Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 12, 1 December 1993 — Nevada Paiute, Hawaiians exchange traditions in desert ceremony [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Nevada Paiute, Hawaiians exchange traditions in desert ceremony

More than 700 people attended the Hawaiian civic club convention opening ceremonies at Kyle Canyon, Nevada, on the sacred land of the Las Vegas Paiute Indians. In the shadow of Snow Mountain, a dignified meeting between the native people of Hawai'i and the Paiute of Nevada took plaee. Members of the Las Vegas Paiute band greeted and welcomed the assembled civic club members to their desert home with drumming and traditional songs. The late afternoon ceremony began with a procession around the open-air ceremonial circle led by their spiritual leader "Papa" Jake. Girls in Paiute costume with colorful fringed shawls, or with bells sewn to their dress, kept rhythmie time. For their part, representatives of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Hawaiian royal societies, elected state officials and Hawaiian agencies and organizations presented ho'okupu to tribal leader Kenny Anderson. The gifts included oli and hula, baskets

of niu and lauhala, lei of flowers, maile, kukui, pūpū, and silk, books about Hawai'i and Hawaiian culture, gifts for ehildren, posters and more. There were also gifts from the land and sea: 'alaea salt and 'inamona, wai from the valleys of Maui, ginger root and other Hawaiian food products. Paiute leader Kenny Anderson welcomed the Hawai'i visitors to Nevada and thanked everyone for

their gifts on behalf of Paiute eouneil members. He told of the legend that when a great flood eame, the Paiute were able to escape to safety upon Snow Mountain and since that time his people have flourished in the Great Basin, an ancient sea onee located where southern Nevada and Utah, and northern Arizona are today.

Paiute dancers performed at the closing banquet of the civic club convention. Photo by Ruby Maunakea.