You don’t have to go far to see land owned and governed by local Native Americans.
The original reservation for the Las Vegas Paiute is a 10-acre lot focused on a small shopping center at 1225 N. Main Street, north of downtown just beyond Washington Street on the west (left) side of Main. The land was deeded to the tribe by Helen Stewart, the matriarch of early Las Vegas, in 1912.
The tribe opened a discount smoke shop in 1978, ending nearly 100 years of extreme poverty for the tribe’s several dozen members (the shop and other tribal enterprises generate millions of dollars annually, the profits of which are disbursed among the members).
In the 1983, the federal government deeded 3,800 acres of Mojave Desert north of Las Vegas to the tribe (1 Paiute Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89106, 702/386-3926). Over the past 20-odd years, the tribe has built a world-class golf resort with three courses. The Snow Mountain and Sun Mountain courses are both rated 4-1/2 stars by Golf Digest (2006), among the top 200 daily-fee courses in all of North America. The third course, the Wolf, is the longest course in Nevada. To get there, take US 95 North from downtown Las Vegas (follow the signs to Reno); continue roughly 20 miles to the Snow Mountain exit and follow the signs to the resort.
This isn’t your typical Native American reservation, of course. Along with the three golf courses, there’s a 50,000-square-foot clubhouse with a full-service restaurant and bar, banquet facilities, pro shop, and tobacco room.
For the real reservation deal, you’ll have to head to Moapa (55 miles northeast of Las Vegas on I-15 at NV 168). From a high of two million acres to a low of 1,000 acres since it was established in 1873, the Moapa Paiute Reservation currently occupies 72,000 acres, with a population of roughly a hundred. The town services are centered around the Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza, which sells mostly cigarettes, booze, and fireworks.
This is a popular place around July 4th -- fireworks are illegal in Clark County, but not on the rez; there’s a launching area in back of the store where you can blow off fireworks to your heart’s content. (Don’t try to sneak fireworks off the reservation; local cops stop and search likely looking cars.) Mosey around the small settlement to see the tribal offices and alfalfa fields.
It's quite all right to visit reservations. It's not much different from visiting any other commercial or residential area. Show courtesy to the people you encounter and most will return the courtesy.
