Paiute

Paiute (/ˈpaɪjuːt/; also Piute) refers to three closely related groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin:

Language and culture

The Northern and Southern Paiute both speak languages belonging to the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan family of Native American languages. The terms Paiute, Northern Paiute and Southern Paiute apply most correctly when referring to groups of people with similar language and culture. It does not imply a political connection or even an especially close genetic relationship. The Northern Paiute speak the Northern Paiute language, while the Southern Paiute speak the Colorado River Numic language. These languages are not as closely related to each other as they are to other Numic languages.

The Bannock, Mono, Coso, Timbisha and Kawaiisu peoples, who also speak Numic languages and live in adjacent areas, are sometimes also referred to as Paiute. The Bannock speak a dialect of Northern Paiute. But, the Mono Tribe and other three peoples speak distinctly separate Numic languages: Mono is related more closely to Northern Paiute, as is Coso; the Timbisha language is related more to the Shoshoni language, and the Kawaiisu language is more closely related to Colorado River Numic.

Trousers

Trousers (pants in North America) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dresses).

In the UK the word "pants" generally means underwear and not trousers.Shorts are similar to trousers, but with legs that come down only to around the area of the knee, higher or lower depending on the style of the garment. To distinguish them from shorts, trousers may be called "long trousers" in certain contexts such as school uniform, where tailored shorts may be called "short trousers", especially in the UK.

In most of the Western world, trousers have been worn since ancient times and throughout the Medieval period, becoming the most common form of lower-body clothing for adult males in the modern world, although shorts are also widely worn, and kilts and other garments may be worn in various regions and cultures. Breeches were worn instead of trousers in early modern Europe by some men in higher classes of society. Since the mid-20th century, trousers have increasingly been worn by women as well. Jeans, made of denim, are a form of trousers for casual wear, now widely worn all over the world by both sexes. Shorts are often preferred in hot weather or for some sports and also often by children and teenagers. Trousers are worn on the hips or waist and may be held up by their own fastenings, a belt or suspenders (braces). Leggings are form-fitting trousers, of a clingy material, often knitted cotton and spandex (elastane).

Ghost Dance

The Ghost Dance (Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a new religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilson), proper practice of the dance would reunite the living with spirits of the dead, bring the spirits of the dead to fight on their behalf, make the white colonists leave, and bring peace, prosperity, and unity to native peoples throughout the region.

The basis for the Ghost Dance, the circle dance, is a traditional form that has been used by many Native Americans since prehistoric times, but this new ceremony was first practiced among the Nevada Paiute in 1889. The practice swept throughout much of the Western United States, quickly reaching areas of California and Oklahoma. As the Ghost Dance spread from its original source, Native American tribes synthesized selective aspects of the ritual with their own beliefs.

The Ghost Dance was associated with Wilson's (Wovoka's) prophecy of an end to white expansion while preaching goals of clean living, an honest life, and cross-cultural cooperation by Native Americans. Practice of the Ghost Dance movement was believed to have contributed to Lakota resistance to assimilation under the Dawes Act. In the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, U.S. Army forces killed at least 153 Miniconjou and Hunkpapa from the Lakota people. The Sioux variation on the Ghost Dance tended towards millenarianism, an innovation that distinguished the Sioux interpretation from Jack Wilson's original teachings. The Caddo Nation still practices the Ghost Dance today.

Kucadikadi

The Kucadikadi are a band of Northern Paiute people who live near Mono Lake in Mono County, California. They are the southernmost band of Northern Paiute.

Name

Kucadikadi means "eaters of the brine fly pupae." They are also known as the Kutsavidökadö, Koza'bittukut'teh, Kotsa'va, Mono Lake Paiute, Mono Basin Paiute, and Kuzedika. Lamb gives the Mono language name as kwicathyhka', "larvae eaters", or Mono Lake Paviotso. The term "Mono Lake Paiute," a holdover from early anthropological literature, has proven problematic.

Culture and geography

The Kucadikadi's homeland surrounds Mono Lake in eastern California, but they traditionally traveled to Walker Lake, Nevada for seasonal subsistence activities. Mono Lake is a high piedmont area of the Sierra Nevada. The average elevation of the Mono Lake basin is around 6,400 feet (2,000 m) above sea level. The surrounding mountains range from 9,000 to 13,000 ft (2,700 to 4,000 m) in elevation. Mono Lake is extremely saline and is home to several waterfowl species and the brine fly, or Ephydra hians or Hydropyrus hians, from which the band takes its name.Pinus monophylla or Piñon pine has been an importance source of food, as were jackrabbits, deer, mountain sheep, and the Coloradia pandora moth.

Honey Lake

Honey Lake is an endorheic sink within the Honey Lake Valley located in northeastern California, near the Nevada border. Summer evaporation reduces the lake to a lower level of 12 square kilometers (3,000 acres) and creates an alkali flat.

Honey Lake recreational activities include bird-watching, picnicking, hiking, camping, warm-water fishing, and waterfowl hunting. The lake is part of the Honey-Eagle Lakes watershed of 2,770 sq mi (7,200 km²) which includes the Honey Lake Basin of 2,201 sq mi (5,700 km²).

History

During the Pleistocene Honey Lake and the entire Honey Lake Valley were part of Lake Lahontan in western Nevada with a lake water level of 1,332 m (4,370 ft) a level of approximately 115 m (377 ft) higher than the 1984 level of Honey Lake. The connection to Lake Lahontan was through Astor Pass north of the Virginia Mountains into Pyramid Lake and through Sand Pass into the Smoke Creek Desert portion of Lake Lahontan to the northeast. Both passes are at approximately 1,250 m (4,100 ft) elevation.