Historic map of tribes called "Paiute" overlaid on a map of present-day western US state borders
Paiute (/ˈpaɪjuːt/; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three languages do not form a single subgroup and they are no more closely related to each than they are to the Central Numic languages (Timbisha, Shoshoni, and Comanche) which are spoken between them.
The term "Paiute" does not refer to a single, unique, unified group of Great Basin tribes, but is a historical label comprising:
- Northern Paiute people of northeastern California, northwestern Nevada, eastern Oregon, and southern Idaho
- Southern Paiute people of northern Arizona, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah
- Mono people of east central California, divided into Owens Valley Paiute (Eastern Mono) and Western Mono (Monache)
Linguistic differences
Though sharing similar Numic roots, the three groups historically called Paiute have different languages as shown below:
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Index of articles associated with the same name
This set index article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names). If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Categories: