Chichimeca

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(Redirected from Chichimecs) Jump to: navigation, search Not to be confused with Westo. This article is about historical Mesoamerican peoples. For modern day Chichimeco people, see Chichimeca Jonaz. Chichimeca was the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to a wide range of semi-nomadic peoples who inhabited the north of modern-day Mexico and southwestern United States, and carried the same sense as the European term "barbarian". The name was adopted with a pejorative tone by the Spaniards when referring especially to the semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples of northern Mexico. In modern times only one ethnic group is customarily referred to as Chichimecs, namely the Chichimeca Jonaz, although lately this usage is being changed for simply "Jonz" or their own name for themselves "za".

Contents
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1 Overview and identity 2 Word origin 3 Ethnohistorical descriptions 4 Notes 5 References

[edit] Overview and identity

The Chichimeca peoples were in fact many different groups with varying ethnic and linguistic affiliations. As the Spaniards worked towards consolidating the rule of New Spain over the Mexican indigenous peoples during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the "Chichimecan tribes" maintained a resistance. A number of ethnic groups of the region allied against the Spanish, and the following military colonization of northern Mexico has become known as the "Chichimeca Wars". Many of the peoples called Chichimeca are virtually unknown today; few descriptions mention them and they seem to have been absorbed into mestizo culture or into other indigenous ethnic groups. For example, virtually nothing is known about the peoples referred to as Guachichiles, Caxcanes, Zacatecos, Tecuexes, or Guamares. Others like the Opata or "Eudeve" are well described but extinct as a people. Other "Chichimec" peoples maintain a separate identity into the present day, for example the Otomies, Chichimeca Jonaz, Coras, Huicholes, Pames, Yaquis, Mayos, O'odham and the Tepehunes.

[edit] Word origin

The Nahuatl name Chchmcah (plural, pronounced [titimeka]; singular Chchmcatl) means "inhabitants of Chichiman"; the placename Chichiman itself means "Area of Milk". It is sometimes said to be related to chichi "dog", but the i's in chichi are short while those in Chchmcah are long, a phonemic distinction in Nahuatl.[1] The word could either have a negative "barbarous" sense, or a positive "noble savage" sense.[2] The word "Chichimeca" was originally used by the Nahua to describe their own prehistory as a nomadic hunter-gatherer people and used in contrast to their later, more "civilized," urban lifestyle that they identified with the term Toltecatl.[3] In modern Mexico, the word "Chichimeca" can have pejorative connotations such as "primitive", "savage", "uneducated" and "native".

[edit] Ethnohistorical descriptions

The first descriptions of "Chichimecs" are from the early conquest period. In 1526, Hernn Corts writes in one of his letters of the northern Chichimec tribes who were not as civilized as the Aztecs he had conquered, but commented that they might be enslaved and used to work in the mines. This approach was followed by Nuo Beltrn de Guzmn whose attempts to enslave the indigenous populations of northern Mexico provoked the Mixtn Rebellion where Chichimec tribes resisted the Spanish forces. In the late sixteenth century, an account of the Chichimecs was written by Gonzalo de las Casas who had received an encomienda near Durango and fought in the wars against the Chichimec peoples the Pames, the Guachichiles, the Guamari and the Zacatecos who lived in the area which was called "La Gran Chichimeca." Las Casas' account was called "Report of the Chichimeca and the justness of the war against them", and contained ethnographic information about the peoples called Chichimecs. He wrote that they did not use clothes (only to cover their genitalia), painted their bodies and ate only game, roots and berries. He mentions as further proof of their barbarity that Chichimec women having given birth continued travelling on the same day without stopping to recover.[4] While las Casas recognized that the Chichimecan tribes spoke different languages he saw their culture as primarily uniform. In 1590, the Franciscan priest Alonso Ponce commented that the Chichimeca had no religion because they did not even worship idols such as the other peoples - in his eyes another symptom of their barbarous nature. The only somewhat nuanced description of the Chichimeca is found in Bernardino de Sahagn's Historia general de las cosas de Nueva Espaa in which some Chichimec people such as the Otomi were described as knowing agriculture, living in settled communities, and having a religion devoted to the worship of the Moon. The image of the Chichimecas as described by the early sources was typical of the era; the natives were "savages" - accomplished at war and hunting, but with no established society or morals, fighting even amongst themselves. This description became even more prevalent over

the course of the Chichimec wars as justification for the war (the Chichimec area was not entirely under Spanish control until 1721). The first description of a modern objective ethnography of the peoples inhabiting La Gran Chichimeca was done by Norwegian naturalist and explorer Carl Sofus Lumholtz in 1890 when he traveled on muleback through northwestern Mexico, meeting the indigenous peoples on friendly terms. With his descriptions of the rich and different cultures of the various "uncivilized" tribes, the picture of the uniform Chichimec barbarians was changed - although in Mexican Spanish the word "Chichimeca" remains connected to an image of "savagery". The historian Paul Kirchhoff, in his work "The Hunting-Gathering People of North Mexico," described the Chichimecas as sharing a hunter-gatherer culture, based on the gathering of mesquite, agave, and tunas (the fruit of the nopal). While others also lived off of acorns, roots and seeds. In some areas, the Chichimecas cultivated maize and calabash. From the mesquite, the Chichamecs made white bread and wine. Many Chichimec tribes utilized the juice of the agave as a substitute for water when it was in short supply. The Chichimecas were involved in the Mixton Rebellion (15401541) and the Chichimeca War (15501590). After a series of negotiations with the Spaniards, most of the Chichimecas were encouraged to take part in peaceful agricultural pursuits. Within decades, they were assimilated into the Spanish and Indian mestizo culture.[1]

Chichimeca War
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(Redirected from The Chichimeca War) Jump to: navigation, search

The Chichimeca War

Date Location Result

1550-1590 Northern Mexico "La Gran Chichimeca" Native American victory

Belligerents

Chichimeca (Zacateco, Guachichil, Guamare, Pame) Spaniards, Indian Allies

The Chichimeca War (15501590) was a military conflict waged between Spanish colonizers and their Indian allies against a confederation of Chichimeca Indians. It was the longest and most expensive conflict between Spaniards and the indigenous peoples of New Spain in the history of the colony.[1]

The Chichimeca wars began eight years after the Mixtn Rebellion of 1540-1542. It can be considered as a continuation of the rebellion as the fighting did not come to a halt in the intervening years. Unlike in the Mixtn rebellion, the Caxcanes were now allied with the Spanish. The war was fought in the Northern Mexico region known as La Gran Chichimeca, specifically in the Mexican states of Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, and San Luis Potosi.

Contents
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1 Prelude 2 The Chichimecas 3 Course of the War 4 Peace by Purchase 5 Importance 6 Chichimecas today 7 References 8 References

[edit] Prelude

The location of the Chichimeca and other Indian groups are shown on this map On September 8, 1546 Indians near the Cerro de la Bufa in what would become the city of Zacatecas showed the Spaniard Juan de Tolosa several pieces of silver-rich ore. News of the silver strike soon spread across Spanish Mexico. The dream of quick wealth triggered multitudes of people to migrate from southern Mexico to the city of Zacatecas in the heartland of La Gran Chichimeca.[2] Soon the mines of San Martn, Chalchihuites, Avino, Sombrerete, Fresnillo, Mazapil, and Nieves were established. The Chichimeca nations resented the intrusions by the Spanish and their Indian laborers and allies on their ancestral

lands. Disobeying the Viceroy, Spanish soldiers soon began raiding native settlements of both friendly and unfriendly Indians to acquire slaves for the mines. To supply and communicate with the mines in and near Zacatecas, new roads were built from Queretaro and Jalisco across Chichimeca lands. The slow-moving caravans of carts and wagons full of goods along the roads were a tempting target for Chichimeca raiders.[3]

[edit] The Chichimecas

The Chichimecas were nomadic and semi-nomadic people who occupied the large desert basin stretching from present day Saltillo and Durango in the north to Queretaro and Guadalajara in the south. Within this area of about 60,000 square miles (160,000 km2) the Chichimecas existed primarily by hunting and gathering, especially mesquite beans, the edible parts of the agave plants, and the fruit (tunas) and leaves of cactus. In favored areas some of the Chichimeca grew corn and other crops. Their numbers are difficult to estimate, although based on the average density of nomadic populations they probably numbered 30,000 to 60,000.[4] The Chichimecas lived in rancherias of crude shelters or caves, frequently moving from one area to another to take advantage of seasonal foods and hunting. The characteristics most noted about them by the Spanish was that both women and men wore few if any clothes, grew their hair long, and painted and tattooed their bodies. They were often accused of cannibalism.[5] The Chichimecas were not a single tribe or a united nation, but consisted or four different ethnic groups: Guachichiles, Pames, Guamares, and Zacatecos. None of these groups were politically united but rather consisted of many different independent tribes and bands.[6] Their territories overlapped and other Indian groups also joined one or another of the Chichimeca groups in raiding on occasion. The Guachichiles territory centered on the area around what would become the city of San Luis Potosi. They seem to have been the most numerous of the four ethnic groups and the de facto leaders of the Chichimecas. Their name meant head colored red and they colored both their skin and clothing that color. Living in close proximity to the silver road between Queretaro and Zacatecas, they were the most feared of the Indian raiders.[7] The Pames lived north of Queretaro and south and east of the Guachichiles. They were the least warlike and dangerous of the Chichimecas primarily raiders of livestock. They had absorbed some of the religious and cultural practices of the more urbanized Indian nations to their south.[8] The Guamares lived mostly in present day Guanajuato. They possibly had more political unity that the other Chichimecas and were considered by one writer as the most treacherous and destructive of all the Chichimecas and the most astute.[9] The Zacatecos lived in the present day states of Zacatecas and Durango. They had participated in the earlier Mixton War and thus were experienced fighters against the Spanish. Some of the Zacatecos grew maize; others were nomadic. The nomadic lifestyle and dispersed settlements of the Chichimecas contributed to the difficulty the Spanish had in defeating them. The bow was their principal weapon and one experienced observer said the Zacatecos were the best archers in the world. Their bows

