The Apache Nations, a term encompassing several culturally and linguistically related Indigenous groups, hold a prominent place in the history and landscape of North America. Calling themselves Inde or Nide, meaning simply "the people," the Apache represent a diverse collection of communities with a shared heritage rooted in resilience, adaptation, and a deep connection to the land. This article will explore the history, culture, social structure, and adaptations of the Apache people.
Divisions and Locations
The Apache Nations are traditionally divided into several sub-tribes, each with its own distinct territory and cultural nuances. These include:
- Bedonkohe: Known for their close association with the Chiricahua Apache, they played a significant role in resistance against European and American expansion.
- Chieahen: Also linked to the Chiricahua, the Chieahen shared a similar history of conflict and adaptation in the Southwest.
- Chihenne: Referred to as the Ojo Caliente (Hot Springs) Apaches, they occupied areas in present-day New Mexico, known for their reliance on the natural hot springs.
- Chokonen: Synonymous with the Chiricahua Apache, this group is renowned for its fierce warriors and strategic leadership, particularly figures like Cochise and Geronimo.
- Nedni: Little documented, the Nedni were another division within the larger Apache framework, contributing to the overall cultural tapestry.
- White Mountain Apache: Located primarily in eastern Arizona, the White Mountain Apache developed a unique cultural identity shaped by their environment and interactions with neighboring groups.
Origins and Migration
The Apache people, along with their linguistic relatives, the Navajo, are believed to have migrated from the Far North around A.D. 850. This migration brought them to the Plains and the Southwest, where they adapted to the diverse environments of the Great Basin, the Sonoran, and the Chihuahuan deserts. Their ability to thrive in these challenging landscapes speaks to their resourcefulness and intimate knowledge of the natural world.
Language and Relationships
The Apache speak languages belonging to the Athabaskan language family, which originated in northwestern Canada. This linguistic connection provides evidence of their northern origins and distinguishes them from many of their neighbors in the Southwest.
It is crucial to note that while the Navajo share the Athabaskan language with the Apache, they are a distinct and honored nation with their own unique history, culture, and traditions. The two groups, though related through language, developed along separate paths and maintain distinct identities.
Dialects and Geographic Distribution
The Apache Nations can be further organized by the dialects they speak and the regions they inhabit. This includes:
- Western Apache (Coyotero): Occupying much of eastern Arizona, the Western Apache encompassed several bands, including the White Mountain, Cibecue, San Carlos, and Northern and Southern Tonto.
- Chiricahua and Mimbreno: Found in Arizona and New Mexico, these groups were known for their strong warrior traditions and resistance to external pressures.
- Mescalero (Faraon): Located in New Mexico and Mexico, the Mescalero Apache derived their name from the mescal cactus, a vital resource for food, drink, and fiber.
- Jicarilla (Tinde): Inhabiting northeastern New Mexico and Colorado, the Jicarilla Apache engaged in both hunting on the plains and agriculture in the mountains.
- Kiowa-Apache (Gataka): Residing in Oklahoma, the Kiowa-Apache maintained close ties with the Kiowa tribe, adopting many of their Plains customs.
- Lipan: Living in Texas and Mexico, the Lipan Apache were known for their nomadic lifestyle and adaptation to the arid landscapes of the region.
Trade and Conflict
The Apache engaged in trade with neighboring Pueblo villages, exchanging buffalo hides, tallow, meat, and bones for pottery, cotton blankets, turquoise, corn, and other goods. This exchange fostered a complex relationship between the two groups, characterized by both cooperation and conflict.
At times, the Apache resorted to raiding Pueblo villages to acquire needed resources. This led to them being known by another name among the Pueblo people: Apachu, meaning "the enemy." This demonstrates the dual nature of their interactions, where trade and exchange could quickly turn to conflict when resources were scarce.
Lifestyle and Shelter
The Apache traditionally lived a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle, moving from camp to camp in pursuit of deer and buffalo, collecting roots and berries, and sometimes planting seeds for later harvest. This mobility allowed them to adapt to the fluctuating resources of their environment.
Their camps were often located on the outskirts of Pueblo villages, allowing for both trade and observation. They dressed in animal skins, used dogs as pack animals, and constructed temporary dwellings made of brush or hide.
