Nevada

‘Water does have a memory’: Indigenous lecturer stresses importance of conservation

Published

2 years ago

February 24, 2024

‘Water does have a memory’: Indigenous lecturer stresses importance of conservation

Looking out at a crowd of about 150, Melanie Smokey grinned as she told the story of her upbringing with Native American elders to a captive audience.

Smokey, who is of Western Shoshone and Washoe descent, argues the water we use every day is a resource worth saving.

“Water does have a memory,” she said. “It does have emotions and feelings, and we know that because it comes out of us.”

She was the first lecturer in the Nuwu Pasats Speakers Series, where members of Nevada’s Indigenous tribes will discuss the importance of natural resources. The series leads up to the opening of a new garden at the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas in the fall, where staff will grow native plants and describe their value to local tribes.

Throughout the talk, Smokey shared different cultural traditions related to water and the land, such as the importance of willow plants used in traditional basket-weaving. Smokey’s grandparents, Art and Alice Hooper, were instrumental in establishing the reservation for the Yomba Shoshone Tribe in Nye County.

As tribal elders age and die off, it can be a challenge for those who belong to lesser-known tribes to make sure the language and culture doesn’t die with them, Smokey said.

“Our people pray this forward with tears, even. Their sacred water praying for all of us to be here today,” she said. “One day, like these willows, you can be formed into something good.”

Preserving the Southern Paiute culture

Before the lecture, Springs Preserve archaeologist Ian Ford-Terry led nearly 60 people on a walking tour of the botanical gardens where staff are beginning to grow seeds for the new garden with the help of the federal Bureau of Land Management.

Not only will the garden help bolster native plants in the valley, but there are efforts underway to make the garden a historical site that will feature audio clips of the native language, thanks to the help of a group of Southern Paiutes.

Native American culture and native plants coming together at the garden will hopefully make the Southern Paiutes more visible, he said.

“That’s one of the reasons why we’re really focusing on those plants,” Ford-Terry said. “They can teach us about how to live better in a balanced way.”

Kenny Anderson, the Las Vegas Paiute Tribal Council’s cultural committee chairman who is leading the language preservation effort, said he’s thrilled to see so much interest in preserving the culture of the Southern Paiutes, who don’t have a recognized historical footprint in Las Vegas.

“To me, it’s a good thing that we’re going to try to help people understand the history of the Paiutes of this area and learn how they survived,” Anderson said.

Contact Alan at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on Twitter.

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Nevada

Red Flag Warning issued for heightened fire danger in Southern Nevada

Published

8 hours ago

June 8, 2026

Press Room

Red Flag Warning issued for heightened fire danger in Southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — We’ll start the week with a heightened fire danger with dangerous heat later this week.

TODAY

Expect mostly sunny skies with winds picking up again on Monday. High temperatures will reach 98 degrees in Las Vegas with south winds 10-20 mph and wind gusts up to 30 mph.

A RED FLAG WARNING is in place from 10am to 9pm Monday for gusty winds and dry weather, so if a fire started, it would spread quickly.

Winds are estimated to be 20-25 mph with gusts around 40 mph at times with relative humidity of 5%-15%.

Air quality is ranked ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ for dust and tree pollen. The most common pollens are juniper, cedar, willow, sycamore and palm.

TONIGHT

We’ll see variable clouds this evening with skies going from mostly cloudy to mostly clear overnight.

Wind gusts will pick up again before midnight with gusts 30-40 mph possible downslope of the Spring Mountains in the west valley.

Elsewhere, gusts will be 20-30 mph. Breezes will eventually back down to 5-15 mph overnight. Valley lows will drop to around 74 degrees.

WHAT’S NEXT

We have reached 109 consecutive days without measurable rain in Las Vegas.

No rain is in sight, but for perspective, June is the driest month of the year in Las Vegas. Fingers crossed on a hopefully more active monsoon season!

High pressure builds next with highs 5-10 degrees above normal. Temperatures will reach around 108 degrees in Las Vegas by Friday. The last time we hit a high temperature of 108 degrees was back on August 20th of last year.

Not much relief is in sight by the weekend with highs around 107 degrees and temps at or above 105-106 degrees NEXT Monday through Wednesday.