were short, usually less than four feet long, their arrows were long and thin and made of reed and tipped with obsidian. Despite the apparent fragility of the arrows they had excellent penetrating qualities, even against Spanish armor which was de rigueur for soldiers fighting the Chichimeca. Many-layered buckskin armor was preferred to chain mail as arrows could penetrate the links of the mail.[10] Chichimeca battle tactics were mostly ambushes of travelers and caravans, livestock raids, and attacks on isolated settlements of sedentary Indians and Spanish colonists. Although some of their raids were conducted by up to 200 men, groups of 40 to 50 warriors were more common. During the war, the Chichimecas learned to ride horses and use them in war. This was perhaps the first time that the Spanish in North America faced mounted Indian warriors.[11]

[edit] Course of the War

A statue of a Chichimeca Warrior in the city of Queretaro

A modern day Chichimeca Jonaz person participating in a dance in Guanajuato The conflict proved much more difficult and enduring then the Spanish anticipated. The Chichimecas seemed primitive and unorganized. But they proved to be a many-headed hydra. Although the Spanish often attacked and defeated bands of Chichimecas, Spanish military successes had little impact on other independent groups who continued the war. The first outbreak of hostilities was in late 1550 when Zacatecos attacked a supply caravan of Tarascan Indians enroute to Zacatecas. A few days later they were attacking ranches less than 10 miles (16 km) south of Zacatecas. In 1551 the Guachichile and Guamares joined in, in one instance killing 14 people near the outpost of San Miguel de Allende and forcing its temporary abandonment. Other raids near Tlaltenango were reported to have killed 120 people, mostly Indians friendly to the Spanish, within a few months. The most damaging raids of the early years of the war took place in 1553 and 1554 when two large wagon trains

on the road to Zacatecas were attacked, people killed, and the very substantial sums of 32,000 and 40,000 pesos in goods stolen or destroyed. (By comparison, the annual salary of a Spanish soldier was only 300 pesos.) By the end of 1561 it was estimated that more than 200 Spaniards and 2,000 Indian allies and traders had been killed by the Chichimecas. Prices for imported food and other commodities in Zacetacas had doubled or tripled due to the dangers of transporting the goods to the city. In the 1570s the rebellion spread as Pames began raiding near Queretaro.[12] The Spanish government first attempted measures of both carrot and stick to attempt to damp down the war, but, those failing, in 1567 it adopted the policy of a war of fire and blood (fuego y sangre) promising death, enslavement, or mutilation to the Chichimeca. The top priority of the Spaniards throughout the war was to keep the roads open to Zacatecas and the silver mines especially the Camino Real from San Miguel de Allende. To do so they created a dozen new presidios (forts), staffed by Spanish and Indian soldiers, and encouraged settlers in new areas, including what would be the nucleus of the future cities of Celaya, Leon, Aguascalientes, and San Luis Potosi. The increase in Spanish soldiers in the Gran Chichimeca was not entirely favorable to the war effort as the soldiers often supplemented their income by slaving, thus reinforcing the animosity of the Chichimeca. Moreover the Spanish were short of soldiers, often staffing their presidios with only three Spaniards. They relied heavily, as they had in the past, on Indian soldiers and auxiliaries, especially the Caxcans (whom they had defeated in the Mixton War), the Tarascans, and the Otomi. The Indian allies were rewarded with lands and stipends and were allowed to ride horses and carry swords, formerly banned for use by Indians.[13]

[edit] Peace by Purchase

As the war continued unabated, it became clear that the Spanish policy of a war of fire and blood had failed. The royal treasury was being emptied by the demands of the war. Churchmen and others who had initially supported the war of fire and blood now questioned the policy. Mistreatment and enslavement of the Chichimeca by Spaniards increasingly came to be seen as the cause of the war. In 1574, the Dominicans, contrary to the Augustinians and Franciscans, declared that the Chichimeca War was unjust and caused by Spansh aggression.[14] Thus, to end the conflict, the Spanish began to work toward an effective counter insurgency policy which rewarded the Chichimeca for peaceful behavior while taking steps to assimilate them. In 1584, the Bishop of Guadalajara made a proposal for a Christian remedy to the war: the establishment of new towns with priests, soldiers, and friendly Indians to gradually domesticate and Christianize the Chichimecas. The Viceroy, Alvaro Manrique de Zuniga, followed this idea in 1586 with a policy of removing many Spanish soldiers from the frontier as they were considered more a provocation than a remedy. The Viceroy opened negotiations with Chichimeca leaders and promised them food, clothing, land, priests, and tools to encourage them through gentle persuasion to settle down. He forbade military operations to seek out and capture and kill hostile Indians. Beginning in 1590 and continuing for several decades the Spanish implemented the Peace by Purchase program by sending large quantities of goods northward to be distributed to the Chichimecas. In 1590 the Viceroy declared the program a success and the roads to Zacatecas safe for the first time in 40 years.[15]

The next step, in 1591, was for a new Viceroy, Luis de Velasco, to persuade 400 families of Tlaxcalan Indians, old allies of the Spanish, to establish eight settlements in Chichimeca areas. They served as Christian examples to the Chichimecas and taught animal husbandry and farming to them. In return for moving to the frontier, the Tlaxcalans extracted concessions from the Spanish, including land grants, freedom from taxes, the right to carry arms, and provisions for two years. The Spanish also took steps to curb slavery on Mexicos northern frontier by ordering the arrest of members of the Carabajal family and Gaspar Castano de Sosa. An essential part of their strategy was conversion of the Chichimeca to Catholicism. The Franciscans sent priests to the frontier to aid in the pacification effort.[16] The Peace by Purchase program worked. Hostilities died down and the majority of the Chichimecas gradually became sedentary, Catholic or nominally Catholic, and peaceful.

[edit] Importance
The Spanish policy which evolved to pacify the Chichimecas had four components: negotiation of peace agreements, converting Indians to Christianity with missionaries, resettling Indian allies to the frontier to serve as examples and role models, and providing food, other commodities, and tools to potentially hostile Indians to encourage them to become sedentary. This established the pattern of Spanish policy for assimilating Indians on their northern frontier. The principal components of the policy of peace by purchase would continue for nearly three centuries and would not be uniformly successful, as later threats from hostile Indians such as Apaches and Comanches would demonstrate.

[edit] Chichimecas today

Over time most of the Chichimeca people lost their ethnic identities and were absorbed into the mestizo population of Mexico. The Zacatecos and Guamares totally disappeared as distinct peoples. The Huicholes are believed to be the descendants of the Guachichiles.[17] About 20,000 of them live in an isolated area on the borders of Jalisco and Nayarit. They are noted for being conservative, successfully preserving their language, religion, and culture.[18] There are about 10,000 speakers of the Pame languages in Mexico, primarily in the municipality of Santa Maria Acapulco in an isolated region in southeastern San Luis Potosi province. They are conservative and nominal Catholics, but mostly still practicing their traditional religion and customs.[19] Another group of about 1,500 Chichimeca Jonaz live in the state of Guanajuato.[20]

Mixtn War
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Mixtn Rebellion) Jump to: navigation, search The Mixtn War was fought from 1540 until 1542 between Spanish invaders and their Aztec and Tlaxcalan allies against the Caxcanes and other semi-nomadic Indians of the area of

north western Mexico. The war was named after Mixtn, a hill in the southern part of Zacatecas state in Mexico which served as an Indian stronghold.

Contents
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1 The Caxcan 2 Background 3 The War 4 Aftermath 5 See also 6 Citations 7 References

[edit] The Caxcan

Although other indigenous groups also fought against the Spanish in the Mixton War, the Caxcanes were the heart and soul of the resistance.[1]

The location of the Indian peoples in the area in which the Mixton War was fought The Caxcanes lived in the northern part of the present-day Mexican state of Jalisco, in southern Zacatecas, and Aquascalientes. They are often considered part of the Chichimeca, a generic term used by the Spaniards and Aztecs for all the nomadic and semi-nomadic Native Americans living in the deserts of northern Mexico. However, the Caxcanes seem to have been sedentary, depending upon agriculture for their livelihood and living in permanent towns and settlements. They were, perhaps, the most northerly of the agricultural, town-andcity dwelling peoples of interior Mexico.[2] The Caxcanes are believed to have spoken a UtoAztecan language.

Other Native Americans participating in the revolt were the Zacatecos from the state of the same name.

