Las Vegas Paiute Colony - Nevada Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) bought this ten-acre site in 1911 from Helen J. Stewart, former owner of the Las Vegas Ranch, to provide a home for the Southern Paiute Indians living in and near Las Vegas. With this purchase, the government officially recognized the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe.

Paiutes displaced from traditional lands needed a place to live in Las Vegas where they could find work and services. The BIA created this small reservation to improve government supervision of these "scattered" Indians and protect them from being chased off by white settlers. A school opened here in the fall of 1912 but closed after a few months because the students left the city with their parents to work outside Las Vegas or gather pine nuts in the mountains. Living conditions here were very poor until the 1960s, when the federal government stepped in to build homes, pave streets and bring in city water.

The colony houses people who work in the city. The Tribal Council has its offices here and operates the Smoke Shop. Tribal members share in the profits. In 1983, Congress added 3,800 acres northwest of the city to Las vegas Paiute holdings where some tribal members now live. The tribe also developed a portion as the Snow Mountain Resort, with a golf course, mini-mart and gas station.

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