestern Arizona, southern Nevada, and southeastern California, the latter group being known as the Chemehuevi. Although encroached upon and directed into reservations by the U.S. government in the 19th century, the Southern Paiute had comparatively little friction with settlers and the U.S. military; many found ways to stay on their traditional lands, usually by working on ranches or living on the fringes of the new towns.
Language
Northern Paiute also known as Paviotso, is a Western Numic language of the Uto-Aztecan family
Culture
The Paiute had a strong belief in the supernatural. This was evident in their practice of shamanism to assist in childbirth and other parts of life. Like a number of other California and Southwest Indians, the Northern Paiute have been known for the wild foods they collected required digging. After 1840 a rush of prospectors and farmers despoiled the arid environment’s meagre supply of food plants, after which the Northern Paiute acquired guns and horses and fought at intervals with the trespassers until 1874, when the last Paiute lands were appropriated by the U.S. government. The Northern and Southern Paiute were traditionally hunting and gathering cultures that subsisted primarily on seed, pine nuts, and small game, although many Southern Paiute also planted small gardens.