[edit] Background
The first contact of the Caxcan and other indigenous peoples of the northwestern Mexico with the Spanish, was in 1529 when Nuo Beltrn de Guzmn set forth from Mexico City with 300-400 Spaniards and 5,000 to 8,000 Azteca and Tlaxcalan allies on a march through Nayarit, Jalisco, Durango, Sinaloa and Zacatecas[3] Over a six-year period Guzman, brutal even by the standards of the day, killed, tortured, and enslaved thousands of Indians. Guzmans policy was to terrorize the natives with often unprovoked killing, torture, and enslavement.[4] Guzman and his lieutenants founded towns and Spanish settlements in the region, called Nueva Galicia, including Guadalajara in or near the homeland of the Caxcanes. But the Spaniards encountered increased resistance as they moved further from the complex hierarchical societies of Central Mexico and attempted to force Indians into servitude through the encomienda system.

[edit] The War

The death of Pedro de Alvarado is pictured at the top left. The Indian leader Francisco Tenamaztle faces Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza at the bottom left.

Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and Tlaxcalan Indians battle with the Caxcanes In Spring 1540, the Caxcanes and their allies struck back, emboldened perhaps by the fact that Governor Francisco Vasquez de Coronado had taken more than 1,600 Spaniards and Indian allies from the region northward with him on his expedition to what would become the United States Southwest.[5] The province was thus denuded of many of its most competent soldiers. The spark which set off the war was apparently the arrest of 18 rebellious Indian leaders and the hanging of nine of them in mid 1540. Later in the same year the Indians rose up to kill, roast, and eat the encomendero Juan de Arze.[6] Spanish authorities also became aware that the Indians were participating in devilish dances. After killing two Catholic priests, many Indians fled the encomiendas and took refuge in the mountains, especially on the hill fortress of Mixton. Acting Governor Cristobal de Oate led a Spanish and Indian force to quell the rebellion. The Caxcanes killed a peace delegation of one priest and ten Spanish soldiers. Onate attempted to storm Mixtn, but the Indians on the summit repelled his attack.[7] Oate then requested reinforcements from the capital, Mexico City.[8] The command structure of the Caxcanes is unknown but the most prominent leader from among them who emerged was Tenamaztle of Nochistlan, Zacatecas.

Francisco Tenamaztle, the Indian leader in the Mixton War. The statue is on the main square of Nochistlan de Mejia, Zacatecas The Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza called upon the experienced conquistador Pedro de Alvarado to assist in putting down the revolt. Alvarado declined to await reinforcements and attacked Mixton in June 1541 with four hundred Spaniards and an unknown number of Indian allies.[9] He was met there by an estimated 15,000 Indians under Tenamaztle and Don Diego, a Zacateco Indian. The first attack of the Spanish was repulsed with ten Spaniards and many Indian allies killed. Subsequent attacks by Alvarado were also unsuccessful and on June 24 he was crushed when a horse fell on him. He subsequently died on July 4.[10] Emboldened, the Indians attacked the city of Guadalajara in September but were repulsed.[11] The Indian army retired to Nochistlan and other strongpoints. The Spanish authorities were now thoroughly alarmed and feared that the revolt would spread. They assembled a force of 450 Spaniards and 30 to 60 thousand Aztec, Tlaxcalan and other Indians and under Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza invaded the land of the Caxcanes.[12] With his overwhelming force, Mendoza reduced the Indian strongholds one-by-one in a war of no quarter. On November 9, 1541, he captured the city of Nochistlan and Tenamaztle, but the Indian leader later escaped.[13] Tenamaztle would remain at large as a guerilla until 1550. In early 1542 the stronghold of Mixton fell to the Spaniards and the rebellion was over. The aftermath of the Indians defeat was that thousands were dragged off in chains to the mines, and many of the survivors (mostly women and children) were transported from their homelands to work on Spanish farms and haciendas.[14] By the viceroy's order men, women and children were seized and executed, some by cannon fire, some torn apart by dogs, and others stabbed. The reports of the excessive violence against civilian Indians caused the Council of the Indies to undertake a secret investigation into the conduct of the viceroy.[15]

[edit] Aftermath
As one authority said, the success of Corts in defeating the Aztecs in only two years created an illusion of European superiority over the Indian as a warrior. However, the Spanish victories over the Aztecs and other complex societies proved to be but a prelude to a far longer military struggle against the peculiar and terrifying prowess of Indian Americas more primitive warriors.[16] Victory in the Mixton War enabled the Spaniard to control the region in which Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexicos second largest city, was located. It also opened up Spanish access to the deserts of the north in which Spanish explorers would search for and find rich silver deposits.[17] After their defeat the Caxcanes were absorbed into Spanish society and lost their identity as a distinct people. They would later serve as auxiliaries to Spanish soldiers in their continued advance northward.[18] Spanish expansion after the Mixton War would lead to the longer and even more bloody Chichimeca war (15501590). The Spanish were forced to change their policy from one of forcibly subjugating the Indians to accommodation and gradual absorption, a process taking centuries.

The Caxcan possibly survive today, at least in folk festivals, as the Tastuane Indians. Annual fiestas of the Tastuane in towns such as Moyabua, Zacatecas commemorate the Mixtn War.[19]

Apache
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Apacheans) Jump to: navigation, search This article is about the Native American tribe. For other uses, see Apache (disambiguation).

Apache

Apache portraits

Total population 56,060 (self-identified)[1]

Regions with significant populations

Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma

Languages Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan Apache, Plains Apache, Mescalero, Western Apache Religion

Native American Church, Christianity, traditional shamanistic tribal religion Related ethnic groups

Navajo, Athabaskans

Apache (pronounced /pti/, French: [a.pa]) is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan (Apachean) language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan speakers of Alaska and western Canada. The modern term Apache excludes the related Navajo people. However, the Navajo and the other Apache groups are clearly related through culture and language, and thus are considered Apachean. Apachean peoples formerly ranged over eastern Arizona, northwestern Mexico, New Mexico, Texas and the southern Great Plains. There was little political unity among the Apachean groups. The groups spoke seven different languages. The current division of Apachean groups includes the Navajo, Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan, and Plains Apache (formerly Kiowa-Apache). Apache groups live in Oklahoma and Texas and on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Some Apacheans have moved to large metropolitan areas. The largest Apache urban communities are in Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Phoenix, Denver, San Diego and Los Angeles.[citation needed] Some Apacheans were employed in migrant farm labor and relocated to agricultural regions of Southern California, such as the Coachella, Imperial and Colorado River valleys, where now tens of thousands of Apacheans live.[citation needed] The Apachean tribes were historically very powerful, opposing the Spaniards and Mexicans for centuries. The first Apache raids on Sonora appear to have taken place during the late 17th century. In 19th-century confrontations, the U.S. Army found the Apache to be fierce warriors and skillful strategists.[2]

Contents

[hide]

1 Present-day Apache groups 2 Name and synonyms o 2.1 Difficulties in Naming o 2.2 List of names 3 History o 3.1 Entry into the Southwest o 3.2 Conflict with Mexico and the United States o 3.3 Forced Removal o 3.4 Defeat 4 Pre-reservation culture o 4.1 Social organization 4.1.1 Kinship systems 4.1.1.1 Chiricahua 4.1.1.2 Jicarilla o 4.2 Housing o 4.3 Food 4.3.1 Hunting 5 Clothing o 5.1 Undomesticated plants and other food sources o 5.2 Crop cultivation o 5.3 Trading, raiding and war o 5.4 Religion 6 Languages 7 Notable Apache 8 See also 9 Notes 10 Bibliography 11 External links

[edit] Present-day Apache groups

Sigesh, an unmarried Apache woman, circa 1905. Her hairstyle and ornament were characteristic of Apache girls then. Edward S. Curtis photo.

Apachean tribes ca. 18th century: WA Western Apache, N Navajo, Ch Chiricahua, M Mescalero, J Jicarilla, L Lipan, Pl Plains Apache

The present-day Apache peoples include the Jicarilla and Mescalero of New Mexico, the Chiricahua of the Arizona-New Mexico border area, the Western Apache of Arizona, the Lipan Apache of southwestern Texas, and the Plains Apache of Oklahoma. There undoubtedly existed other Apache groups which are not as well-known by modern anthropologists and historians. Western Apaches are the only Apache group that remains within Arizona. The group is divided into several reservations that crosscut cultural divisions. The Western Apache reservations include the Fort Apache White Mountain, San Carlos, Yavapai-Apache, TontoApache, and Fort McDowell Mohave.

Present-day primary locations of Apachean peoples

The Chiricahua were divided into two groups after they were released from being prisoners of war. The majority moved to the Mescalero Reservation and are now subsumed under the larger Mescalero political group along with the Lipan. The other Chirricahuas remained in Oklahoma and eventually formed the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. The Mescalero are located on the Mescalero Reservation in southeastern New Mexico, near historic Fort Stanton. The Jicarilla are located on the Jicarilla Reservation in Rio Arriba and Sandoval counties in northwestern New Mexico. The Lipan, now few in number, are located primarily on the Mescalero Reservation. Other Lipans live in Texas. Plains Apaches are located in Oklahoma concentrated around Anadarko.