The most common shelter of the Apache was the wickiup, a dome-shaped lodge constructed of wood poles covered with brush, grass, or reed mats. The wickiup provided protection from the elements and contained a fire pit and a smoke hole for ventilation. The Jicarilla and Kiowa-Apache, who roamed the Plains, used buffalo hide tepees, similar to other Plains tribes.
Worldview and Beliefs
The Apache worldview held a deep respect for the natural world. They regarded coyotes, insects, and birds as having been human beings in former lives, suggesting a belief in interconnectedness and the cyclical nature of existence.
Social Structure and Leadership
Apache society was organized around extended family groups, all loosely related through the female line, making it a matriarchal system. Each group operated independently under a respected family leader, who settled disputes and made decisions without answering to any higher human authority.
During times of war, neighboring groups would band together to fight a common enemy. Leaders of the local family groups would meet in council to elect a war chief, who led the campaign. However, individual groups were free to follow their own war chief if they preferred, highlighting the decentralized nature of Apache leadership.
Cultural Kinship and Adaptation
Apache bands that roamed the same area admitted to a loose cultural kinship. The Jicarilla of northeastern New Mexico hunted buffalo on the plains and planted corn in the mountains. The Mescalero to the south were hunter-gatherers who developed a taste for roasted mescal plants. The Chiricahua, known as the fiercest of all tribal groups, raided along the Mexican border. The more peaceful Western Apache of Arizona spent part of each year farming. Two other tribal divisions, the Lipan and Kiowa-Apache, lived as plainsmen in western Kansas and Texas.
Code of Conduct and Family Loyalties
A strict code of conduct governed Apache life, based on strong family loyalties. Each Apache group was composed of extended families or clans, which served as basic social, economic, and political units based on female inherited leadership.
The most important bond led from an Apache mother to her children and on to her children. Marriage within one’s own clan was forbidden. When a son married, his obligations from then on were to his mother-in-law’s family, emphasizing the importance of the maternal lineage.
Religious Beliefs and Ceremonies
Beyond this code of propriety and family obligations, the Apache shared a rich oral history of myths and legends and a legacy of intense religious devotion that touched virtually every aspect of their lives.
Medicine Men presided over religious ceremonies. They believed in many spirit beings, with Usen, the Giver of Life, being the most powerful of them all. The Gans, or Mountain Spirits, were especially important in Apache ceremonies. Males garbed themselves in elaborate costumes to impersonate the Gans in ritual dance, wearing kilts, black masks, tall wooden-slat headdresses, and body paint, carrying wooden swords.
The Mescalero Apache
The Mescalero band consisted of followers and a headman. They had no formal leader such as a tribal chief or council, nor a decision-making process. The core of the band was a "relative group," predominantly, but not necessarily, kinsmen. Named by the Spanish for the mescal cactus the Apaches used for food, drink, and fiber.
One author’s characterization of the Mescalero Apache people of the past is as follows: "They moved freely, wintering on the Rio Grande or farther south, ranging the buffalo plains in the summer, always following the sun and the food supply. They owned nothing and everything. They did as they pleased and bowed to no man. Their women were chaste. Their leaders kept their promises. They were mighty warriors who depended on success in raiding for wealth and honor. To their families they were kind and gentle, but they could be unbelievably cruel to their enemies—fierce and revengeful when they felt that they had been betrayed." (Sonnichsen 1958:4)
Subsistence and Adaptation
The Apaches were nomadic hunter-gatherers. They chased any wild game located within their territory, especially deer and rabbits. When necessary, they lived off the land by gathering wild berries, roots, cactus fruit, and seeds of the mesquite tree. They also planted some corn, beans, and squash as crops. They were extremely hardy prior to the arrival of European diseases and could live practically naked in zero temperature.
Many Apache bands were so influenced by the tribes they came into contact that they took on many of their customs and practices. Western Apaches living near the Pueblo Indians became farmers. Jicarilla Apaches pursued the great buffalo herds like other Plains Indians, mounted on horses they acquired through raids on the Spanish and Pueblos in the late 1600’s. Kiowa-Apaches became more like the Kiowa, a Plains tribe, than their own Apache kin. The Lipan raised dogs for meat as many Mexican tribes to their south.
Reservations
In 1871, the original White Mountain Reservation was established. It contained today’s Fort Apache and San Carlos reservations. In 1897, the land was divided into two independent reservations.
The history of the Apache Nations is a testament to their resilience, adaptability, and deep connection to the land. Despite facing numerous challenges, they have maintained their cultural identity and continue to thrive in the 21st century.