contact they had was with transient militants or traders. Paiutes fought hard to defend their ancestral lands, and at first were successful in driving the settlers out. During the second half of the 1800s, the most prominent groups to migrate to Paiute lands were members and missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and silver miners in Pioche, Nevada. In 1869, a rich investor named François Louis Alfred Pioche invested in a silver mine in the town of Pioche, which initially depended upon cheap Paiute labor to work in the mines. The conditions in the mines caused a dramatic decline in the Paiute population. Paiute children were mandated to attend American schools, which attempted to assimilate them as much as possible. By the early 1900s, there were approximately 800 Paiute people. Modern relations In the 1950s, the Indian termination policies of the federal government stripped the Paiutes of their health and educational benefits, federal tax protection, and agricultural assistance. This left them on their own in a weak and unstable state. The first attempt of reconciliation was made in 1980, with the Restoration Act, which recognized the Paiutes as a tribe. It united the five main bands into one tribe: the Cedars, Indian Peaks, Kanosh, Koosharem, and Shivwits. The bill also restored the bands to a system of federal aid and support. Culture Basket weaving One of the most important skills the women of the Paiute tribes had was their basket weaving skills. They would often use red-stemmed willows to weave their baskets. These skills were used in almost every aspect of their lives, and the skill is believed to have been passed down from mother to daughter for at least 9,000 years. When they would go to gather and forage they would carry large conical baskets on their back to collect things. Specific tools were created including ones to strip fruit off of bushes and trees, ones used for winnowing, and ones used to get to roots better. They would also tightly weave these big baskets with clay and resin to create cooking pots and water jugs. Oftentimes, smaller tools were left behind, whereas bigger products such as cooking pots went with the families as they moved around. Based on the region the families were located determined different uses for the weaving. For instance, those who lived by marshes learned to create duck decoys, nets,