[edit] Name and synonyms

The word Apache entered English via Spanish, but the ultimate origin is uncertain. Most Apacheans may not like to be called Apache and rather call themselves by the term from their language (e.g. Inde "Apache, person" in Mescalero). The first known written record in Spanish is by Juan de Oate in 1598. The most widely accepted origin theory suggests it was borrowed from the Zuni word apau meaning "Navajos" (the plural of pau "Navajo").[3] Another theory suggests the term comes from Yavapai pa meaning "enemy."[4] The Zuni and Yavapai sources are less certain because Oate used the term before he had encountered any Zuni or Yavapai.[5] A less likely origin may be from Spanish mapache "raccoon."[5] The Spanish first use the term "Apachu de Nabajo" (Navajo) in the 1620s, referring to people in the Chama region east of the San Juan River. By the 1640s, the term was applied to Southern Athabaskan peoples from the Chama on the east to the San Juan on the west. The fame of the tribes' tenacity and fighting skills, probably bolstered by dime novels, had an impact on Europeans. In early 20th century Parisian society, Apache essentially meant an outlaw and would enter the French language in France.

[edit] Difficulties in Naming

Essa-queta, Plains Apache chief

Many written historical names of Apachean groups recorded by non-Apacheans are difficult to match to modern-day tribes or their subgroups. Over the centuries many Spanish, French and/or English-speaking authors did not differentiate between Apachean and other seminomadic non-Apachean peoples who might pass through the same area. More commonly Europeans learned to identify the tribes by translating their eponym, what another group called them. While anthropologists agree on some traditional major subgrouping of Apaches, they often have used different criteria to name finer divisions, and these do not always match modern Apache groupings. Some scholars do not consider groups residing in what is now Mexico to be Apache. Adding to an outsider's confusion, an Apachean individual has different ways of identification with a group, such as a band or clan, as well as the larger tribe or language grouping. For example, in the 1930s Greenville Goodwin classified the Western Apaches into five groups (based on his informants' views of dialect and cultural differences): White Mountain, Cibecue, San Carlos, North Tonto, and South Tonto. Other anthropologists (e.g. Albert Schroeder) consider Goodwin's classification inconsistent with pre-reservation cultural divisions. Willem de Reuse finds linguistic evidence supporting only three major groupings: White Mountain, San Carlos, and Dilzee (Tonto). He believes that San Carlos is the most divergent dialect and Dilzee is a remnant intermediate member of a dialect continuum that previously spanned from the Western Apache language to the Navajo. John Upton Terrell classifies the Apache into Western and Eastern groups. In the western group he includes Toboso, Cholome, Jocome, Sibolo or Cibola, Pelone, Manso, and Kiva or Kofa. He includes Chicame (the earlier term for Hispanized Chicano or New Mexicans of Spanish/Hispanic and Apache descent) among them as having definite Apache connections or names which the Spanish associated with the Apache. In a detailed study of New Mexico Catholic Church records, David M. Brugge identifies fifteen tribal names which the Spanish used to refer to Apaches. These were drawn from records of about one thousand baptisms from 1704 to 1862.

[edit] List of names

The list below is based on Foster & McCollough (2001), Opler (1983b, 1983c, 2001), de Reuse (1983).

Apache, current usage generally includes 6 of the 7 major traditional Apachean speaking groups: Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipans, Mescalero, Plains Apache, and Western Apache. Historically, the term has also been used for Comanches, Mohaves, Hualapais, and Yavapais. Arivaipa (also Aravaipa) is a band of the San Carlos local group of the Western Apache. Albert Schroeder believes the Arivaipa was a separate section in pre-reservation times. Arivaipa is a borrowing (via Spanish) from the O'odham language. The Arivaipa are known as Tszhin "Black Rock" in the Western Apache language. Carlanas (also Carlanes). An Apache group in southeastern Colorado on Raton Mesa. In 1726, they had joined together with the Cuartelejos and Palomas, and by the 1730s they were living with the Jicarilla. It has been suggested that either the Llanero band of the modern Jicarilla or James Mooney's Dchizh--zhn Jicarilla division are descendants of the Carlanas, Cuartelejos, and Palomas. The Carlanas as a whole were also called Sierra Blanca; parts of the group were called Lipiyanes or Llaneros. Otherwise, the term has been used synonymously with Jicarilla in 1812. The Flechas de Palo might have been a part of or absorbed by the Carlanas (or Cuartelejos). Chiricahua. One of the 7 major Apachean groups, ranging in southeastern Arizona. o Chsh (also Tchishi) is a Navajo word meaning "Chiricahua, southern Apaches in general".[6] Chkann (also kn, kann, Chokonni, Cho-kon-nen, n , Chokonen) refers to the Eastern Chiricahua band of Morris Opler. The name is an autonym from the Chiricahua language. Cibecue. One of Goodwin's Western Apache groups, living to the north of the Salt River between the Tonto and White Mountain groups. Consisted of Ceder Creek, Carrizo, and Cibecue (proper) bands. Coyotero usually refers to a southern division of the pre-reservation White Mountain local group of the Western Apache. However, the name has also been used more widely to refer to Apaches in general, Western Apaches, or an Apachean band in the high plains of southern Colorado to Kansas. Faraones (also Paraonez, Pharaones, Taraones, Taracones, Apaches Faraone) is derived from Spanish Faran "Pharaoh". Before 1700, the name was vague without a specific referent. Between 1720 and 1726, it referred to Apaches between the Rio Grande in the east, the Pecos River in the west, the area around Santa Fe in the north, and the Conchos River in the south. After 1726, Faraones only referred to the north and central parts of this region. The Faraones were probably were, at least in part, part of the modern-day Mescaleros or had merged with the Mescaleros. After 1814, the term Faraones disappeared having been replaced by Mescalero. Gileo (also Apaches de Gila, Apaches de Xila, Apaches de la Sierra de Gila, Xileos, Gilenas, Gilans, Gilanians, Gila Apache, Gilleos) was used to refer to several different Apachean and

non-Apachean groups at different times. Gila refers to either the Gila River or the Gila Mountains[disambiguation needed]. Some of the Gila Apaches were probably later known as the Mogollon Apaches, a subdivision of the Chiricahua, while others probably evolved into the Chiricahua proper. However, since the term was used indiscriminately for all Apachean groups west of the Rio Grande (i.e. in southeast Arizona and western New Mexico), the reference is often unclear. After 1722, Spanish documents start to distinguish between these different groups, in which case Apaches de Gila refers to Western Apaches living along the Gila River (and thus synonymous with Coyotero). American writers first used the term to refer to the Mimbres (another subdivision of the Chiricahua), while later the term was confusingly used to refer to Coyoteros, Mogollones, Tontos, Mimbreos, Pinaleos, Chiricahuas, as well as the non-Apachean Yavapai (then also known as Garroteros or Yabipais Gileos). Another Spanish usage (along with Pimas Gileos and Pimas Cileos) referred to the non-Apachean Pima living on the Gila River.

Jicarilla (from Spanish meaning "little gourd"). The Jicarilla Apache are one of the 7 major Apachean groups and currently live in northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, and the Texas Panhandle. Kiowa-Apache. See Plains Apache. Llanero is a borrowing from Spanish meaning "plains dweller". The name was historically used to refer to several different groups that hunted buffalo seasonally on the Plains, also referenced in eastern New Mexico and western Texas. (See also Carlanas.) Lipiynes (also Lipiyn, Lipillanes). An uncertain term, probably of Athabascan origin, that may have been a synonym of Llanero or Natags. This term is not to be confused with Lipan. Lipan (also Ypandis, Ypandes, Ipandes, Ipandi, Lipanes, Lipanos, Lipaines, Lapane, Lipanis, etc.). One of the 7 major Apachean peoples. Once in eastern New Mexico and Texas to the southeast to Gulf of Mexico. This term is not to be confused with Lipiynes or Le Panis (French for the Pawnee). First mentioned in 1718 around the newly established town of San Antonio, Texas. Mescalero. The Mescalero are one of the 7 major Apachean groups, generally living in what is now eastern New Mexico and western Texas. Mimbreos is an older name that refers to a section of Opler's Eastern Chiricahua band and to Albert Schroeder's Mimbres and Warm Springs Chiricahua bands[7] in southwestern New Mexico. Mogollon was considered by Schroeder a separate pre-reservation Chiricahua band while Opler considered the Mogollon to be part of his Eastern Chiricahua band in New Mexico. Nsha (also Ns a, Nais a, Nais andine, Na-i-shan-dina, Na-ishi, Na-e-ca, N is , Nadeicha, Nardichia, Nadisha-dna, Nad s , N d s , Naisha) all refer to the Plains Apache (see Kiowa). Natags (also Natagees, Apaches del Nataf, Natages, Yabipais Natag, Natageses, Natajes). Term used 17261820 to refer to the Faran, Sierra Blanca, and Siete Ros Apaches of southeastern New Mexico. In 1745, the Natags are reported to have consisted of the Mescaleros (around El Paso and the Organ Mountains) and the Salineros (around Rio Salado),

but these were probably the same group. After 1749, the term was used synonymously with Mescalero, which eventually replaced it.

