Legislative news briefs for March 5, 2001

Monday, March 5, 2001 | 11:34 a.m.

Winnemucca selection proposed

A statue of Sarah Winnemucca could become Nevada's second contribution to the National Statuary Hall Collection.

A bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga, D-Fallon, would name Winnemucca as the state's statue choice and would set aside $100,000 to commission the sculpting of the art.

Nevada added a statue of former Sen. Pat McCarran to the national collection in 1960 but has reserved its second selection since then. Each state is entitled to place two statues in the hall.

Of the 96 statues currently in the collection, only six are of women.

Winnemucca was born in 1844 near the Humboldt River and was the daughter of Chief Winnemucca and the granddaughter of Chief Truckee of the Northern Paiute Tribe, who led John C. Fremont across the Great Basin to California.

She was highly intelligent, having learned five languages by the age of 14, and served as an interpreter for the U.S. Army, an aide, a scout and a peacemaker.

Winnemucca wrote the first book published by an Indian woman, "Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims," in 1883 and gave more than 300 speeches nationwide about the plight of her tribe.

She addressed Congress, met President Rutherford B. Hayes and established a school for Paiute children near Lovelock.

De Braga's bill was referred to the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee.

Money requested for adobe structure

The Assembly Ways and Means Committee will consider a request to grant $195,000 for restoration of the old adobe building at Floyd Lamb State Park.

Assemblywoman Kathy Von Tobel, R-Las Vegas, introduced Assembly Bill 269 to give the money to the Division of State Parks for use by Tule Springs Preservation Inc.

The bill, introduced Friday, calls for a $100,000 appropriation in 2001-02 and the remaining $95,000 to be given in 2002-03.