Who Are the Apache?
The Apache are a group of culturally related Southern Athabaskan-speaking peoples of the American Southwest, numbering approximately 100,000 today across multiple tribes. Major Apache groups include the Western Apache (including White Mountain, San Carlos, Cibecue, and Tonto), Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan, and Plains Apache. Known as fierce warriors who resisted Spanish, Mexican, and American colonization longer than almost any other Native American group, the Apache produced legendary leaders including Geronimo, Cochise, Victorio, and Mangas Coloradas. Their guerrilla warfare tactics, survival skills in harsh desert environments, and unyielding resistance made them formidable opponents who were never truly militarily conquered.
Migration and Desert Adaptation
The Apache migrated from Canada to the Southwest between 1000-1500 CE, speaking Athabaskan languages related to Navajo and northern Canadian tribes like the Dene. Adapting brilliantly to the harsh Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, they developed unmatched survival skills: finding water in seemingly barren landscapes, traveling 40+ miles daily on foot, living off desert plants like agave and mesquite, and hunting game others couldn't find. Different Apache groups adapted to varied environments: Western Apache in Arizona's mountains, Chiricahua in the harsh borderlands, Mescalero in New Mexico's mountains, and Jicarilla in Colorado's high plains. Their mobility and knowledge of terrain made them nearly impossible to catch or defeat in their homeland.
The Apache Wars and Legendary Leaders
The **Apache Wars** (1849-1886) represent the longest military conflict in American history. Unlike other tribes who made treaties then were forced onto reservations, the Apache fought continuous guerrilla warfare for nearly four decades. **Cochise** led the Chiricahua in a 12-year war after American treachery killed his family members under a flag of truce. **Geronimo** (Goyaałé, "One Who Yawns"), a Bedonkohe medicine man, became the last major Native American leader to surrender, evading 5,000 US troops and 3,000 Mexican soldiers with only 35 warriors. His surrender in 1886 required one-quarter of the entire US Army to achieve. **Lozen**, a Chiricahua woman warrior with spiritual powers, fought alongside Victorio and Geronimo, demonstrating Apache women's warrior traditions.
Spiritual Traditions and the Sunrise Ceremony
Apache spirituality centers on **Usen** (the supreme creator), Mountain Spirits (Gaan/Crown Dancers), and Changing Woman, who created humanity. The **Sunrise Ceremony** (Na'ii'ees/Isanaklesh Gotal) remains the most important Apache ritual—a four-day coming-of-age ceremony for girls reaching puberty, during which the initiate becomes Changing Woman, gaining her powers to heal and bless. Crown Dancers, men embodying Mountain Spirits wearing elaborate wooden headdresses and body paint, perform to drive away evil and bring blessings. **Medicine men** (diyin) conduct healing ceremonies, interpret visions, and maintain spiritual knowledge. Despite forced Christianization at boarding schools, traditional ceremonies have experienced revival, with the Sunrise Ceremony remaining central to Apache identity.
Contemporary Apache Nations
Today, federally recognized Apache tribes include the **Fort Apache** (White Mountain), **San Carlos**, **Mescalero**, **Jicarilla**, and **Fort Sill Apache** (descendants of Geronimo's band, finally released from prisoner-of-war status in 1913). The White Mountain and San Carlos reservations in Arizona encompass over 2.5 million acres of forests and rangelands. Apache tribes have developed diverse economies: the Mescalero operate the Inn of the Mountain Gods resort, the White Mountain Apache run a successful timber enterprise and the Sunrise ski resort, and the Fort Sill Apache have pursued gaming. Challenges include high unemployment, substance abuse, and protecting sacred sites like Oak Flat (Chi'chil Biłdagoteel) from copper mining. The Apache language, endangered with perhaps 15,000 speakers, is the focus of intensive revitalization efforts, with language immersion schools operating on multiple reservations.
References
- Basso, K. H. (1996). Wisdom Sits in Places: Landscape and Language Among the Western Apache. University of New Mexico Press.
- Sweeney, E. R. (2010). From Cochise to Geronimo: The Chiricahua Apaches, 1874–1886. University of Oklahoma Press.
- Opler, M. E. (1941). An Apache Life-Way: The Economic, Social, and Religious Institutions of the Chiricahua Indians. University of Chicago Press.
- Stockel, H. H. (1991). Women of the Apache Nation: Voices of Truth. University of Nevada Press.