Nuria was a leader of a community of Mintakans, who were a pre-industrial proto-Vulcan humanoid civilization of the planet Mintaka III.
In 2366, a team of Federation anthropologists, observing the Mintakans out of a duck blind, were observed by the Mintakans when the fusion reactor powering their hidden station malfunctioned. One of the scientists, Palmer, was injured and subsequently recovered by the Mintakans and Nuria, who helped to treat his injuries.
In an effort to mitigate the cultural contamination which had begun to revive the Mintakan belief in a supreme deity, Jean-Luc Picard beamed Nuria aboard the USS Enterprise-D and attempted to explain to her the workings of 24th century exploration. Despite first failing to grasp the meaning of Picard's message, Nuria eventually came to understand that their planet's visitors were no less mortal than themselves and relayed this message to her people. Grateful for the understanding that Picard had bestowed, Nuria and her community presented him with a Mintakan tapestry as a gift before the Enterprise-D departed. (TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers")
Nuria was played by actress Kathryn Leigh Scott.