Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada

16321 Views

Last Updated: 3 years

The Summit Lake Tribe are Northern Paiute peoples. The Summit Lake Reservation is the most remote Indian reservation in Nevada.

Official Tribal Name: Summit Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada

Address: 1708 H Street, Sparks, Nevada
Phone: 775-827-9670 or 800-335-7978
Fax: (702) 623-0558
Email:

Official Website: http://www.summitlaketribe.org/

Recognition Status: Federally Recognized

Traditional Name / Traditional Meaning:

Agai Panina Ticutta, meaning Summit Lake Fish Eaters

Common Name / Meaning of Common Name:

Alternate names / Alternate spellings:

Name in other languages:

Region: Great Basin

State(s) Today: Nevada

Traditional Territory:

Prior to contact with Europeans and Euro-Americans, the Agai Panina Ticutta controlled at least 2,800 square miles of land, including into what is now the states of Oregon and California.

Confederacy: Northern Paiute

Treaties:

Reservation: Summit Lake Reservation

Remote even by Nevada standards, Summit Lake is almost 40 miles from the nearest paved road. The almost 20-square-mile reservation was established in 1913 and sits between Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge and Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area in northwestern Nevada.

The Tribe’s Reservation is surrounded by Humboldt County in Northwest, Nevada. The Reservation is about 50 miles south of the Oregon state line, and about 50 miles east of the California state line.

At one time, the Reservation was part of a military reservation, known as Camp McGarry that was established by Executive order in 1867. The military reservation was abandoned in 1871 and transferred from the War Department to the Department of the Interior.

Due to the reservation’s fragile ecosystem, most of it is off limits to non-tribal members.

Establishment: 14 January, 1913 – By order of Executive Order #1681
03 March, 1928 – Public Law 89 of the 70th Congress (45 Stat. 160)
20 April, 1949 – Deed approved
04 January, 1950 – Deed approved
14 January, 1950 – Transfer Order of Inherited Interest
10 June, 1959 – By Authority of the 86th Congress 9,489.49 acres

Location: Approximately eighty miles Southwest of Denio, Humboldt County, Nevada. Access via State Route 140 and unimproved road 8A.

Land Area: The total acreage of the Reservation today is about 12,573 acres including the lake surface. Summit Lake is a terminal lake; meaning that no water flows outward from it. The total surface of the lake fluctuates between 560 and over 900 acres between the snow melt in spring and the dry summer conditions. 765 acres are allotments held in trust by the federal government for individual tribal members. 40 acres are public domain land, and another 40 acres are owned in fee simple by non-Indians.

Tribal Headquarters: Winnemucca, Nevada
Time Zone:

Population at Contact:

Registered Population Today: Approximately 120 members.

Tribal Enrollment Requirements:

Effective January 14, 2013, please contact Jerry Barr, Council Enrollment Liaison, cell 775-685-6467 or e-mail jerry.barr@summitlaketribe.org for enrollment issues and to schedule appointments for a tribal enrollment identification card.

Genealogy Resources:

Government:

Charter: Organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 18 June 1934 (48 Stat. 984) as amended. Constitution and By-Laws of the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe approved 08 January, 1965.
Name of Governing Body: Summit Lake Paiute Tribal Council
Number of Council members: 5 including the executive officers
Dates of Constitutional amendments:
Number of Executive Officers: 3 – Chairwoman, Vice-Chairwoman and Secretary/Treasurer

Elections:

B.I.A. Agency:

Western Nevada Agency
Carson City, Nevada 89702
Phone:(702) 887-3500

Language Classification:

Language Dialects:

Number of fluent Speakers:

Paiute Dictionary

Origins:

Bands, Gens, and Clans

Related Tribes:


Duck Valley Paiute
| Pyramid Lake Paiute | Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe | Fort Independence Paiute | Ft. McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe | Goshute Confederated Tribes | Kaibab Band of Paiute | Las Vegas Paiute Tribe | Lovelock Paiute Tribe | Moapa River Reservation | Reno/Sparks Indian Colony | Winnemucca Colony | Walker River Paiute Tribe | Yerington Paiute Tribe

Traditional Allies:

Traditional Enemies:

Ceremonies / Dances:

Modern Day Events & Tourism:

Paiute Legends / Oral Stories

Art & Crafts:

Animals:

Clothing:

Paiute wickiupHousing:

The Paiutes lived in conical brush houses called wickiups.

Subsistance:

The Summit Lake Paiutes were hunter- gatherers. They foraged for a wide range of medicinal and edible plants, and also used plant fibers to make their functional baskets, rope, and many other objects used in their daily life. Lahontan cutthroat trout from Pyramid Lake, Walker Lake, Summit Lake and Lake Tahoe were a major food source for Northern Paiute, Western Shoshone and Washoe Native Americans. Caught and dried, the trout were stored and eaten during the cold winter months.

Another food staple was the pine nuts gathered in the fall. These would be ground into a flour to make bread and thicken soups. They also hunted small game, especially rabbits, and some larger game such as antelope, deer and mountain goat.

Religion & Spiritual Beliefs:

Burial Customs:

Wedding Customs

Radio:
Newspapers:

Famous Paiute People

Catastrophic Events:

Tribe History:

In the News:

Further Reading: