Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe (2025)

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe

NUMA NEWS

May 2025

Inside this issue

Anna Marie Scott ............2

Thank you, from Ralph Burns Family….4

Cobell Indian Trust Settlement….6

HASTY Team Rescue .......6

Environmental Law Backed by PLPT….7

Pyramid Lake MMIP Walk ….8

NV Tribal Summit on Aging…..10

PLHS Athletes Results…..12

2025 Miss Indian World…..13

Public Comment Needed…..14

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NDOT Proposed Roadway Designs in Nixon

A reminder that PUD payments can be mailed

to PUD, PO Box 474, Nixon, NV 89424. They

can also be paid by phone w/ credit/debit

card at (775) 294-1459.

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe

208 Capitol Hill

PO Box 256

Nixon, NV 89424

Phone: 775-574-1000

To be placed on a mailing list to receive

this newsletter, please contact Administrative Assistant Michelle Mix at:

(775) 574-1000 ext. 1102

Or by e-mail:

adminassistant@plpt.nsn.us

Joanie M. Sargent

Sunrise: August 06, 1958

Sunset: April 26, 2025

Loretta Jeanne Pancho

Sunrise: July 10, 1964

Sunset: May 6, 2025

Rick Dunnett

Sunrise: April 10, 1964

Sunset: May 7. 2025

Services took place in

Nixon, NV.

Services took place in Schurz, NV.

Photo taken by Damon Bilinsky

Services took place in

Carson City, NV.

Ralph Burns University of Nevada

Honorary Doctorate Reception;

a snapshot of a teacher and his

student.

Cobell Indian Trust Settlement

Over 17,000 Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders

passed away before they received money from the trust,

and as a result, approximately $38 million is available to

pay eligible heirs.

Payments to heirs could be significant and we do not want

people to miss the deadline.

Heirs of deceased holders of IIMs need to act quickly. The

deadline to file documentation with the Claims Administrator, Kroll Claims Administration, is June 30, 2025. After

June 30, claims will no longer be accepted and any funds

remaining in the settlement trust will be distributed to the

Cobell Scholarship fund.

If you need more information, including the type of documentation needed, visit CobellSettlement.com, call (800)

961-6109, or write to Indian Trust Settlement, c/o Kroll

Settlement Administration, P.O. Box 5324, New York, NY

10150-5324.

**Do not contact the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, contact

the above listed Administration. See flyer for details.**

Washoe County Sheriff’s—Hasty Team FB Post, May 13,

2025

Yesterday evening, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office

received a request for assistance from the Pyramid Lake

Police Department for a possible water rescue on Pyramid

Lake near Anahoe Island. Two females had been

paddleboarding when they had been blown away from shore

towards the east by increasingly strong winds and were

unable to get back to shore.

Two Hasty Team rescue swimmers and a team Paramedic,

along with members of the Sheriff’s Specialized Vehicle Unit

(SVU) who brought Marine 20, responded to staging at the

Pelican Point boat ramp, where they deployed to locate and

assist the two stranded paddleboarders.

With assistance from Pyramid Lake PD, who maintained

visual contact with the two subjects via binoculars, Marine

20 was able to quickly locate and retrieve the two

paddleboarders who had been blown nearly 6 miles off shore

by strong winds.

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Everyone returned to staging at Pelican Point unharmed and

the two females and their paddleboards were returned to

their families by Pyramid Lake Police.

With summer boating and watersports season just getting

started, just a quick friendly reminder from the Sheriff’s

Office to always wear an appropriate Personal Flotation

Device (PFD) when you are recreating on our local lakes and

rivers.

Environmental law backed by Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe passes Nevada Senate

Nevada Public Radio | By Jimmy Romo-Buenrostro

Published April 28, 2025 at 10:50 AM PDT

A bill that passed the Nevada Senate on Tuesday could

acknowledge that sovereign tribal nations are on the same

level as municipalities in matters of environmental notice.

The proposed law, backed by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe,

came about in response to an incident that allowed pollution to flow into the lake from upstream for more than a

year and a half.

authority that knows of an unauthorized spill into state waters to notify the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. The division would then notify potentially impacted

tribes or local governments.

No law requiring a municipality to inform a tribe of a spill

currently exists. Previously, the city’s policy left the notification responsibility to the property owner, according to the

city of Sparks.