Navajo. The most numerous of the 7 major Apachean groups. General modern usage separates Navajo people from Apaches. Pinal (also Pinaleos). One of the bands of the Goodwin's San Carlos group of Western Apache. Also used along with Coyotero to refer more generally to one of two major Western Apache divisions. Some Pinaleos were referred to by Gila Apaches. Plains Apache. The Plains Apache (also called Kiowa-Apache, Naisha, Naishandine) are one of the 7 major Apachean groups, generally living in what is now Oklahoma. In historic times, they were found living among the (unrelated) Kiowa. The term has also been used to refer to any supposed Apachean tribe found on or associated (usually culturally) with the North American Plains. Ramah. A group of Navajos currently living in the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico. (The Navajo name for Ramah, New Mexico is Tohchin meaning "wild onion place"). Querechos referred to by Coronado in 1541, possibly Plains Apaches, at times maybe Navajo. Other early Spanish might have also called them Vaquereo or Llanero. San Carlos. A Western Apache group that ranged closest to Tucson according to Goodwin. This group consisted of the Apache Peaks, Arivaipa, Pinal, San Carlos (proper) bands. Tonto. Goodwin divided into Northern Tonto and Southern Tonto groups, living in the north and west areas of the Western Apache groups according to Goodwin. This is north of Phoenix, north of the Verde River. Schroeder has suggested that the Tonto are originally Yavapais who assimilated Western Apache culture. Tonto is one of the major dialects of the Western Apache language. Tonto Apache speakers are traditionally bilingual in Western Apache and Yavapai. Goodwin's Northern Tonto consisted of Bald Mountain, Fossil Creek, Mormon Lake, and Oak Creek bands; Southern Tonto consisted of the Mazatzal band and unidentified "semi-bands". Warm Springs were located on upper reaches of Gila River, New Mexico. (See also Gileo and Mimbreos.) Western Apache. In the most common sense, includes Northern Tonto, Southern Tonto, Cibecue, White Mountain and San Carlos groups. While these subgroups spoke the same language and had kinship ties, Western Apaches considered themselves as separate from each other, according to Goodwin. Other writers have used this term to refer to all nonNavajo Apachean peoples living west of the Rio Grande (thus failing to distinguish the Chiricahua from the other Apacheans). Goodwin's formulation: "all those Apache peoples who have lived within the present boundaries of the state of Arizona during historic times with the exception of the Chiricahua, Warm Springs, and allied Apache, and a small band of Apaches known as the Apache Mansos, who lived in the vicinity of Tucson."[8] White Mountain. The easternmost group of the Western Apache according to Goodwin. Consisted of Eastern White Mountain and Western White Mountain.

[edit] History
[edit] Entry into the Southwest

The Apache and Navajo (Din) tribal groups of the North American Southwest speak related languages of the language family referred to as Athabaskan. Other Athabaskan-speaking people in North America reside in an area from Alaska through west-central Canada, and some groups can be found along the Northwest Pacific Coast. Linguistic similarities indicate the Navajo and Apache were once a single ethnic group. Archaeological and historical evidence seem to suggest the Southern Athabaskan entry into the American Southwest was sometime after 1000 AD. Their nomadic way of life complicates accurate dating, primarily because they constructed less-substantial dwellings than other Southwestern groups,[9] although substantial progress has been made in recent years in dating and in identifying their dwellings and other forms of material culture.[10] They also left behind a more austere set of tools and material goods. This group probably moved into areas that were concurrently occupied or recently abandoned by other cultures. Other Athabaskan speakers, perhaps including the Southern Athabaskan, adapted many of their neighbors' technology and practices in their own cultures. Thus sites where early Southern Athabaskans may have lived are difficult to locate and even more difficult to firmly identify as culturally Southern Athabaskan, although recent advances have been made in the regard in the far southern portion of the American Southwest. There are several hypotheses concerning Apachean migrations. One posits that they moved into the Southwest from the Great Plains. In the early 16th century, these mobile groups lived in tents, hunted bison and other game, and used dogs to pull travois loaded with their possessions. Substantial numbers and a wide range were recorded by the Spanish in the 16th century.

The Coronado Expedition 15401542

In April 1541, while traveling on the plains east of the Pueblo region, Francisco Coronado called them dog nomads. He wrote:

After seventeen days of travel, I came upon a rancheria of the Indians who follow these cattle (bison). These natives are called Querechos. They do not cultivate the land, but eat raw meat and drink the blood of the cattle they kill. They dress in the skins of the cattle, with which all the people in this land clothe themselves, and they have very well-constructed tents, made with tanned and greased cowhides, in which they live and which they take along as they follow the cattle. They have dogs which they load to carry their tents, poles, and belongings.[11]

The Spaniards described Plains dogs as very white, with black spots, and not much larger than water spaniels. Plains dogs were slightly smaller than those used for hauling loads by modern northern Canadian peoples. Recent experiments show these dogs may have pulled loads up to 50 lb (20 kg) on long trips, at rates as high as two or three miles per hour (3 to 5 km/h).[12] This Plains migration theory associates Apachean peoples with the Dismal River aspect, an archaeological culture known primarily from ceramics and house remains, dated 16751725 excavated in Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and western Kansas. Although the first documentary sources mention the Apache and historians have suggested some passages indicate a 16th century entry from the north, archaeological data indicate they were present on the plains, long before this first reported contact. Another competing theory posits migration south, through the Rocky Mountains, ultimately reaching the American Southwest by the 14th century or perhaps earlier. An archaeological material culture assemblage identified in this mountainous zone as ancestral Apachean has been referred to as the Cerro Rojo complex.[13] This theory does not preclude arrival via a plains route as well, perhaps concurrently, but to date the earliest evidence has been found in the mountainous Southwest. Only the Plains Apache have any significant Plains cultural influence, while all tribes have distinct Athabaskan characteristics. The descriptions of peoples such as the Mountain Querechos and the Apache Vaqueros are vague and could apply to many other Plains tribes; the specific traits of these groups do not seem particularly Apachean. Additionally, Harry Hoijer's classification of Plains Apache as an Apachean language has been disputed. When the Spanish arrived in the area, trade between the long established Pueblo peoples and the Southern Athabaskans was well established. They reported the Pueblos exchanged maize and woven cotton goods for bison meat, hides and materials for stone tools. Coronado observed Plains people wintering near the Pueblos in established camps. Later Spanish sovereignty over the area disrupted trade between the Pueblos and the diverging Apache and Navajo groups. The Apache quickly acquired horses, improving their mobility for quick raids on settlements. In addition, the Pueblo were forced to work Spanish mission lands and care for mission flocks, thus they had fewer surplus goods to trade with their neighbors.[14] In 1540 Coronado also reported that the modern Western Apache area was uninhabited, although some have argued that he simply did not see them. Other Spaniards first mention "Querechos" living west of the Rio Grande in the 1580s. To some historians this implies the Apaches moved into their current Southwestern homelands in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Other historians note that Coronado reported that Pueblos women and children had often been evacuated by the time his party attacked these dwellings and some dwellings had been recently abandoned as he moved up the Rio Grande. This might indicate the semi-

nomadic Southern Athabaskans had advance warning about his hostile approach and so they were not seen and reported by the Spanish. Archaeologists are finding ample evidence of an early proto-Apache presence in the Southwestern mountain zone in the 15th century and perhaps earlier. Their presence on both the Plains and in the mountainous Southwest indicate that there were multiple early migration routes.
[edit] Conflict with Mexico and the United States Further information: Apache Wars

In general, there seemed to be a pattern between the recently arrived Spanish who settled in villages and Apache bands over a few centuries. Both raided and traded with each other. Records of the period seem to indicate that relationships depended upon the specific villages and specific bands that were involved with each other. For example, one band might be friends with one village and raid another. When war happened between the two, the Spanish would send troops, after a battle both sides would "sign a treaty" and both sides would go home. The traditional and sometimes treacherous relationships continued between the villages and bands with the independence of Mexico in 1821. By 1835 Mexico had placed a bounty on Apache scalps (see scalping) but some bands were still trading with certain villages. When Juan Jos Compas, the leader of the Mimbreo Apaches, was killed for bounty money in 1837, Mangas Coloradas or Dasoda-hae (Red Sleeves) became principal chief and war leader and began a series of retaliatory raids against the Mexicans.

Geronimo

When the United States went to war against Mexico, many Apache bands promised U.S. soldiers safe passage through their lands. When the U.S. claimed former territories of Mexico in 1846, Mangas Coloradas signed a peace treaty, respecting them as conquerors of the

Mexican's land. An uneasy peace (a centuries old tradition) between the Apache and the now citizens of the United States held until the 1850s, when an influx of gold miners into the Santa Rita Mountains led to conflict. This period is sometimes called the Apache Wars. The United States' concept of a reservation had not been used by the Spanish, Mexicans or other Apache neighbors before. Reservations were often badly managed, and bands that had no kinship relationships were forced to live together. There were also no fences to keep people in or out. It was not uncommon for a band to be given permission to leave for a short period of time. Other times a band would leave without permission, to raid, return to their land to forage, or to simply get away. The military usually had forts nearby. Their job was keeping the various bands on the reservations by finding and returning those who left. The reservation policies of the United States kept various Apache bands leaving the reservations (at war) for almost another quarter century. The warfare between Apachean peoples and Euro-Americans has led to a stereotypical focus on certain aspects of Apachean cultures that are often distorted through misperception as noted by anthropologist Keith Basso: "Of the hundreds of peoples that lived and flourished in native North America, few have been so consistently misrepresented as the Apacheans of Arizona and New Mexico. Glorified by novelists, sensationalized by historians, and distorted beyond credulity by commercial film makers, the popular image of 'the Apache' a brutish, terrifying semihuman bent upon wanton death and destruction is almost entirely a product of irresponsible caricature and exaggeration. Indeed, there can be little doubt that the Apache has been transformed from a native American into an American legend, the fanciful and fallacious creation of a non-Indian citizenry whose inability to recognize the massive treachery of ethnic and cultural stereotypes has been matched only by its willingness to sustain and inflate them."[15]
[edit] Forced Removal

In 1875, an estimated 1,500 Yavapai and Dilzhee Apache from the Rio Verde Indian Reserve were removed from several thousand acres of treaty lands promised to them by the United States government. Indian Commissioner L.E. Dudley and U.S. Army troops made the people, young and old, walk through winter-flooded rivers, mountain passes and narrow canyon trails to get to Indian Agency at San Carlos, 180 miles (290 km) away. The trek resulted in several hundred lives lost. There they remained in internment for 25 years while white settlers took over their land. On their release, only about 200 were able to return to their lands.[citation needed]
[edit] Defeat

Most American histories of this era say the final defeat of an Apache band took place when 5,000 troops forced Geronimo's group of 30 to 50 men, women and children to surrender on September 4, 1886 at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.[16] This band and the Chiricahua scouts who tracked them were all sent to military confinement in Florida at Fort Pickens and, subsequently, Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Many books were written on the stories of hunting and trapping during the late 19th century. Many of these stories involve Apache raids and agreements with Americans and Mexicans.

