Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe

Location of Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation

The Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation spans the distance of the Nevada–Oregon border, in Humboldt County, Nevada and Malheur County, Oregon,[9] near the Quinn River, which runs east to west through the Tribe's Nevada lands. Just to the east is southwestern Idaho. The Fort McDermitt Military Reservation was established 14 August 1865 at the former site of Quinn River Camp No. 33 and a stagecoach stop, Quinn River Station, in what was a traditional seasonal homeland of the Paiute, Shoshone and Bannock peoples.

The reservation was established with 16,354 acres (66.2 km²) in Nevada and 19,000 acres (76.9 km²) in Oregon, mostly areas of arid land. In October 2016 the federal government put into trust for the tribe approximately 19,094 acres (77.3 km²) acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Nevada, in order to expand their reservation and give them a more sustainable base. Gaming is prohibited on these new lands. This was done under the Nevada Native Nations Land Act (PL No: 114-232).[8]

The Tribes drafted a Constitution and Bylaws (which were approved after changes by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs). It also had a Corporate Charter (drafted by the federal government and containing provisions not required by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.) On 6 May 1936 the new Constitution, ByLaws and Corporate Charter was approved by 54 of 65 available voters.

The government has an elected chairman and an elected eight-member Tribal Council, including a vice chairman.[2]

As at the 2010 census, 313 Native Americans lived on the reservation, with 42 enrolled members living in nearby McDermitt, Oregon.[14][9] More tribal members than "enrolled" tribal members live on the Reservation. The Tribe's Constitution and laws have some conflicting definitions of tribal members.

The Constitution defines tribal members as:

• the "original allottees in 1936,
• [at birth] such of their descendants [who] maintain a bona-fide residence on the [Reservation]", and
• "every child of one-fourth or more Indian blood both of whose parents are members of the . . . Tribe" (see Constitution and ByLaws, Article II, Section 1(a), (b))). Thus the people do not need to be enrolled citizens to be considered members.

The Constitution and ByLaws allow the Tribal Council to enroll two classes of People; see id., Article II, Section 2(a),(b). The confusion was created in the 1980s. At a time when Northern Paiute land claims funds were about to be disbursed, federal officials suggested that the Tribal Council enact an "Enrollment Ordinance" to define membership qualifications of the Tribe and noted that only the council had authority to do this. The ordinance did not address conflicts with standing definitions of members, as noted above (and in Article II, Section 1(a) and (b)).

The tribe speaks the Northern Paiute language, also known as Paviotso, which is a Western Numic language. Fort McDermitt has the greatest concentration of Northern Paiute speakers among the various locations where they live. 20–30% of the tribe's children can speak the language.[4]

• Fort McDermitt, Nevada

• Sarah Winnemucca[13]
• Chief Winnemucca, also known as Old Winnemucca, Sarah's father and a war leader

• Pritzker Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1
• Constitution and By-Laws of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe
• R. Eagleye Johnny, "Can Indian Tribes Afford to Let the Bureau of Indian Affairs Continue to Negotiate Permits & Leases of Their Resources?", American Indian Law Review 16(1): 201–211 (University of Oklahoma, Norman, 1991)
• Erickson, J.D., Chapman D. and R. Eagleye Johnny, "Monitored Retrievable Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel in Indian Country: Liability, Sovereignty, and Socioeconomics," American Indian Law Review 19(1): 73–103 (University of Oklahoma, Norman, 1994)

41°55.184′N 117°42.485′W