Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
Allow us to introduce you to the people who called the Black Rock Desert “home” way before we did. This is your backstage pass to the original Burners of the Great Basin: The Pyramid Lake Paiute.
Strap in for a road trip that’s part history lesson, part cultural exchange, and essential listening for when you wonder, “Who lived here before we showed up in tutus?”
We’re not just passing through, we’re digging deep with…
-Billie Jean Guerrero: Museum maven and keeper of Paiute history
-Mervin Wright: Fish whisperer and protector of the namesake
-James Phoenix: Former chairman with a vision (It doesn’t involve casinos.)
-Steven Wadsworth: Current chairman and champion of mindful travel
-Dean Barlese: Spiritual leader who knows the true meaning of “the playa provides”
-“Double D”: A tribal member and longtime Burner at the Golden Spike Ceremony
Donate your leftover, non-perishable food to the Pyramid Lake Paiute, drop it off at Bunny’s Tacos in Nixon! Here are Google Map Directions from playa to Bunny’s.
google.com/maps/dir/Gerlach,+NV/39.8311211,-119.3600874/@39.8295458,-119.6640583,87365m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m10!4m9!1m5!1m1!1s0x809fb25d9546944f:0xd0558e212d1d9022!2m2!1d-119.3567677!2d40.6516223!1m1!4e1!3e0?entry=ttu
Camp or recreate at Pyramid Lake. Buy a permit here.
plpt.nagfa.net/online
Volunteer at the Pyramid Lake Visitor Center and Museum. Help build out the new medicine garden or improve the museum’s new haba (traditional Paiute shade structure). Contact Billie Jean Guerrero at bjguerrero@plpt.nsn.us
Donate to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. Stop by the Pyramid Lake Museum and Visitor Center. You can donate in person! Gifting!
pyramidlake.us/museum
You can also write to the Tribal Secretary at tribalsecretary@plpt.nsn.us with which program, department, or tribal office you’d like to direct your donation.
Allow us to introduce you to the people who called the Black Rock Desert “home” way before we did. This is your backstage pass to the original Burners of the Great Basin: The Pyramid Lake Paiute.
Strap in for a road trip that’s part history lesson, part cultural exchange, and essential listening for when you wonder, “Who lived here before we showed up in tutus?”
We’re not just passing through, we’re digging deep with…
-Billie Jean Guerrero: Museum maven and keeper of Paiute history
-Mervin Wright: Fish whisperer and protector of the namesake
-James Phoenix: Former chairman with a vision (It doesn’t involve casinos.)
-Steven Wadsworth: Current chairman and champion of mindful travel
-Dean Barlese: Spiritual leader who knows the true meaning of “the playa provides”
-“Double D”: A tribal member and longtime Burner at the Golden Spike Ceremony
Donate your leftover, non-perishable food to the Pyramid Lake Paiute, drop it off at Bunny’s Tacos in Nixon! Here are Google Map Directions from playa to Bunny’s.
google.com/maps/dir/Gerlach,+NV/39.8311211,-119.3600874/@39.8295458,-119.6640583,87365m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m10!4m9!1m5!1m1!1s0x809fb25d9546944f:0xd0558e212d1d9022!2m2!1d-119.3567677!2d40.6516223!1m1!4e1!3e0?entry=ttu
Camp or recreate at Pyramid Lake. Buy a permit here.
plpt.nagfa.net/online
Volunteer at the Pyramid Lake Visitor Center and Museum. Help build out the new medicine garden or improve the museum’s new haba (traditional Paiute shade structure). Contact Billie Jean Guerrero at bjguerrero@plpt.nsn.us
Donate to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. Stop by the Pyramid Lake Museum and Visitor Center. You can donate in person! Gifting!
pyramidlake.us/museum
You can also write to the Tribal Secretary at tribalsecretary@plpt.nsn.us with which program, department, or tribal office you’d like to direct your donation.










