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: Director of the Pyramid Lake Museum
• Mervin Wright: Environmental Manager
• James Phoenix: Former Chairman
• Steven Wadsworth: Current Chairman
• Dean Barlese: Elder and Spiritual Leader
• "Double D": A tribal member at at the Golden Spike Ceremony

Find this episode wherever podcasts prevail, and on YouTube: 

Helpful links:

A Message from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to All BRC Citizens 2023 (Burning Man Journal)

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. 

Camp or recreate at Pyramid Lake. Buy a permit here.

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 [email protected]

Donate to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. Stop by the Pyramid Lake Museum and Visitor Center. You can donate in person! Gifting! 

You can also write to the Tribal Secretary at [email protected] with which program, department, or tribal office you’d like to direct your donation.

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