Nuwu Pahsats
Opening later this year at the Springs Preserve, Nuwu Pahsats (Nuwuvi term for "The People's Garden") is an outdoor education space emphasizing sustainable relationships with water, plants, and the landscape, originating in traditional lifeways of the resilient native people of Southern Nevada.
Nuwu Pahsats inspires guests to think differently about their relationships with the natural world through the experiences of local tribes, elders, and other knowledge keepers. The garden contains numerous species of culturally significant native plants and cultivars of Southwestern heirloom crops, as well as demonstration gardens and exhibit spaces. These elements create a unique opportunity for collaborative, community-based learning about important conservation issues through the preservation of local indigenous culture.
This garden is dedicated to all Nuwuvi, the Southern Paiute people. The Springs Preserve acknowledges and honors the Indigenous communities of this region, and recognizes that our site is established on Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) territory. We offer gratitude to the land itself and to those who have stewarded it for generations. We are grateful for the opportunity to learn, work, preserve, and be in community with this land and its people. We encourage everyone to learn about the Indigenous Peoples who still work and live on this land, including the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, the Moapa Band of Paiutes, the Pahrump Band of Paiutes, and the Chemehuevi Indian Tribute. Hu’Iyuk! (Thank you!)
Speaking the Language: Nuwu um-BAH-gha-gha
The Springs Preserve consulted with members of Southern Nevada Paiutes groups including the Moapa, Las Vegas and Pahrump Paiute tribes (collectively known as the Nuwuvi Language Group) to establish the garden and preserve the language and culture of the Southern Nevada Paiutes.
The project has preserved over 70 local Nuwu phrases and words, representing them phonetically within interpretive panels. As you walk through the garden, you will see these words in the Southern Paiute language Nuwu um-BAH-gha-gha (literally, “Indian people talking”) identifying places, plants, and animals that you interact with every day.
You can also use the Springs Preserve's online video dictionary on this webpage to hear Nuwu um-BAH-gha-gha words and phrases spoken by elders. The Southern Paiute language has many dialects. The style of speaking featured here represents the communities of Las Vegas, Moapa, Pahrump, Shivwits, and Chemehuevi.
Notes on written Nuwu um-BAH-gha-gha:
- A hyphen, as in pah-SATS, separates syllables in words.
- All caps, like SATS in pah-SATS, show which part of the word to emphasize.
- An apostrophe, ‘, indicates a glottal stop, like the middle pause in uh-oh in English.
- An h before a vowel, as in ha, indicates a throaty sound, like the j in jalapeño.
- An h after a vowel, as in ah, indicates a relaxed vowel, as in art (unlike the a in at).
Nuwu Pahsats earns national accolades
The Nuwu Pahsats received the Program Excellence Award at the 2025 American Public Gardens Association Awards, public gardens’ best showcase for the most influential, thought-provoking individuals and organizations. The Program Excellence Award is presented to an American Public Gardens Association institutional member who has displayed a truly innovative spirit in the development of an original and completed program.
Additionally, the American Association for State and Local History awarded the Nuwu Pahsats with the Award of Excellence at the 2025 Leadership in History Awards for preserving a significant historical and cultural piece of Southwestern history. The American Association for State and Local History awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States.
The Nuwu Pahsats has been made possible with generous support from the State of Nevada, San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority, Southern Paiute Language Group, and the Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial.
Special thanks to the Master Gardeners at Springs Preserve, garden volunteers, Shanan Anderson (Moapa Paiute, Shivwits Paiute Tribal Member), Fawn Douglas (Member of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe), Tami Tiger (Nevada Indian Commission Board, Citizen of Choctaw Nation), Carrie Cannon (Ethnobotonist, Kiowa Tribal Member), Lage Design, and AldrichPears Associates.