City: Reno, NV

Category: Getting Here, Getting Around

Telephone: (775) 586-1077, (800) 736-8222

Description: Long before trailblazer John C. Frémont made his expedition through the Truckee Meadows (the area bordering the Truckee River from the California state line to just east of what is now Sparks), Native Americans inhabited the state. Although anthropologists claim that more than 27 tribes roamed the Nevada wilderness, only two—the Washoes and the Northern Paiutes—gathered seeds and other foodstuffs and fished and hunted in the Reno/Tahoe area. These tribes had to search for food constantly, making survival of the individual family their highest priority. The search for food kept them perpetually on the move, with little time for leisure. These two tribes were more fortunate than most other Nevada tribes because, for part of the year, they had two abundant lakes to fish. The Washoes fished Lake Tahoe, one of the deepest and highest alpine lakes on the continent, and the Northern Paiutes fished Pyramid Lake, a starkly beautiful watershed 25 miles northeast of present-day Reno. Both tribes also became adept at making decoys from wood and tules (long reed-like plants that grow in the wetlands) to hunt the waterfowl that used Tahoe and Pyramid Lakes as landing zones on their southern migratory trek.Native American handicrafts not only included fashioning these elaborate decoys but also basket weaving. These baskets were not for decoration but were essential tools, a means of carrying food and water. Their decoy- and basket-making became legendary around Nevada. Experts consider the Washoes to be the best basket makers in the United States; Dat-So-La-Lee, a Washoe Indian who died in 1925, was thought to be the best of the best. She was known to spend as long as one year working on a single basket. Some of her work can be seen in the Nevada State Museum in Carson City and at the Nevada Historical Society in Reno (see the Day Trips and Attractions chapters). These early inhabitants of the Reno/Tahoe area didn’t plant crops. They were gatherers, so they used their handcrafted baskets to carry the pine nuts they harvested to supplement their food supply through the sometimes-harsh winters. During late fall, they gathered at the piñon groves for the harvest. The men beat the seed-filled pinecones to the ground with long poles, and the women collected the cones in their baskets. After the nuts were removed from the cones, cleaned, and roasted, they gathered to enjoy a family reunion.Although known for their hard lives, these tribes are also credited with establishing a long-standing Reno/Tahoe tradition—gambling. That’s right, the Washoes and the Northern Paiutes would bet on just about anything, including running games and games of strength and agility. Their wagers sometimes consisted of everything they owned, including their blankets, baskets, jewelry, feathers, and even their prized rabbitskin robes. These gambling games would sometimes go on for days, and while a few families walked away rich with new possessions, others were left with literally just the skins on their backs. These two tribes remained in the area to greet the first white explorers but soon found them more of a threat to their civilizations than the harshest winter or drought-ridden summer.