In the past, the Moapa Paiute have been called Muappa or Moapat[2][3][better source needed] and the Nuwuvi.

[4] The Moapa traded with the Spanish in the later 18th and early 19th centuries who arrived here from California and Arizona, yet no missions were built in the area.

In 1869 the United States relocated by force the Southern Paiute to the Moapa area.

People on the reservation continue to suffer high rates of unemployment, and diabetes, resulting in some of the Moapa migrating to other parts of the country to find work.

[citation needed] The reservation includes a 250 MW solar power generation facility known as Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project which generates enough energy to power 111,000 homes, displacing around 341,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.