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The Wadatika's
aboriginal territory included 5,250 square miles between the
Cascade Mountain range in Central Oregon and the Boise,
Idaho valley area, and from the southern part of the Blue
Mountains near the headwaters of the Powder River north of
John Day, to the desert south of the Steens Mountain and on
to the Nevada border.
The Great
Basin, now desert, was once a series of lakes. This
was the home to the ancestors of the Burns Paiute people who
lived on the shores of these lakes.
The
Constitution and Bylaws of the Burns Paiute Tribe were
adopted May 16, 1968 and revised in 1988.
The Tribe
continues to hunt and gather traditional foods: camas,
bitterroot and biscuit root, chokecherries and berries.
They also gather willow and tule for basket making and
cradleboards. Other traditional crafts include
beadwork and drum-making.
A
celebration and gathering of tribal members and neighboring
tribes has become an annual Pow Wow. The Pow Wow
includes traditional dancing and drumming, dance contests,
crafts and food booths. Another annual festival is
Reservation Day on October 13, in honor of the day the land
held in trust for the Tribe became a reservation.
Today their
are nearly 300 members of the Tribe. The Burns Paiute
Tribe is proud of its history and culture, looking toward
the future and building a stronger and healthier community
for future generations.
(Information
gathered from Paiute Wadatika Ma-Ni-Pu-Neen Book)
To learn more
about the history of the Burns Paiute Tribe,
click here. |
