Language

• The northern Paiute people of California speak a Numic tongue known as Paviotso. The language is part of the Uto-Aztecan family and functions in subject-object-verb form. It is considered to be similar to other Native American languages, such as Comanche, Shoshone and Panamint. California is home to two, separate units of people speaking Paviotso. In Paviotso, the definition of numa is people. Over 1,000 individuals speak the language. In the modern day, more and more English terms have become part of the language.
  
  

Nomadic

• The Paiute Indians historically have been very nomadic people, constantly wandering throughout the Great Basin Desert looking for food and resources. The Paiutes often took temporary settlements by lakes, marshes and rivers. When seeking food, fishing was an especially common activity, and the people often sought out lamprey eels and salmon.
  
  

Bands

• The Paiute peoples are composed of many different divisions, which are known as tribes. Some of the best known Paiute tribes in California live in towns and cities such as Alturas, Cedarville and Fort Bidwell.
  
  

Family

• Family is an important aspect of Paiute life. They highly value children, who, from an early age, assist in obligations, such as gatherings. One of the main duties of Paiute grandfathers is to pass lessons and wisdom down to his grandchildren, along with important cultural traditions, ceremonies and rituals. For Paiutes, coyotes are symbolic and believed to represent improper behavior and punishment. As a result, they frequently appear in storytelling as villains.
  
  

Lodging

• In the past, the Paiute people never remained in one spot for a long period of time, due to having to constantly move where the food was plentiful. Because of that reality, shelter was always constructed in a very basic, easy-to-take-down manner. The main components for building lodging were native plants. The conical homes were circular and consisted of strong willow stalks, as well as sagebrush, grass and pine boughs. Cooking and meal preparation took place outside of the home within a shelterbelt.