The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe is a sovereign nation, but

tribal leaders say they feel other municipalities sometimes The city has since adjusted its policy.

forget that. Case in point: In 2023, the tribe was left in the

dark as millions of gallons of sewage spilled into the Truckee For the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, the lake’s health is tantamount to their health.

River, making its way downstream to Pyramid Lake.

Senate Bill 276, currently being considered in the legislature, “The lake and the river is everything to the tribe. That’s beproposes to address future water pollution notifications. In cause our namesake, Cui-ui-Tuccutta, which translates to

fish eater, that is our namesake. That’s what we are known

doing so, it acknowledges tribal sovereignty.

as, here at Pyramid Lake. That is just the core of our being,

The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe didn’t learn of the 2023 inci- you know.”

dent until a local TV station reported it. According to News 4

in Sparks, Nevada, construction crews accidentally mixed up In an emailed response, the City of Sparks said the

“oversight was simply a regrettable human error.”

sewage and storm drain lines while building the Atrium

Apartments. The mistake sent the equivalent of nearly four

Olympic swimming pools of sewage into the Truckee River.

Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Chairman Steven Wadsworth says

the city of Sparks never notified the tribe.

“How do you get away with doing that? Fixing the problem

and then still not notifying those down river that there was

a problem, there was sewage spilt? As a tribe, it’s like a slap For more news stories from KNPR’s Jimmy Romoin the face.”

Buenrostro, please type in the link. https://knpr.org/people/

Sewage lines carry more than just human waste. Chemicals, jimmy-romo-buenrostro

oils, cleaning products and potentially harmful pathogens

may also have made their way to the lake over more than a

year.

“You need to inform those that could be affected. You need

to have that government-to-government relationship. If

your city inspectors didn’t do it correctly and they report it

to their higher ups, and they of course keep reporting it on

up the chain. We’re not talking about going up the chain,

what about those that are on the same level as you are. And

that’s the thing, when it came to the same level, you did not

report to the tribe.”

The proposed law would require any municipality or water

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All Photos By: Diana Mitchell

Pyramid Lake Paiute Community Calls for Justice at MMIP Solidarity Walk

by Brian Wadsworth, Native Public Media

February 20, 2025

Nixon, NV — The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe came together in a powerful show of unity, remembrance, and hope

during its recent MMIP Solidarity Walk, a community event dedicated to honoring missing and murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and demanding justice for those who can no longer speak for themselves.

The day began with a heartfelt prayer from respected elder Reynelda James, followed by opening remarks from

tribal leaders and community members who shared messages of condolence, strength, and solidarity. As families of

missing and murdered loved ones stood in solemn remembrance, the walk served as a painful reminder of loss and

a testament to the unyielding spirit of the Pyramid Lake Paiute people.

Native Public Media participated in the event with an informational booth on the Federal Communications Commission's new Missing and Endangered Persons (MEP) Alert. The MEP Alert supports Tribal communities in issuing urgent alerts for at-risk lives. Many attendees were unaware of the MEP Alert Code, but all agreed it is a crucial resource in helping Tribal Nations respond more effectively to MMIP cases.

A key moment of the day was the debut of the documentary "Not Forgotten" by a young Indigenous filmmaker.

The film shares the stories of Amanda Davis and Anna Scott, both Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal members who were

taken too soon. Amanda and her unborn son, Ezra, were brutally murdered in 2020. Their killer was convicted.

Amanda's mother encouraged others to remain strong and never give up hope.

The family of Anna Scott, whose body was found in a burned vehicle in Reno, expressed their deep frustration with

law enforcement's handling of the case, jurisdictional confusion, and the media's lack of attention. Her case remains open, but her family remains determined to pursue justice.

The MMIP Solidarity Walk united families, advocates, and organizations in a healing space where stories were

shared, resources exchanged, and lives remembered. "This walk is about more than grief," said one participant. "It's

about resilience, it's about action, and it's about making sure we never forget our loved ones."

May 14, 2025 Congratulations to the Pesa Sooname

Advisory Group on a successful Nevada Tribal Summit on Age- and Dementia-Friendly Care!

This year’s summit “Mind: Exploring Cognitive Health and Mental Well-Being in Native Communities” brought

together tribal leaders, healthcare providers, care partners, and community members to explore cognitive health and

dementia through a lens of cultural relevance and community strength. With a focus on risk reduction, care and support,

and community-based solutions, the Summit fostered moving, meaningful dialogue and presented actionable

strategies to support mental well-being in Native communities.