In the post-war era, Apache children were taken for adoption by white Americans in programs similar in nature to those involving the Stolen Generations of Australia.

[edit] Pre-reservation culture

[edit] Social organization

Apache bride

All Apachean peoples lived in extended family units (or family clusters) who usually lived close together, with each nuclear family in separate dwellings. An extended family generally consisted of a husband and wife, their unmarried children, their married daughters, their married daughters' husbands, and their married daughters' children. Thus, the extended family is connected through a lineage of women that live together (that is, matrilocal residence), into which men may enter upon marriage (leaving behind his parents' family). When a daughter was married, a new dwelling was built nearby for her and her husband. Among the Navajo, residence rights are ultimately derived from a head mother. Although the Western Apache usually practiced matrilocal residence, sometimes the eldest son chose to bring his wife to live with his parents after marriage. All tribes practiced sororate and levirate marriages. All Apachean men practiced varying degrees of "avoidance" of his wife's close relatives, a practice often most strictly observed by distance between mother-in-law and son-in-law. The degree of avoidance differed in different Apachean groups. The most elaborate system was among the Chiricahua, where men had to use indirect polite speech toward and were not allowed to be within visual sight of the wife's relatives whom he had to avoid. His female Chiricahua relatives through marriage also avoided him. Several extended families worked together as a "local group", which carried out certain ceremonies, and economic and military activities. Political control was mostly present at the local group level. Local groups were headed by a chief, a male who had considerable influence over others in the group due to his effectiveness and reputation. The chief was the closest societal role to a leader in Apachean cultures. The office was not hereditary and the

position was often filled by members of different extended families. The chief's leadership was only as strong as he was evaluated to beno group member was ever obliged to follow the chief. The Western Apache criteria for evaluating a good chief included: industriousness, generosity, impartiality, forbearance, conscientiousness, and eloquence in language. Many Apachean peoples joined together several local groups into "bands". Band organization was strongest among the Chiricahua and Western Apache, while among the Lipan and Mescalero, it was weak. The Navajo did not organize local groups into bands, perhaps because of the requirements of the sheepherding economy. However, the Navajo did have "the outfit", a group of relatives that was larger than the extended family, but not as large as a local group community or a band. On the larger level, the Western Apache organized bands into what Grenville Goodwin called "groups". He reported five groups for the Western Apache: Northern Tonto, Southern Tonto, Cibecue, San Carlos, and White Mountain. The Jicarilla grouped their bands into "moieties", perhaps influenced by the example of the northeastern Pueblo. The Western Apache and Navajo also had a system of matrilineal "clans" that were organized further into phratries (perhaps influenced by the western Pueblo). The notion of "tribe" in Apachean cultures is very weakly developed; essentially it was only a recognition "that one owed a modicum of hospitality to those of the same speech, dress, and customs."[17] The seven Apachean tribes had no political unity (despite such portrayals in common perception)[18] and often were enemies of each otherfor example, the Lipan fought against the Mescalero just as against the Comanche. [edit] Kinship systems The Apachean tribes have basically two surprisingly different kinship term systems: a Chiricahua type and a Jicarilla type.[19] The Chiricahua-type system is used by the Chiricahua, Mescalero, and Western Apache. The Western Apache system differs slightly from the other two systems, and it has some similarities to the Navajo system. The Jicarilla type, which is similar to the DakotaIroquois kinship systems, is used by the Jicarilla, Navajo, Lipan, and Plains Apache. The Navajo system is more divergent, having similarities with the Chiricahua-type system. The Lipan and Plains Apache systems are very similar.
[edit] Chiricahua

Hide painting depicting Apache girl's puberty ceremony, by Naiche (Chiricahua Apache), ca. 1900, Oklahoma History Center

Chiricahua has four different words for grandparent: -ch[20] "maternal grandmother", -tsy "maternal grandfather", -chin "paternal grandmother", -nl "paternal grandfather". Additionally, a grandparent's siblings are identified by the same word; thus, one's maternal grandmother, one's maternal grandmother's sisters, and one's maternal grandmother's brothers are all called -ch. Furthermore, the grandparent terms are reciprocal, that is, a grandparent will use the same term to refer to their grandchild in that relationship. For example, a person's maternal grandmother will be called -ch and that maternal grandmother will also call that person -ch as well (i.e. -ch means one's opposite-sex sibling's daughter's child). Chiricahua cousins are not distinguished from siblings through kinship terms. Thus, the same word will refer to either a sibling or a cousin (there are not separate terms for parallel-cousin and cross-cousin). Additionally, the terms are used according to the sex of the speaker (unlike the English terms brother and sister): -kis "same-sex sibling or same-sex cousin", --lh "opposite-sex sibling or opposite-sex cousin". This means if one is a male, then one's brother is called -kis and one's sister is called --lh. If one is a female, then one's brother is called -lh and one's sister is called -kis. Chiricahuas in a --lh relationship observed great restraint and respect toward that relative; cousins (but not siblings) in a --lh relationship may practice total avoidance. Two different words are used for each parent according to sex: -m "mother", -taa "father". Likewise, there are two words for a parent's child according to sex: -yche "daughter", -ghe "son".

A parent's siblings are classified together regardless of sex: -ghy "maternal aunt or uncle (mother's brother or sister)", -deed "paternal aunt or uncle (father's brother or sister)". These two terms are reciprocal like the grandparent/grandchild terms. Thus, -ghy also refers to one's opposite-sex sibling's son or daughter (that is, a person will call their maternal aunt -ghy and that aunt will call them -ghy in return).
[edit] Jicarilla

Unlike the Chiricahua system, the Jicarilla have only two terms for grandparents according to sex: -ch "grandmother", -tsy "grandfather". There are no separate terms for maternal or paternal grandparents. The terms are also used of a grandparent's siblings according to sex. Thus, -ch refers to one's grandmother or one's grandaunt (either maternal or paternal); tsy refers to one's grandfather or one's granduncle. These terms are not reciprocal. There is only a single word for grandchild (regardless of sex): -ts y . There are two terms for each parent. These terms also refer to that parent's same-sex sibling: n h "mother or maternal aunt (mother's sister)", -ka "father or paternal uncle (father's brother)". Additionally, there are two terms for a parent's opposite-sex sibling depending on sex: -da "maternal uncle (mother's brother)", -bj "paternal aunt (father's sister). Two terms are used for same-sex and opposite-sex siblings. These terms are also used for parallel-cousins: -kis "same-sex sibling or same-sex parallel cousin (i.e. same-sex father's brother's child or mother's sister's child)", --lh "opposite-sex sibling or opposite parallel cousin (i.e. opposite-sex father's brother's child or mother's sister's child)". These two terms can also be used for cross-cousins. There are also three sibling terms based on the age relative to the speaker: -ndd "older sister", - -na "older brother", -shd ha "younger sibling (i.e. younger sister or brother)". Additionally, there are separate words for cross-cousins: - eed "cross-cousin (either same-sex or opposite-sex of speaker)", -inaaaash "male cross-cousin" (only used by male speakers). A parent's child is classified with their same-sex sibling's or same-sex cousin's child: hchee "daughter, same-sex sibling's daughter, same-sex cousin's daughter", -ghe "son, same-sex sibling's son, same-sex cousin's son". There are different words for an opposite-sex sibling's child: -da "opposite-sex sibling's daughter", -da "opposite-sex sibling's son".
[edit] Housing

frame of Apache wickiup

All people in the Apache tribe lived in one of three types of houses. The first of which is the teepee, for those who lived in the plains. Another type of housing is the wickiup, an 8-foottall (2.4 m) frame of wood held together with yucca fibers and covered in brush usually in the Apache groups in the highlands. If a family member lived in a wickiup and they died, the wickiup would be burned. The final housing is the hogan, an earthen structure in the desert area that was good for keeping cool in the hot weather of northern Mexico. Below is a description of Chiricahua wickiups recorded by anthropologist Morris Opler:
"The home in which the family lives is made by the women and is ordinarily a circular, domeshaped brush dwelling, with the floor at ground level. It is seven feet high at the center and approximately eight feet in diameter. To build it, long fresh poles of oak or willow are driven into the ground or placed in holes made with a digging stick. These poles, which form the framework, are arranged at one-foot intervals and are bound together at the top with yuccaleaf strands. Over them a thatching of bundles of big bluestem grass or bear grass is tied, shingle style, with yucca strings. A smoke hole opens above a central fireplace. A hide, suspended at the entrance, is fixed on a cross-beam so that it may be swung forward or backward. The doorway may face in any direction. For waterproofing, pieces of hide are thrown over the outer hatching, and in rainy weather, if a fire is not needed, even the smoke hole is covered. In warm, dry weather much of the outer roofing is stripped off. It takes approximately three days to erect a sturdy dwelling of this type. These houses are warm and comfortable, even though there is a big snow. The interior is lined with brush and grass beds over which robes are spread...."

