THE STORY
One Front Door for a Tribal Government: The Yerington Paiute Tribe Website
We designed and built the public website for the Yerington Paiute Tribe, the Taboosi Tukadu Numu (the Nut Grass Eater People) of the Walker River in Mason Valley, Nevada. The site is organized around the questions people actually bring to a Tribal government: who the Numu are, who governs, which department to call, where to pay a bill, and what is happening in the community.
What We Built:
The Tribe's story, told up front – The home page opens over a photograph of elders, with clear paths for members and visitors, and the About page tells the story of the Numu, the Walker River and Wovoka in the Tribe's own words.
Government and services – A seven-member Tribal Council, each named with a photo and biography, and fifteen departments, each with its own page, contacts and hours.
Community and enterprise – Events, a newsletter, online bill pay and the Tribe's five enterprises in one place.
Built to be kept current – Built on WordPress, so staff can post an event, change a phone number or add a department in a visual editor, with no developer.
Launch and ongoing care – We moved the site onto the Tribe's own domain and hosting, working alongside the Tribe's IT, and stayed on to keep it running.
Why It Matters:
A Tribal website should be the most authoritative place to learn who a Nation is, told in its own voice. With the same seven items at the top of every page, a member, a visitor, a vendor or a job seeker always knows where to start.
