The First People

The First People. . , The Native American cultures of the Southwest are as diverse as they are ancient; many of their unique traditions have been practiced for thousands of years., Most of the Indian tribes of the Southwest were displaced from their homeland by Euro-American settlement. But the first people who lived here are still here, keeping their cultures alive in the modern world., The Mojave People. The Mojave people were intimately connected to the Colorado River. They grew crops in the floodplain, fished, hunted small game, and gathered plants. They built semi-subterranean homes on terraces above the river, but lived most of the year in open-air ramadas., The Paiute People. The Southern Paiute were well-adapted to the diverse, challenging environments of the Colorado Plateau and Mojave Desert. They needed to be mobile, so they could hunt and gather wild plants in season. But most bands also had permanent camps near rivers and springs where they grew corn, squash, beans, and melons. The domed shelters they built are known as “wikiups”., [Captions:] , Paiute Chief Tau-Gu and famous Western explorer John Wesley Powell,1873., The bas-relief on the Nevada Elevator Tower was created by Oskar J.W. Hansen, the artist who sculpted the Winged Figures of the Republic on Monument Plaza., Indian Motifs at Hoover Dam Artist Allen Tupper True based the designs inlaid in the terrazzo floor of Hoover Dam on motifs of Southwest Indian tribes.