Experiencing Fallon Through the Eyes of Its First Nations

The late afternoon sun slants across the wind-rippled water that fills this desert basin. In the stillness, birdsong fills the air as red-winged blackbirds flit through the thick vegetation that hugs the shoreline of Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge. Overhead, osprey and hawks circle.

We’re only minutes outside of Fallon, but water is everywhere. The water brings life. Tules rise high above the shoreline, their sword-like fronds rising in thickets that dance in the breeze. These plants are integral to some of the oldest, enduring origin stories of the Fallon area. Rochanne Downs, a member of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, explains that she is from the Toi Ticutta tribe of the Paiute-Shoshone, which means “Tule Eater.” These plants have been food, shelter, art, hunting implements and more to the tribe throughout countless  generations.

The Original Oasis 

The Paiute-Shoshone tribe’s way of life is tied  to water. Just as today Fallon is known as “The Oasis of Nevada,” the name was even more apt through earlier periods of tribal habitation in the region. Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge is the remnant of ancient Lake Lahontan, a vast  inland sea that teemed with life for thousands of years. It was during this era that the Paiute-Shoshone utilized the Tule plants for nearly every aspect of daily life. Tribe members expertly fashioned duck decoys that lured in migrating birds to land where they were  caught for food. Tule was used to make watercraft, build shelters and were consumed for food. 

“Right now, it’s dry out here. There are ponds, but it used to be one large lake. To navigate the waterways and go hunting, we used to rely on Tule. Tule provides for all our basic needs—food, clothing, and shelter. We made cattail huts, clothing, and matting beds from it. Its many uses are why our band is known as the Toi Ticutta.” said Downs.

Respect the Land

From Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge you can see for miles. Fox Peak rises into the sky to the northeast. Downs points to the distant pinnacle in the desert sky and tells how the tribe’s origin story begins at that peak. Nearby, ancient petroglyphs hammered and chipped into basalt rock tell timeless stories of the land at Grimes Point. Out of view, the singing sand dunes of Sand Mountain bring an otherworldly texture to the Great Basin landscape. These are not just points on a map for members of the Paiute-Shoshone tribe. They are places with deep cultural significance. The tribe believes that Sand Mountain is a living being, a snake-like creature whose spine creates the ridge-like curve of the sand dunes’ shape. 

“As native people, that’s the most important part — that we’re here to use our environment, share our environment, but also take care of our environment because our environment takes care of us,” said Downs. “Never take more than you need, always give back …  Leave more than you took. And then this place will still be welcoming.”

Explore the Past and the Present

Fallon’s native tribes have an enormous amount of knowledge about the region’s past and present. Having lived on this land for thousands of years — a nearby burial site at Spirit Cave held a tribal member dated to more than 10,000 years old — the Paite-Shoshone understand the landscape like no other community.

Visitors can read about this history at Grimes Point, where petroglyphs many thousands of years old cover basalt boulders that once stood on the edge of Lake Lahontan. The quarter-mile trail through the boulders is punctuated by plaques that tell the history of the site. Visitors can also find exhibits at the Churchill County Museum that tell the native history of the region.Further afield, the NEvada State Museum in Carson City hosts an exhibit named “Under One Sky” that tells the history of the Great Basin tribes and showcases much of the history of Spirit Cave.

Protect and Preserve

The sites in and around Fallon that hold deep significance for the Paiute-Shoshone are places to share with the visitors, said Downs. But she urges visitors to treat these places with respect. To learn from them and preserve them for future generations.

“I want people to come here,” said Downs. “I want people to come here, but to want to be a part of it. If you’re coming to Sand Mountain to ride it and experience that, understand that those plants have life, and the animals and the people still need that place”

To the Paiute-Shoshone these places have special and specific significance. But Downs said no matter whatever your background or beliefs, the respect of these sites is something that everything should be able to appreciate.

“Be one with it, not above it. If you bring in your trash, take it out with you and pick up what other people left behind so that that place is still pristine. You enjoyed it, so the person behind you can come and enjoy it. And, to just be respectful, no matter what religion you are or no matter what your ties are. Enjoy it and preserve it for your children, too. There’s so much history and so much here to love in that. I live in the most beautiful place in the whole wide world, I’m not going to lie! So come and enjoy it. But also come to make it better for the next time you come.”