Chiricahua medicine man in wickiup with family "The woman not only makes the furnishings of the home but is responsible for the construction, maintenance, and repair of the dwelling itself and for the arrangement of everything in it. She provides the grass and brush beds and replaces them when they become too old and dry.... However, formerly they had no permanent homes, so they didn't bother with cleaning. The dome-shaped dwelling or wickiup, the usual home type for all the Chiricahua bands, has already been described.... Said a Central Chiricahua informant: Both the tepee and the oval-shaped house were used when I was a boy. The oval hut was covered with hide and was the best house. The more well-to-do had this kind. The tepee type was just made of brush. It had a place for a fire in the center. It was just thrown together. Both types were common even before my time....

"A house form that departs from the more common dome-shaped variety is recorded for the Southern Chiricahua as well: ...When we settled down, we used the wickiup; when we were moving around a great deal, we used this other kind..."[21]

Recent research has documented the archaeological remains of Chiricahua Apache wickiups as found on protohistoric and at historical sites, such as Canon de los Embudos where C.S. Fly photographed Geronimo, his people, and dwellings during surrender negotiations in 1886, demonstrating their unobtrusive and improvised nature."[22]
[edit] Food

Various Apache containers: baskets, bowls and jars. The women-made baskets could hold heavy loads and were made mainly from yucca or willow leaves or juniper bark.[23]

Apache people obtained food from four main sources:[24]

hunting wild animals, gathering wild plants, growing domesticated plants trading with or raiding neighboring tribes for livestock and agricultural products.

The Western Apache diet consisted of 3540% meat and 6065% plant foods. As the different Apachean tribes lived in different environments, the particular types of foods eaten varied according to their respective environment. [edit] Hunting Hunting was done primarily by men, although there were sometimes exceptions depending on animal and culture (e.g. Lipan women could help in hunting rabbits and Chiricahua boys were also allowed to hunt rabbits). Hunting often had elaborate preparations, such as fasting and religious rituals performed by medicine men before and after the hunt. In Lipan culture, since deer were protected by Mountain Spirits, great care was taken in Mountain Spirit rituals in order to ensure smooth deer hunting. Also the slaughter of animals must be performed following certain religious guidelines (many of which are recorded in religious stories) from prescribing how to cut the animals, what prayers to recite, and proper disposal of bones. A common practice among

Southern Athabascan hunters was the distribution of successfully slaughtered game. For example, among the Mescalero a hunter was expected to share as much as one half of his kill with a fellow hunter and with needy people back at the camp. Feelings of individuals concerning this practice spoke of social obligation and spontaneous generosity. The most common hunting weapon before the introduction of European guns was the bow and arrow. Various hunting strategies were used. Some techniques involved using animal head masks worn as a disguise. Whistles were sometimes used to lure animals closer. Another technique was the relay method where hunters positioned at various points would chase the prey in turns in order to tire the animal. A similar method involved chasing the prey down a steep cliff. Eating certain animals was taboo. Although different cultures had different taboos, some common examples of taboo animals included bears, peccaries, turkeys, fish, snakes, insects, owls, and coyotes. An example of taboo differences: the black bear was a part of the Lipan diet (although not as common as buffalo, deer, or antelope), but the Jicarilla never ate bear because it was considered an evil animal. Some taboos were a regional phenomena, such as of eating fish, which was taboo throughout the southwest (e.g. in certain Pueblo cultures like the Hopi and Zuni) and considered to be snake-like (an evil animal) in physical appearance.[25][26] The Western Apache hunted deer and pronghorns mostly in the ideal late fall season. After the meat was smoked into jerky around November, a migration from the farm sites along the stream banks in the mountains to winter camps in the Salt, Black, Gila river and even the Colorado River valleys. The primary game of the Chiricahua was the deer followed by pronghorn. Lesser game included: cottontail rabbits (but not jack rabbits), opossums, squirrels, surplus horses, surplus mules, wapiti (elk), wild cattle, wood rats. The Mescalero primarily hunted deer. Other animals hunted include: bighorn sheep, buffalo (for those living closer to the plains), cottontail rabbits, elk, horses, mules, opossums, pronghorn, wild steers and wood rats. Beavers, minks, muskrats, and weasels were also hunted for their hides and body parts but were not eaten. The principal quarry animals of the Jicarilla were bighorn sheep, buffalo, deer, elk and pronghorn. Other game animals included beaver, bighorn sheep, chief hares, chipmunks, doves, ground hogs, grouse, peccaries, porcupines, prairie dogs, quail, rabbits, skunks, snow birds, squirrels, turkeys and wood rats. Burros and horses were only eaten in emergencies. Minks, weasels, wildcats and wolves were not eaten but hunted for their body parts. The main food of the Lipan was the buffalo with a three-week hunt during the fall and smaller scale hunts continuing until the spring. The second most utilized animal was deer. Fresh deer blood was drunk for good health. Other animals included beavers, bighorns, black bears, burros, ducks, elk, fish, horses, mountain lions, mourning doves, mules, prairie dogs, pronghorns, quail, rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, turtles and wood rats. Skunks were eaten only in emergencies. Plains Apache hunters pursued primarily buffalo and deer. Other hunted animals were badgers, bears, beavers, fowls, geese, opossums, otters, rabbits and turtles.

[edit] Clothing
Influenced by the Plains Indians, Western Apaches wore animal hide decorated with seed beads for clothing. These beaded designs historically resembled that of the Great Basin Paiute and is characterized by linear patterning. Apache beaded clothing was bordered with narrow bands of glass beads in diagonal stripes of alternating colors, similar to their native neighbors in the Plains area. They made buckskin shirts, ponchos, skirts and moccasins and decorated them with colorful beadwork.[27]
[edit] Undomesticated plants and other food sources

Apache girl with basket, 1902

The gathering of plants and other foods was primarily a female chore. However, in certain activities, such as the gathering of heavy agave crowns, men helped. Numerous plants were used for medicine and religious ceremonies in addition their nutritional usage. Other plants were utilized for only their religious or medicinal value. In May, the Western Apache baked and dried agave crowns that were pounded into pulp and formed into rectangular cakes. At the end of June and beginning of July, saguaro, prickly pear, and cholla fruits were gathered. In July and August, mesquite beans, Spanish bayonet[disambiguation needed] fruit, and Emory oak acorns were gathered. In late September, gathering was stopped as attention moved toward harvesting cultivated crops. In late fall, juniper berries and pinyon nuts were gathered. The most important plant food used by the Chiricahua was the Century plant (also known as mescal or agave). The crowns (the tuberous base portion) of this plant (which were baked in large underground ovens and sun-dried) and also the shoots were used. Other plants utilized by the Chiricahua include: agarita (or algerita) berries, alligator juniper berries, anglepod seeds, banana yucca (or datil, broadleaf yucca) fruit, chili peppers, chokecherries, cota (used for tea), currants, dropseed grass seeds, Gambel oak acorns, Gambel oak bark (used for tea), grass seeds (of various varieties), greens (of various varieties), hawthorne fruit, Lamb'squarters leaves, lip ferns (used for tea), live oak acorns, locust blossoms, locust pods, maize kernels (used for tiswin), mesquite beans, mulberries, narrowleaf yucca blossoms, narrowleaf yucca stalks, nipple cactus fruit, one-seed juniper berries, onions, pigweed[disambiguation needed]

