Paiute (sometimes written Piute) refers to two related groups of Native Americans – the Northern Paiute of California, Nevada and Oregon, and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah. The Northern and Southern Paiute both spoke languages belonging to the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan family of Native American languages. Usage of the terms Paiute, Northern Paiute and Southern Paiute is most correct when referring to groups of people with similar language and culture and should not be taken to imply a political connection or even an especially close genetic relationship. The Northern Paiute speak the Northern Paiute language, while the Southern Paiute speak the Ute-Southern Paiute language. These languages are not as closely related to each other as they are to other Numic languages.
The Bannock, Mono, Timbisha and Kawaiisu people, who also speak Numic languages and live in adjacent areas are sometimes referred to as Paiute. The Bannock speak a dialect of Northern Paiute, while the other three people speak separate Numic languages, with Mono being more closely related to Northern Paiute, Kawaiisu being more closely related to Ute-Southern Paiute, and Timbisha being more closely related to Shoshone.
The origin of the word Paiute is unclear. Some anthropologists have interpreted it as “Water Ute” or “True Ute.” The Northern Paiute call themselves Numa (sometimes written Numu) ; the Southern Paiute call themselves Nuwuvi. Both terms mean “the people.” The Northern Paiute are sometimes referred to as Paviotso. Early Spanish explorers called the Southern Paiute “Payuchi” (they did not make contact with the Northern Paiute). Early Euro-American settlers often called both groups of Paiute “Diggers” (presumably because of their practice of digging for roots), although that term is now considered derogatory.
