Paiute Indians inhabited this region for hundreds of years before the arrival of European Americans. In a sacred Paiute oral tradition, the hoodoos are ancient Legend People, To-when-an-ung-wa, turned into stone by Coyote as punishment for bad deeds. Paiute custom holds that these stories are told only during the winter season, while spring, summer, and fall are devoted to hunting, gathering, and storing food. In some photographs from the Second Powell Expedition of 1873, John Wesley Powell and his photographer, John K. Hillers, dressed Paiute Indians in costumes resembling Plains Indians’ attire to meet Easterners’ expectations of the iconic Indian, while other images attempt to depict their true dress.