ORAL HISTORIES

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On Juanita's parents and growing up in Moapa; moving to Pahrump, and recollections of that community; riding to Moapa from Logandale on the train; remarks on various Native American dances and on the Salt Songs; the dos and don'ts of traditional Southern Paiute culture. Juanita's knowledge of Southern Paiute songs; further discussion of Salt Songs; on raising children and how that has changed since Juanita's youth; further memories of Ash Meadows, and of a long horseback ride; further mention of Salt Songs. Remarks on medicine men in Southern Paiute culture; a special gypsum cave and other sacred sites; on healing by medicine men using native plants. On nuclear testing in the 1950s and its lasting effects on people and native plants; pollution from a present-day power plant; reflections on Southern Paiute language and culture and on the state of today's world; native foods, especially pine nuts; thoughts on religion and prayer; a closing prayer.

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Family and friends in Pahrump in George's childhood; remembering the Manse Ranch; work in Shoshone as a young teenager; memories of Tecopa and of bad roads. Thoughts on a reservation for Pahrump; how Native American people with parents from different tribes choose their tribal affiliation; the importance of family. Memories of people in Pahrump in the 1930s and of Dad Fairbanks and Charlie Brown; on removing railroad tracks; George's experience discovering a section of the Old Spanish Trail; a memory of Roland Wiley; on mining and on serving in the army; returning to Tecopa from Idaho and living in Tecopa; growth in Pahrump and Shoshone in recent years.

Ray's birth and remarks on his parents; the Sharp family home on the Manse Ranch; memories of school and of fights; doing ranch work, then moving to an open-pit mine and living and working there; the Sharps' homestead; memories of people in Pahrump; remarks on Ray's children; a frightening experience in a truck.

Imogene's birth in Beatty; her father's work on ranches in Pahrump, including the Manse Ranch; individuals in the Native American community there; contrasting the Manse Ranch then and now; recalling school days and Pop Buol; trips to Las Vegas in the 1940s; gardening in Pahrump; life on the Manse Ranch; traveling to Las Vegas for high school. Imogene's mother and father and their respective backgrounds; harvesting native plants for medicine and food; gathering pine nuts; hunting wild game; family meals; water and the pools on the Manse Ranch; the Sharp family homestead and Walter Bowman's role in acquiring it; memories of school and of childhood activities.

Traditional forms of Southern Paiute medicine and current Indian Health Service care; a story of retaliation; preparing food at Moapa when Lalovi was a girl; Lalovi's parents and relatives; visiting Pahrump when living in Tecopa; remarks on the Lee family; returning to Moapa from Tecopa. The stories of Standing Rock and Potato Woman; why Mount Charleston is bald; work on preserving the Southern Paiute language; auto travel before air conditioning; a discussion of the Salt Song ceremony; traditional Paiute views of the world; remarks on basket-making. On the importance of retaining one's culture; views concerning good and bad spirits; traditional Southern Paiute territory; learning the Salt Songs; Lalovi's work as a cultural representative for her tribe, including monitor work on the Nevada Test Site and Yucca Mountain; the relationship between the Moapa group and the Bureau of Indian Affairs; thoughts on Yucca Mountain; the beauty of the desert; experiences of nuclear testing and the residual radiation; Nevada's water issues; further memories of Pahrump and Shoshone-Tecopa; further history of the Moapa Reservation and thoughts on cultural issues; the importance of family.

Remarks on Marie's mother and her home in Chappo; Marie's early days in Shoshone and Pahrump; an early memorial ceremony at Ash Meadows; childhood activities; Southern Paiute childbirth; remembering Marie's brother Marvin; memories of Marie's father and his parents. Thoughts on Paiutes, Shoshones, and Mohaves; memories of the Wilson family and of the Wilson Ranch; remarks on Whispering Ben and Tule Ben; remembering Marie's father and his brother; thoughts on Ash Meadows; remembering a Brahma bull in Pahrump; Doby Doc's vineyard in Pahrump. Remembering the Lee family; Bob Lee's work in mining in the Kingston Mountains; memories of the Kingstons and of Sandy Valley; gathering natural foods and thanking the mountain; eating turtles and mountain sheep. Memories of Ash Meadows and of traditional funerals; receiving gifts of healing; native treatment of some illnesses; old Southern Paiute attitudes toward children.

Leroy's name (Anderson) changes when he becomes a spiritual advisor; cedar, pine pitch, and other natural materials-some of their uses and where cedar is gathered; Mount Charleston as a special place for the Southern Paiute, and thanking the mountain; discussing Leroy's parents; life in the Indian colony in Las Vegas in the 1950s and the contrast between the colony and the town; A year in Pahrump as a boy; memories of Raymond Anderson, including his life in the neon sign business and as a community leader; Leroy's service in the Marine Corps; how Southern Paiute males are raised and Leroy's uncles; some adult years of working and partying, then settling down; coaching football; a serious bout with illness. A spiritual awakening; helping people on a spiritual level and how Leroy's former experiences help him in this work; Some of Leroy's and his uncles' experiences working on movies; reflections on present-day Las Vegas; the importance of water; the eagle as a holy bird; Southern Paiutes and other Native Americans; thoughts on tribal status for Native Americans in Pahrump, Las Vegas, and Moapa.

A discussion of Gloria's birth and her mother and siblings; moving to Baker; Gloria's mother marries Bob Lee; living in Moapa, then in the Kingston Mountains; some native herbs; memories of Horse Thief Springs; Gloria's father's work at the Noonday Mine; memories of Boone Wilson and the Wilson Ranch; a time spent in Pahrump as a young girl; memories of Shoshone and of Chappo Springs. Further recollections of life in Pahrump; discussing mesquite beans; Southern Paiute methods of childbirth; Gloria's grandparents; more memories of Pahrump and remarks on people who lived there. On tribal recognition for Pahrump Paiutes; Gloria's experience in Washington, D.C., with gaining land in Las Vegas for the Paiutes there; the importance of family; some old-time beliefs; remarks on Whispering Ben and on Chief Tecopa; living on the land; the loss of a language; remembering Pahrump students attending high school in Shoshone.