Native American Essay
When Europeans first visited the area they found three major tribes, the Paiutes, Shoshone and the Washo. The Shoshone occupied much of northeastern Nevada. They belong to a large group that extends into Mexico, the Pacific Northwest and the Great Plains. The Paiute were divided into two groups, inhabiting both northern and southern Nevada. The Washoe occupied the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range that borders Nevada and California.
The Paiute people first settled throughout the Great Basin, but moved to various states of the country. They made reservations in California, Nevada, Utah, Oregon and Arizona are called the Northern Paiute. The Paiutes that moved to the Plateaus of Colorado around 1100-1200 A.D. are called the Southern Paiute. The Northern Paiute migrated frequently and widely. They did this because they relied on game and certain plants. The Southern Paiute did a lot of hunting too, yet not as much migrating. The Southern Paiute would eat the meat of their game as well as the crushed bones of the animal. In addition to meat, the Paiutes ate plants. Paiute women did a lot of basket weaving with help from their children. They would cultivate a number of crops using water sources that were available and would plant corn, squash, pumpkins, muskmelons, beans and sunflowers. They also grew wheat and gathered various seeds and leafy greens to supplement their diet.
The Shoshone were nomadic people who traveled over a wide portion of the Western United States. They occupied parts of Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah, from the Great Basin to the Plains and into parts of Colorado and Wyoming. Life in the Great Basin made quite difficult for them to find food, water, and shelter. The Shoshone mostly ate berries, roots, and pine nuts, rabbit, antelope, and buffalo meat, depending on where they were they were traveling at the time. Shoshone clothing changed with the seasons, ranging from a simple a Breechcloth...