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Nevada

DNA Doe Project unlocks cold case in Nevada

Published

18 hours ago

June 8, 2026

Press Room

DNA Doe Project unlocks cold case in Nevada

Growing DNA databases continue to unlock decades-old cold cases. How the DNA Doe Project helped to identify remains 37 years later.

Posted
6/8/2026, 2:51:05 AM

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Nevada

Meet the 2026 Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada boys volleyball team

Published

1 day ago

June 7, 2026

Press Room

Meet the 2026 Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada boys volleyball team

First team

Ty Ahlstrom, Centennial – The junior had 373 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state libero for the 5A state runner-up.

Evan Ditmar, Palo Verde – The senior first-team 5A all-state outside hitter had 187 kills with a .328 hitting percentage.

Luke Hashimoto, Arbor View – The senior had 302 digs and 37 aces for the 5A state champion.

Porter Hughes, Basic – The senior had 373 kills with 218 digs and 38 aces for the 5A state semifinalist.

Lincoln Larson, Centennial – The senior was the 5A state player of the year and was second in the state with 460 kills, on a .371 hitting percentage, and added 283 digs and 72 aces for the 5A state runner-up.

Jagger Mendenhall, Palo Verde – The senior first-team 5A all-state setter had 414 assists.

Risden Miller, Arbor View – The junior led the 5A state champion with 279 kills and added 173 digs.

RJ Regalado, Centennial – The senior had 723 assists and was a first-team 5A all-state.

Max Romzek, Shadow Ridge – The junior had 152 kills on a .437 hitting percentage with 66 blocks for the 5A state semifinalist.

Mateo Salomon, Shadow Ridge – The sophomore had 169 kills with a .374 hitting percentage for the 5A state semifinalist.

Keagan Sugden, Arbor View – The junior setter led the state with 1,129 assists for the 5A state champion.

Mau Tuiaana, Centennial – The senior had 162 kills on a .397 hitting percentage, 92 blocks and 147 digs for the 5A state runner-up.

Kenyon Wickliffe, Arbor View – The senior had a .477 hitting percentage with 176 kills and 46 blocks for the 5A state champion. He is committed to Cal State Northridge.

Jacob Wienke, Desert Oasis – The senior was the 4A Mountain League player of the year led the Diamondbacks with 290 kills and 154 digs on their way to the 4A state title.

Coach of the year

Nicole Adarme, Arbor View – Guided the Aggies to the Class 5A state title, the program’s first boys volleyball title.

Second team

Graham Blanchard, Arbor View – The senior had 179 kills, 32 aces and 136 digs for the 5A state champion.

Zelworth Chavis, Liberty – The 4A Lake League player of the year had 731 assists and 64 aces for the 4A state semifinalist.

Zavier Coleman, Shadow Ridge – The senior had 139 kills and 136 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state selection.

Andrew Gutierrez, Palo Verde – The junior had 153 kills 35 aces and was a first-team 5A all-state outside hitter.

Ty Hardy, Basic – The senior had 274 kills and 257 digs for the 5A state semifinalist.

Ty Harper, Shadow Ridge – The senior had 211 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state selection for the 5A state semifinalist.

Kaleb Law, Mojave – The senior was the 4A Sky League player of the year and was second in the state with 436 kills on a .457 hitting percentage with 69 blocks, 55 aces and 249 digs to help the Rattlers reach the 4A state semifinals.

Oakland Liugalua, Cadence — The freshman had 406 kills on a .396 hitting percentage with 154 digs and 57 aces.

Gavin McColl, Centennial – The senior had 154 kills on a .333 hitting percentage with 94 blocks for the 5A state runner-up.

Brad Rappleye, Sky Pointe – The junior was the 4A Desert League player of the year and had 187 kills and 78 blocks to help the Eagles reach the 4A state title game.

Levi Randall, Boulder City – The junior had 149 kills with a .477 hitting percentage and 92 blocks for the 3A state champion.

Yeheshua Ruiz, Foothill – The senior had 157 kills with a .426 hitting percentage with 70 blocks and was a first-team 5A all-state selection.

Preston Van Beveren, Boulder City – The senior had 137 kills on a .457 hitting percentage with 99 blocks, 27 aces and 141 digs for the 3A state champion.

David Zwahlen, Boulder City – The 3A state player of the year had 232 kills with a .364 hitting percentage, with 337 digs and 70 aces.