Spring Mountain

The Spring Mountains are located in southern Nevada, west of Las Vegas. They are some of the oldest rock in this part of the state. They are considered the Origin Mountains for the Southern Paiute people and central to Southern Paiute culture. For Southern Paiutes, all life on Earth was created from this mountain range and the importance of the Spring Mountains to the Southern Paiute people is nested in the notion that Puha (power) exists in natural places and exists in different types and concentrations. Puha was formed at Creation in the Spring Mountains and flows across the landscape similar to water flow in a watershed.  Because of the manner in which Puha is disbursed across the landscape, these mountains are understood as culturally connected to Southern Paiute places in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

In order to fully understand and properly manage the Spring Mountains, the United States Forest Service (USFS) funded researchers at BARA to conduct a Native American ethnographic study. This research examined the traditional, religious, and cultural values of the Spring Mountains to contemporary Southern Paiute people.

This was the first Native American ethnographic study of Spring Mountains funded by the USFS. The study was funded 2002 and was completed in 2004. The project involved consulting with six Southern Paiute tribes, and one Southern Paiute organization. The tribes and groups involved were as follows:

• The Chemehuevi Indian Tribe
• The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT)
• The Kaibab Paiute Tribe
• The Las Vegas Indian Tribe
• The Moapa Paiute Tribe
• The Pahrump Paiute Tribe
• The Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (PITU)
  • Shivwits Band
  • Indian Peaks Band
  • Cedar City Band
  • Kanosh Band
  • Koosharem Band

Southern Paiute cultural representatives and BARA ethnographers visited 16 culturally important places. The sites visited reflected the different types of cultural resources and traditional use areas found in the Spring Mountains. In total the BARA team conducted 216 interviews during three field visits. Southern Paiute people were interviewed on site use and meaning and on how the sites were culturally connected. The data was compiled and integrated into a report that has been approved by the tribes and the USFS. This document has served as the foundation for management decisions and recent studies on both USFS and Fish and Wildlife lands.

Read the report (Acrobat Reader required):

Puha Flows from It: The Cultural Landscape Study of the Spring Mountains (13MB)