seeds, pinyon nuts, pitahaya fruit, prickly pear fruit, prickly pear juice, raspberries, screwbean (or tornillo) fruit, saguaro fruit, spurge seeds, strawberries, sumac (Rhus microcarpa) berries, sunflower seeds, tule rootstocks, tule shoots, pigweed tumbleweed seeds, unicorn plant seeds, walnuts, western yellow pine inner bark (used as a sweetener), western yellow pine nuts, whitestar potatoes (Ipomoea lacunosa), wild grapes[disambiguation needed], wild potatoes (Solanum jamesii), wood sorrel leaves, and yucca buds (unknown species). Other items include: honey from ground hives and hives found within agave, sotol, and narrowleaf yucca plants. The abundant agave (mescal) was also important to the Mescalero,[28] who gathered the crowns in late spring after reddish flower stalks appeared. The smaller sotol crowns were also important. Both crowns of both plants were baked and dried. Other plants include: acorns, agarita berries, amole stalks (roasted and peeled), aspen inner bark (used as a sweetener), bear grass stalks (roasted & peeled), box elder inner bark (used as a sweetener), banana yucca fruit, banana yucca flowers, box elder sap (used as a sweetener), cactus fruits (of various varieties), cattail rootstocks, chokecherries, currants, dropseed grass seeds (used for flatbread), elderberries, gooseberries, grapes, hackberries, hawthorne fruit, hops (used as condiment), horsemint (used as condiment), juniper berries, Lamb's-quarters leaves, locust flowers, locust pods, mesquite pods, mint (used as condiment), mulberries, pennyroyal (used as condiment), pigweed seeds (used for flatbread), pine inner bark (used as a sweetener), pinyon pine nuts, prickly pear fruit (dethorned and roasted), purslane[disambiguation needed] leaves, raspberries, sage (used as condiment), screwbeans, sedge tubers, shepherd's purse leaves, strawberries, sunflower seeds, tumbleweed seeds (used for flatbread), vetch pods, walnuts, western white pine nuts, western yellow pine nuts, white evening primrose fruit, wild celery (used as condiment), wild onion[disambiguation needed] (used as condiment), wild pea pods, wild potatoes, and wood sorrel leaves. The Jicarilla used acorns, chokecherries, juniper berries, mesquite beans, pinyon nuts, prickly pear fruit, and yucca fruit, as well as many different kinds of other fruits, acorns, greens, nuts, and seed grasses. The most important plant food used by the Lipan was agave (mescal). Another important plant was sotol. Other plants utilized by the Lipan include: agarita, blackberries, cattails, devil's claw, elderberries, gooseberries, hackberries, hawthorn, juniper, Lamb's-quarters, locust, mesquite, mulberries, oak, palmetto, pecan, pinyon, prickly pears, raspberries, screwbeans, seed grasses, strawberries, sumac, sunflowers, Texas Persimmons, walnuts, western yellow pine, wild cherries, wild grapes, wild onions, wild plums, wild potatoes, wild roses[disambiguation needed], yucca flowers, and yucca fruit. Other items include: salt obtained from caves and honey. Plants utilized by the Plains Apache include: chokecherries, blackberries, grapes, prairie turnips, wild onions, and wild plums. Numerous other fruits, vegetables, and tuberous roots were also used.
[edit] Crop cultivation

The Navajo practiced the most crop cultivation, the Western Apache, Jicarilla, and Lipan less. The one Chiricahua band (of Opler's) and Mescalero practiced very little cultivation. The other two Chiricahua bands and the Plains Apache did not grow any crops.

[edit] Trading, raiding and war

Some interchanges between the Apache and European-descended explorers and settlers were based on trading. The Apache found they could use European and American goods. They also believed in taking what they needed, for instance, horses. Although the following activities were not distinguished by Europeans or Euro-Americans, all Apachean tribes made clear distinctions between raiding (for profit) and war. Raiding was done with small parties with a specific economic target. The Apache waged war with large parties (often using clan members), usually to achieve retribution. Though raiding had been a traditional way of life for the Apache, Mexican settlers objected to their stock being stolen. As tensions between the Apache and settlers increased, the Mexican government passed laws offering cash rewards for Apache scalps.[29]
[edit] Religion

Apachean religious stories relate two culture heroes (one of the Sun/fire:"Killer-OfEnemies/Monster Slayer", and one of Water/Moon/thunder: "Child-Of-The-Water/Born For Water") that destroy a number of creatures which are harmful to humankind.[30] Another story is of a hidden ball game, where good and evil animals decide whether or not the world should be forever dark. Coyote, the trickster, is an important being that often has inappropriate behavior (such as marrying his own daughter, etc.) in which he overturns social convention. The Navajo, Western Apache, Jicarilla, and Lipan have an emergence or Creation Story, while this is lacking in the Chiricahua and Mescalero.[30] Most Southern Athabascan gods are personified natural forces that run through the universe. They may be used for human purposes through ritual ceremonies. The following is a formulation by the anthropologist Keith Basso of the Western Apache's concept of diy : The term diy refers to one or all of a set of abstract and invisible forces which are said to derive from certain classes of animals, plants, minerals, meteorological phenomena, and mythological figures within the Western Apache universe. Any of the various powers may be acquired by man and, if properly handled, used for a variety of purposes.[31] Medicine men (shamans) learn the ceremonies, which can also be acquired by direct revelation to the individual (see also mysticism). Different Apachean cultures had different views of ceremonial practice. Most Chiricahua and Mescalero ceremonies were learned through the transmission of personal religious visions, while the Jicarilla and Western Apache used standardized rituals as the more central ceremonial practice. Important standardized ceremonies include the puberty ceremony (Sunrise Dance) of young women, Navajo chants, Jicarilla "long-life" ceremonies, and Plains Apache "sacred-bundle" ceremonies. Certain animals are considered spiritually evil and prone to cause sickness to humans: owls, snakes, bears, and coyotes. Many Apachean ceremonies use masked representations of religious spirits. Sandpainting is an important ceremony in the Navajo, Western Apache, and Jicarilla traditions, in which

shamans create temporary, sacred art from colored sands. Anthropologists believe the use of masks and sandpainting are examples of cultural diffusion from neighboring Pueblo cultures.[32] The Apaches participate in many spiritual dances, including the rain dance, dances for the crop and harvest, and a spirit dance. These dances were mostly for influencing the weather and enriching their food resources.

[edit] Languages
For more details on this topic, see Southern Athabascan languages.

Apachean peoples speak one or more of seven Southern Athabascan languages, which have relatively similar grammatical structures and sound systems. Southern Athabascan (or Apachean) is sub-family of the larger Athabascan family, which is a branch of Nadene. Navajo is notable for being the indigenous language of the United States with the largest number of native speakers. However, all Apachean languages are endangered, including Navajo. Lipan is reported extinct. The Southern Athabascan branch was defined by Harry Hoijer primarily according to its merger of stem-initial consonants of the Proto-Athabascan series k and *c into *c (in addition to the widespread merger of and into also found in many Northern Athabascan languages).
ProtoAthabascan kus ce "handle fabric-like object" "stone" Navajo Western Plains Chiricahua Mescalero Jicarilla Lipan Apache Apache -tsooz -tsuuz -tsuudz -tsoos -tsoos tsoos ts ts

-tsooz

ts

ts

ts

ts

ts

Hoijer (1938) divided the Apachean sub-family into an Eastern branch consisting of Jicarilla, Lipan, and Plains Apache and a Western branch consisting of Navajo, Western Apache (San Carlos), Chiricahua, and Mescalero based on the merger of Proto-Apachean *t and *k to k in the Eastern branch. Thus, as can be seen in the example below, when the Western languages have noun or verb stems that start with t, the related forms in the Eastern languages will start with a k:
Western Navajo Eastern

Western Plains Chiricahua Mescalero Jicarilla Lipan Apache Apache

"water" "fire"

t k

t k

t k

t k

k ko

k k

k k

He later revised his proposal in 1971 when he found that Plains Apache did not participate in the k/ c merger to consider Plains Apache as a language equidistant from the other languages, now called Southwestern Apachean. Thus, some stems that originally started with k in Proto-Athabascan start with ch in Plains Apache while the other languages start with ts.
ProtoAthabascan ka Navajo Chiricahua Mescalero Jicarilla "big" -tsaa -tsaa -tsaa -tsaa Plains Apache -cha

Morris Opler (1975) has suggested that Hoijer's original formulation that Jicarilla and Lipan in an Eastern branch was more in agreement with the cultural similarities between these two and the differences from the other Western Apachean groups. Other linguists, particularly Michael Krauss (1973), have noted that a classification based only on the initial consonants of noun and verb stems is arbitrary and when other sound correspondences are considered the relationships between the languages appear to be more complex. Additionally, it has been pointed out by Martin Huld (1983) that since Plains Apache does not merge ProtoAthabascan k/ c, Plains Apache cannot be considered an Apachean language as defined by Hoijer. Apachean languages are tonal languages. Regarding tonal development, all Apachean languages are low-marked languages, which means that stems with a "constricted" syllable rime in the proto-language developed low tone while all other rimes developed high tone. Other Northern Athabascan languages are high-marked languages in which the tonal development is the reverse. In the example below, if low-marked Navajo and Chiricahua have a low tone, then the high-marked Northern Athabascan languages, Slavey and Chilcotin, have a high tone, and if Navajo and Chiricahua have a high tone, then Slavey and Chilcotin have a low tone.
Low-Marked ProtoAthabascan *ta tu High-Marked

Navajo Chiricahua Slavey Chilcotin "father" -taa "water" t -taa t -t t -t t

[edit] Notable Apache

Kathy Kitcheyan, Chairwoman of the San Carlos Apache.

Richard Aitson, Plains Apache beader William Alchesay, White Mountain scout, chief Tammie Allen, Jicarilla potter Chatto, scout Cochise, Chief Mildred Cleghorn, Fort Still tribal chairperson Mangas Coloradas, Chief Dahteste, female warrior Geronimo, Leader Gouyen, female warrior Bob Haozous, Chiricahua sculptor Allan Houser, Chiricahua sculptor Loco, Chief Lozen, female warrior Mangas Coloradas, Chief Douglas Miles, San Carlos painter Naiche, Chief Nana, Chief Jay Tavare, actor Taza, Chief Mary Kim Titla, publisher, journalist, former TV reporter, and a 2008 candidate for Arizona's First Congressional District Raoul Trujillo, dancer, choreographer, actor Victorio, Chief

[edit] See also

Apache rawhide playing cards, ca. 18751885, collection of NMAI

Athabascan languages Battle of Apache Pass Battle of Cieneguilla Camp Grant massacre Chiricahua Fort Apache, a movie in the genre of historical fiction about encounters between the US Army and Cochise's band Jicarilla Apache Lipan Apache people Mescalero Native American tribe Native Americans in the United States Navajo people Plains Apache Southern Athabascan languages Western Apache