The 2025 Summit was the first of five annual Summits (2025 - 2029) organized around the "5M's" of age-friendly care:

Mind, Mobility, Medication, Multi-complexity, and what Matters most.

89 people representing 12 tribes, from Nevada and beyond, participated in the Summit, with almost universal

positive feedback!

Our next newsletter will feature a more thorough re-cap of the Summit and the insights shared throughout the day!

Stay in the loop about next year's Nevada Tribal Summit on Age- and Dementia-Friendly Care at :

https://NevadaTribalSummit.org

With Memorial Day approaching we would like to remind everyone to

please show up Clean Drained and Dry with all boats, Jetskis/personal

watercraft, kayaks canoes etc...

Even a small amount of standing water can harbor invasive species from

one waterbody to another!

Shout out to the Pyramid Lake Tribal Rangers and Beach Monitors who

are always out here helping to protect the Lake! The inspection program

continues collaborating with Pyramid Lake law enforcement, so please

remember that when the station is open it is mandatory to stop and

receive an inspection or potentially face a hefty citation.

Thanks everyone! Have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

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Pyramid Lake Jr/Sr High School Facebook Post, May

16, 2025—Congratulations to the Lady Lakers Softball

team on making history by competing in their inaugural

NIAA State Softball tournament. Unfortunately we

came up short to advance. A special acknowledgment

to our two Seniors, Kaitlin Mandell and Angelia Deluna.

We are extremely proud of your achievement. Good

luck in your future endeavors.

Pyramid Lake Jr/Sr High School Facebook Post, May 17,

2025—Congratulations to Watae Redstone for finishing

in 3rd place at the NIAA 1A track and field state championship 3200M distance running event. She also holds

the school records for 1600M and 3200M.

We are extremely proud of our student athletes!

Pyramid Lake Jr/Sr High School Facebook Post, May 16, 2025 Congratulations to Nadaya Centeno who secured third place at the

NIAA State Track & Field Championship today. We are extremely proud of

your achievement.

Photo by: Watae

Bosho!

Today I also had the opportunity to visit Pyramid Lake Jr. Sr. High School which is where I graduated HS in 2019

a valedictorian. It was an honor to have been invited to watch the Pudu Nugadu dance troop as they shared

various traditional Paiute dance styles. I was also very happy to have met students from McDermitt High School.

Thank you so much everyone for having me be apart of this special day. A special thanks to Mrs.Wright and

Mrs.Tobey. And to Mrs.Tobey’s 6th grade class for having me in their classroom. It was a joyous moment to spend

with Mrs.Tobey’s 6th graders as I’ve worked with them ever since they were 3rd graders. They are all very kind

and brilliant students.

Miigwetch!!

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For

those

submitting

for

their

Minors’

Economic

Distribution,

please

consult

our

website:

plpt.nsn.us/enrollment

for

more

information.

Make sure your address is updated with

Enrollment!

Payments take up to 3 months to process from the trust

fund.

For information on your annual statement, please call the

Trust Company at:

619 696 7284 | Ext 65846.

For those eligible for the 2024 Christmas Distribution,

please see our website at: plpt.nsn.us/Home (scroll down).

PUBLIC COMMENT

NEEDED!

May 19, 2025:

**Disclaimer: Any roadway renderings

or visual materials presented are conceptual in nature and intended for discussion purposes only. They do not

represent final designs, and are subject to change based on council input,

engineering review and regulatory approvals.**

Public Comment Needed! Please submit your comments by June 30, 2025

by 4:30 pm.

Submit your comments regarding

these designs to:

ATTN: Tribal Secretary at PO Box 256,

Nixon, NV 89424.

To see more photos from the 2025 Eagle Staff Run/Walk, check out our website at:

plpt.nsn.us/pyramidlakepaiutetribewarmemorial

Tina Garcia, a proud enrolled member of the Pyramid Lake

Paiute Tribe, is the daughter of Shasta Tuamasaga, also a

member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. She is the

granddaughter of Christine Sampson, great-great-granddaughter

of Dewey Sampson of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and

Carmelita Sampson of the Klamath Tribes.

Tina will be graduating from Fernley High School June 2025.

She will begin a new journey as she attends the University of

Nevada, Las Vegas, where she will also compete as a member

of the UNLV Women’s Wrestling Team.

"When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run,

you will not stumble." — Proverbs 4:12

“My beautiful daughter, the sky is not your limit—reach beyond

it. Your destiny goes further than you can imagine. Mom loves

you deeply, and I am endlessly proud of you.”