The center of the Wá∙šiw (Washoe) world is dáɁaw [da`ow] (“Tahoe”), geographically and spiritually.

The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California have inhabited the Tahoe region for millennia. Summers were spent by the waters edge with large cutthroat trout. Plants were gathered from the region for food, utilitarian, and medicinal uses. Though the Washoe way of life has changed drastically since the attempted removal of the basin's original peoples in the 1800s, Wá∙šiw (Washoe) people have always adapted, preserved their culture, and lived in harmony with the elements. DáɁaw continues to be the center of the Wá∙šiw world.

The Washoe Tribe is excited to further reintegrate the Wá∙šiw people back to the Tahoe Basin in a community setting with the opening of the DáɁaw Center at 1026 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe.

Help launch this center with a donation!

The Tahoe Chamber Leadership 2026 Cohort is supporting the launch of the DáɁaw Center by coordinating donations to help fund the center. We are honored to help expand outdoor, recreational, and artistic opportunities for the Washoe Tribe in the Basin to reconnect with ancestral lands and strengthen ties within the South Lake Tahoe community.

The DáɁaw Center will provide a safe, welcoming, and reliable gathering place for youth, teens, and elders. The Tribe's vision includes creative programming such as arts, storytelling, and digital media, alongside outdoor experiences like snowshoeing, paddling, and fishing. It will be a place that the Washoe Off-Reservation Community can truly call their own— a space where they can feel rooted, supported, and proud of their identity, while sharing their culture with the broader South Lake Tahoe community.

Your donation helps bring this vision to life. Donations will support operational costs and transportation to the DáɁaw center, which is currently a significant barrier to Washoe engagement in the basin.

Donations are routed to the Washoe Tribe through the Tahoe Chamber Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. All funds raised for the DáɁaw Center will be presented directly to the Washoe Tribe throughout the duration of the campaign. Whether you can donate once, contribute monthly, or share this fundraiser, we are grateful to have your support of the center.

Follow the journey of the DáɁaw Center @da.aw.center on Instagram and Facebook, and visit our website at daawcenter.org.

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