Great Basin and Plateau Cultures

A Great Basin family had to know, precisely, when the piñon nuts would ripen in a particular range of hills, how long the harvest would last before the cones opened and the nuts fell, and where else to go if it failed. Piñon produces a heavy crop only every few years, and not everywhere at once. Living by it meant carrying a map of hundreds of square miles and many years of harvests in the mind.

Their basketry was engineering. A water bottle was coiled tightly and sealed with piñon pitch, and would carry water across the desert. Cooking baskets were woven tight enough to hold water without any sealant, and food was boiled in them by dropping in stones heated in a fire. The Washoe weaver Dat So La Lee, also called Louisa Keyser, made baskets in the early twentieth century with more than thirty stitches to the inch, and they are now in museums across the United States.

On the Plateau the horse arrived in the early 1700s, and the Nez Perce became famous for their herds. Meriwether Lewis wrote in 1806 that their horses were of an excellent breed — lofty, elegantly formed, active and durable — and that they gelded their stallions with skill. The Appaloosa breed takes its name from the Palouse River country where the Nez Perce and their neighbours kept horses.

In 1877 bands of the Nez Perce, refusing to move onto a reservation, travelled some 1,170 miles in about three months with their families, elders and herds, fighting a series of battles with the pursuing army. At the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana, forty miles from Canada, Chief Joseph surrendered with the words recorded that day: "From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."

In a dry land with little to spare, knowledge was the most important tool. The peoples of the Great Basin — Shoshone, Paiute, Ute and Washoe — and of the Plateau — Nez Perce, Yakama, Spokane and their neighbours — held a great deal of it.

Reading the land

Great Basin families moved in a seasonal round: a yearly circuit timed to when particular plants ripened and particular animals could be taken. A family had to know, precisely, when the piñon nuts would ripen in a particular range of hills, how long the harvest would last before the cones opened and the nuts fell, and where else to go if it failed.

Piñon pines produce a heavy crop only every few years, and not everywhere at once. Living by them meant carrying a map of hundreds of square miles, and many years of harvests, in the mind. Piñon nuts are rich in fat and store for months, which made them a staple — a main food — for the winter.

On the Plateau, the camas bulb was a staple too. It has a poisonous relative, death camas, and children were taught to tell them apart by their flowers.

Baskets as engineering

Their basketry was engineering. A water bottle was coiled tightly and sealed with piñon pitch, and would carry water across the desert. Cooking baskets were woven tight enough to hold water without any sealant. Food was boiled in them by dropping in stones heated in a fire. The Washoe weaver Dat So La Lee, also called Louisa Keyser, made baskets in the early twentieth century with more than thirty stitches to the inch. They are now in museums across the United States.

Great Basin peoples also made duck decoys from tule reeds with feathers attached. Examples found in Lovelock Cave are about 2,000 years old. Spirit Cave Man, found in Nevada, is about 10,600 years old. He was buried wrapped in a woven mat, with moccasins on his feet.

The horse on the Plateau

On the Plateau the horse arrived in the early 1700s, and the Nez Perce became famous for their herds. Meriwether Lewis wrote in 1806 that their horses were of an excellent breed — lofty, elegantly formed, active and durable — and that they gelded their stallions with skill. The Appaloosa breed takes its name from the Palouse River country, where the Nez Perce and their neighbours kept horses.

1877

In 1877 bands of the Nez Perce refused to move onto a reservation. They travelled some 1,170 miles in about three months with their families, elders and herds, and fought a series of battles with the army that pursued them. At the Bear Paw Mountains in Montana, forty miles from Canada, Chief Joseph surrendered. His words were recorded that day: "From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."

The Great Basin is a dry land of deserts and mountains in the western United States. North of it is the Plateau, a high country cut by big rivers. The Shoshone, Paiute, Ute and Washoe lived in the Great Basin. The Nez Perce, Yakama and Spokane lived on the Plateau.

People in the band

Families moved through the year in a seasonal round, going wherever food was ready: nuts in one place, seeds in another, fish in the rivers.

• Gatherers collected seeds, nuts, roots and berries, and ground seeds into flour on flat stones.
• Basket weavers made baskets for carrying, storing and even cooking. The Washoe weaver Dat So La Lee put more than thirty stitches into every inch.
• Hunters hunted deer, rabbits and birds with bows and spears. Sometimes many people worked together to drive animals toward the hunters.
• Decoy makers made pretend ducks from reeds to bring real ducks close.
• Horse breeders — the Nez Perce raised fine herds of horses.
• Chiefs spoke for their people. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce is one of the best known.

Animals

• Rabbits and deer — for meat and skins.
• Ducks — caught with the help of decoys.
• Salmon — caught in the Plateau rivers.
• Horses — they reached the Plateau in the early 1700s. The spotted Appaloosa is named after the Palouse River country.

Plants and things they made

• Piñon nuts — rich, oily nuts from pine trees that kept for months and fed families through the winter.
• Camas — a root with blue flowers, good to eat. It has a poisonous cousin, death camas, and children were taught to tell them apart by their flowers.
• Water bottles — baskets coiled tight and sealed with sticky pine pitch, to carry water across the desert.
• Cooking baskets — woven so tightly they held water. Hot stones from the fire were dropped in to boil the food.
• Duck decoys — made of tule reeds with real feathers. Ones found in Lovelock Cave, Nevada, are about 2,000 years old.
• Woven mats and moccasins — found with Spirit Cave Man in Nevada, who lived about 10,600 years ago.

In a dry land, knowing where and when to find food was the most important tool of all.