Final answer:
The Great Basin's Native American groups were known for their nomadic lifestyle and the use of the pinyon nut as a vital food source, adapted to the arid conditions of their environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Great Basin and Plateau regions were home to various Native American groups, including the Shoshone, Paiute, and Ute, who lived in often harsh and arid conditions, migrating frequently to forage for food. In their subsistence practices, one critical food item was the pinyon nut, found in the 'Pinyon-Juniper zone,’ a prevalent shrub-land ecosystem at lower elevations of mountains in western North America. The pinyon pine, along with the juniper, plays a significant role in local ecosystems and in the diets of the people within this region. Not only was the pinyon nut an important food source, but the mobility provided by horses, later confounded by the imposition of reservations due to the discovery of gold and silver, was part of the complex history of the Great Basin peoples.
Other Native American groups across North America also demonstrated diverse subsistence strategies, such as the Pacific Northwest groups who relied on salmon fishing and the Plains peoples who hunted bison and various other animals. These practices were adapted to their respective environments and were intricately linked to the cultural and social aspects of their societies, such as the potlatch system in the Pacific Northwest, which reinforced social hierarchies.