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The basic social unit usually consisted of a two- or three-generation family or the nuclear families of two brothers, augmented occasionally by other individuals with ties to the core group. Kin ties were reckoned bilaterally, through both the mother and the father, and were widely extended to distant relatives.
What did the Paiutes believe in?
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. These shamans functioned as a community healer and would be mentored by a more experienced shaman.
What were the Paiutes known for?
The Paiutes were hunter-gatherers, and moved from place to place frequently as they gathered food for their families. Paiute men hunted deer, elk, buffalo, and small game, and went fishing in the rivers and lakes. Paiute women gathered roots, pine nuts, seeds and fruits.
What happened to the Paiutes?
The Paiutes suffered immensely under termination. Nearly one-half of all tribal members died during the period between 1954 and 1980, largely due to a lack of basic health resources.
Paiute social organization was based on the family. Fluid groupings of families sometimes formed loose bands, which were often named after a major resource or geographic feature of their home territory. Paiute groups gathered together in the fall for dances and marriages.
What is the Southern Paiute reservation?
To the south, the United States and Southern Paiutes signed the 1865 Treaty of Spanish Forks. Also never ratified by Congress, the treaty was designed to the place six Southern Paiute bands on the Uintah Reservation in northern Utah. The first reservation for Southern Paiutes, the Moapa Reservation, was finally created in 1872.
What kind of houses did the Paiute Tribe live in?
TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, AND BELIEFS. Due to their nomadic existence, most traditional Paiute homes were small, temporary huts and were made of willow poles and covered with brush and reeds. These abodes were frequently constructed near streams, where the Paiutes could fish or draw water for sustenance and irrigation.
What was the religion of the Paiutes?
A fundamental aspect of Paiute religion is acquisition of “power,” or buha among Northern Paiutes. The Paiutes believed in many supernatural beings that manifested themselves in elements of the natural world, such as water, thunder, and animals.