Canvasback ducks are winter visitors to the marshes of western Nevada and a great source of food. From the distant past to the early 20th century, Native hunters used decoys to lure waterfowl.

Lake- and marsh-based hunters and fishermen used linear and square nets of dogbane cordage in varied mesh sizes to contain or gill-catch different fish species. Nets were also used to capture waterfowl lured into the area with tule duck decoys. Paiute men also used single- and bi-pointed harpoons with toggled points made of bone to spear large fish, such as cutthroat trout, in rivers and along lakeshores.

Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian
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The National Museum of the American Indian  |  George Gustav Heye Center  |  New York, NY

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