Indigenous Peoples of Nevada

Tribes and Bands of Nevada
The following list of American Indians who have lived in Nevada has been compiled from Hodge's Handbook of American Indians... and from Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America. Some may simply be variant spellings for the same tribe.

Gosiute, Hopi, Koso, Monachi, Navajo, Paiute (Northern and Southern), Panamint, Puebleo, Shoshoni, Te-Moak, Uinat, Ute, Washoe, Zuni

Te-Moak Band of Western Shoshone, Shoshone - Paiute, Yerrington Paiute, Moapa Band of Paiute, South Fork Band

Reservation / Colony
Many of the reservations in Washington are small, with one agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs having responsibilities for the tribes residing on several reservations. Most of the records kept by the federal government about the tribes will be found in the appropriate agency.

From the mid-1800s, the official policy of the United States government toward the American Indian was to confine each tribe to a specific parcel of land called a reservation. Agencies were established on or near each reservation. A government representative, usually called an agent (or superintendent) was assigned to each agency. Their duties included maintaining the peace, making payments to the Native Americans based on the stipulations of the treaties with each tribe, and providing a means of communication between the native population and the federal government.

Sometimes, a single agency had jurisdiction over more than one reservation. And sometimes, if the tribal population and land area required it, an agency may have included sub-agencies.

The boundaries of reservations, over time, have changed. Usually, that means the reservations have been reduced in size. Sometimes, especially during the later policy of "termination," the official status of reservations was ended altogether.

The following list of reservations has been compiled from the National Atlas of the United States of America, the Omni Gazetteer of the United States of America , and other sources. Those reservations named in bold are current federally-recognized reservations, with their associated agency and tribe(s). Others have historically been associated with the state or are not currently recognized by the federal government.


 * Battle Mountain Colony: Federal, under jurisdiction of Eastern Nevada Agency, Tribe: Shoshoni
 * Carson Colony: Federal, under jurisdication of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Washoe
 * Dresslerville Colony: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency., Tribe: Washoe
 * Duck Valley Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Eastern Nevada Agency, Tribes: Shoshoni and Piaute
 * Duckwater Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Eastern Nevada Agency, Tribe: Shoshoni
 * Elko Colony: Federal, under jurisdiction of Eastern Nevada Agency, Tribe: Shoshoni
 * Ely Colony: Federal,, under jurisdiction of Eastern Nevada Agency, tribe: Shoshoni
 * Fallon Colony and Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe Paiute-Shoshoni
 * Fort McDermitt Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribes Piaute and Shoshoni
 * Gosiute Reservation:
 * Las Vegas Colony: Federal, under jurisdiction of Southern Paiute F.S., Tribe: Piaute
 * Lovelock Colony: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Piaute
 * Moapa Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Southern Paiute F.S., Tribe: Piaute
 * Owyhee Reservation:
 * Pyramid Lake Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Piaute -- located in Washoe, Storey and Lyon Counties, Nevada. Records of interest to genealogists and family historians are located at the National Archives, the Regional Archives in San Fransisco, at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and at other archives and libraries.
 * Ruby Valley Reservation:
 * Reno-Sparks Colony: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Washoe-Paiute
 * Shoshoni Reservation:
 * South Fork Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Eastern Nevada Agency, Tribe Shoshone
 * Stewart Colony
 * Summit Lake Reservation: ......., under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe Paiute
 * Te-Moak Reservation: State, under jurisdiction of Eastern Nevada Agency, Tribe: Te-Moak
 * Walker River Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Paiute -- located primarily in Mineral County, Nevada, with portions in Lyon and Churchill Counties. Records of interest to genealogists and family historians are located at the National Archives, the Regional Archives in San Fransisco, at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and at other archives and libraries.
 * Washoe Tribes: State, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Washoe
 * Wells Colony: State, under jurisdiction of Eastern Nevada Agency, Tribe: .....
 * Western Shoshoni Reservation:
 * Winnemucca Colony: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Paiute
 * Woodfords Colony
 * Yerrington Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Paiute
 * Yomba Reservation: Federal, under jurisdiction of Western Nevada Agency, Tribe: Shoshone

Agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Agencies and subagencies were created as administrative offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its predecessors. Their purpose was (and is) to manage Indian affairs with the tribes, to enforce policies, and to assist in maintaining the peace. The names and location of these agencies may have changed, but their purpose remained basically the same. Many of the records of genealogical value were created by these offices.

The following list of agencies that have operated or now exist in Nevada has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs..., Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians , and others.


 * Carson Valley Agency
 * Duck Valley Agency
 * Eastern Nevada Agency, P.O. Box 28, Elko, Nevada 98801
 * Fallon Subagency
 * Fort Hall Agency
 * Moapa River Agency
 * Nevada Agency
 * Pyramid Lake Agency
 * Reno Agency
 * South East Nevada Agency or Piute Agency
 * Southern Piaute F.S., Box 986, Cedar City, Utah 84720
 * Special Agency of Nevada
 * Walker River Agency
 * Western Nevada Agency, 1300 South Curry Street, Carson City, Nevada 89701
 * Western Shoshoni Agency

Indian Schools
The Office of Indian Affairs (now the Bureau of Indian Affairs) established a network of schools throughout the United States, beginning with Carlisle Indian School, established in 1879. Some of these schools were day schools, usually focusing on Indian children of a single tribe or reservation. Some were boarding schools which served Indian children from a number of tribes and reservations.

In addition, other groups such as various church denominations established schools specifically focusing on American Indian children. (read more...)

The following list of Indian Schools in Nevada has been compiled from Hill's Office of Indian Affairs..., Hill's Guide to Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians , and others.


 * Carson / Stewart Indian School
 * Fallon School
 * Fort McDermitt School
 * Lovelocks School
 * Moapa River School
 * Nevada School

Indian Health Facilities

 * Pyramid Lake Sanatorium

Other Repositories

 * Inter Tribal Council of Nevada, 806 Holman Way, Sparks, NV 89431

See Also:
Nevada History for a calendar of events

Nevada Military Records for a list of forts

Family History Library
Tribal census rolls, probate records, school records, tribal court records, a few vital records, and other records for Nevada are available. The Family History Library has a few of these records and microfilmed copies may be found on the Family History Library Catalog:


 * Nevada Superintendency of Indian Affairs Records 1869-1870 M 837. To see the film description and the film numbers, go to www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp
 * Paiute,Shoshoni and Washoe census rolls of 1909, 1925-1939. Go to
 * A typescript of the Pyramid Lake Paiute tribe census (not dated). Go to
 * Fallon Paiute Indians census rolls of 1909-1924 (includes Fallon Agency and Lovelock Day School). Go to
 * Fort McDermitt Paiute Indians census rolls of 1910-1923 (Note: 1910 Fort McDermitt. 1911-1912 Quinn River. 1913-1923 Fort McDermitt.)  Go to


 * Many of the records are at the National Archives—Pacific Sierra Region (San Bruno). The National Archives — Pacific Sierra Region 1000 Commodore Drive San Bruno, CA 94066-2350 Telephone: 650-876-9001 Fax: (650) 876-9233 E-mail: [mailto:sanbruno.archives@nara.gov sanbruno.archives@nara.gov] Web site:
 * http://www.archives.gov/facilities/ca/san_francisco.html Online Resources http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/nevada/index.htm http://indiancommission.state.nv.us/
 * http://www.unr.edu/nnap/NT/nt_main.htm