Great Basin
Indigenous Mural

The mural is a space for gathering, reflection, and celebration of Native American Peoples of the Great Basin.

The Great Basin Indigenous Mural

The mural consists of four panels: "Honoring Ancestors," "Kooyooe Pa’a Panunadu," "Shared Protection," and "Dáʔaw Aga."

Honoring Ancestors

We honor our future generations by practicing the cultural teachings of those who came before us.

This panel features silhouettes of prominent Numu (Northern Paiute), Newe (Western Shoshone), and Wá·šiw (Washoe) ancestors who dedicated their lives to the protection of their homelands, waters, and communities.

Kooyooe Pa’a Panunadu

Kooyooe Pa’a Panunadu is the homelands of the Kooyooe Tukadu (Cui-ui Eaters). We give thanks to Numu leaders and ancestors, for restoring water rights to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and recovering the fisheries populations.

In this panel, the Kooyooe (Cui-ui) and Agi (Lahontan Cutthroat Trout) are traveling upstream during their spawn migration while elder, Katie Frazier, fillets kooyooe on the beach.

Shared Protection

The University of Nevada, Reno is located on Numu, Wá·šiw, and Newe homelands. Tuba (pinenuts) is an ancestral food harvested by all Great Basin Tribes. The harvest is dependent on winter and spring precipitation and the fall rabbitbrush blooms signifies the pinenuts are ready to gather.

This panel highlights the shared protection of water, land, medicines, and food systems between Great Basin Tribes.

Dáʔaw Aga

Wá·šiw Peoples have been caring and protecting Dáʔaw (Lake Tahoe) for time immemorial. Dáʔaw is the headwaters of the Truckee River Watershed, which flows 121 miles from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake.

This panel of the mural incorporates the return of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout to the lake and emphasizes the intergenerational movement of water protection and the reclaiming of ancestral homelands.

Special thanks to the following:

  • Office of the President
  • Office of the Provost
  • Members of the Native American Mural Committee
  • University's Sesquicentennial Committee
  • Autumn Harry
  • The Indigenous communities represented within the mural

The University of Nevada recognizes that it is situated on the traditional homelands of the Numu (Northern Paiute), Wašiw (Washoe), Newe (Western Shoshone), and Nuwu (Southern Paiute) peoples and understands the importance of Tribal communities and Native Americans across the State of Nevada, and their diverse perspectives.