Apache

For more information on Apache groups, please see Chiricahua Apache, San Carlos Apache, and White Mountain Apache entries.

Name

Apache (pronounced uh-PATCH-ee) comes from the Yuma word meaning “fighting-men” or the Zuñi word apachu, meaning “enemy.” The Apache call themselves Inde or Ndé, meaning “people.”

Location

The Apache once lived in a vast region stretching from what is now central Arizona to central Texas, and from northern Mexico to the high plains of southeastern Colorado. In the mid-2000s about 37,500 Apaches resided on nine reservations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The remaining Apaches were scattered throughout the United States.

Population

At the end of the 1600s there were an estimated five thousand Apache. In the 1990 U.S. Census, 53,330 people identified themselves as Apache. In 2000 that number had risen to 57,199, and a total of 96,833 people claimed some Apache heritage, making the tribe the seventh largest in the United States.

Language family

Athabaskan.

Origins and group affiliations

According to European historians, the Apache people made a gradual move from western Canada to the American Southwest between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. Apache oral history, however, indicates that their people migrated north, and those who live in the Southwest in modern times were the ones who stayed behind. The Apache were never one unified group, but rather a number of bands who spoke similar languages and shared similar customs. Today they are divided into two groups: Western Apache and Eastern Apache (also known as Plains Apache).

The Eastern Apache include the Chiricahua (pronounced CHEER-uh-KAH-wuh), Jicarilla (hi-kah-REE-yah), Lipan, Mescalero (mes-KAH-lair-ro), and Kiowa (KYE-o-wah) Apache peoples. Their descendants now live in New Mexico and Oklahoma. Western Apache include the Cibecue, Coyotero, Northern Tonto, Southern Tonto, San Carlos, and White Mountain Apache. Their descendants now live in Arizona.

The Apache believe they once lived beneath the earth’s surface. Long ago they came above ground and found themselves in the American Southwest, their sacred homeland. Apaches feel a powerful spiritual tie to their land, a place of majestic mountains, grassy hills, vast deserts, steep canyons, hot springs, and dense forests of pine, sycamore, cottonwood, juniper, and oak. They are a fierce, proud, religious people who, for centuries before Europeans came, wandered the Southwest, hunting game and gathering the abundant fruits and nuts there.

History

Trading and raiding

The Apache were wanderers in a harsh, dry land where temperatures could abruptly change from extremely hot to extremely cold. They often quarreled among themselves and had uneasy relations with their neighbors, especially the Pueblo and Pima tribes (see entries). They sometimes traded with those tribes, but they could also take up their weapons and raid Pueblo and Pima villages.

When the Spanish arrived in 1540, bringing guns and horses, the Apache happily traded with them at first. For more than 300 years the Spanish had heard stories about seven lost cities of gold, and they believed Apache land was its hiding place. Relations between the Apache and the Spanish disintegrated after the Spanish tried to take control of Apache land. The Apache carried out sneak attacks on Spanish settlements, stealing their guns, horses, cattle, and even their children. The Spanish, in return, took Apache women and children into slavery.

By 1700 the Comanche tribe (see entry) acquired horses, which allowed them to leave the Great Plains and travel greater distances than ever before. They entered Apache territory and forced the people out of their hunting grounds. Unable to hunt for buffalo, the Apache carried out more raids against Spanish settlements.

When the Spanish signed a peace treaty with the Comanche in 1786, they employed Comanche and Navajo (see entry) warriors to hunt down the Apache. The Spanish then offered bribes if the Apache people would agree to settle near Spanish missions, stop raiding Spanish livestock, and live peacefully. One by one, Apache groups accepted the terms. Some fled to the mountains, however, and continued to carry out raids against Spanish settlements in what is now Mexico. The Mexican government responded by offering to pay a price for every Apache scalp taken. (For more information, see Chiricahua Apache entry.)

Important Dates

1540: Spanish gold seekers encounter the Apache for the first time.

1847: The Apache come under American control.

1886: The final surrender of Geronimo’s band marks the end of Apache military resistance to white settlement.

1934: The Indian Reorganization Act results in self-government for Apache tribes.

Apache come under U.S. control

In 1821 the Spanish gave Mexico land in the Southwest that included Apache territory. In 1848 the United States took over part of the region under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which settled the Mexican-American War (1846–48; a war fought between the United States and Mexico which led to loss of about one-half of Mexico’s national territory to the United States). In the treaty U.S. government officials promised Mexico that if any Native Americans on the new American lands carried out raids in Mexico, America would punish them. Now, instead of the Mexican government, the Apache had a new enemy—the U.S. Army.

American settlers and gold seekers streamed through Apache territory. They did not try to get along with the Apache, as the Spanish had done. Instead, they called out the U.S. Army to subdue them. The Apache put up such a fierce resistance, however, that they were not conquered until the final surrender of the feared and respected Apache leader Geronimo (c. 1827–1909) and his band in 1886. (For more information, see Chiricahua Apache entry.) Newspaper headlines across the nation announced: “Apache War Ended!” The “roving Apache,” as one army general called them, were now under the control of the U.S. government.

Some became prisoners of war, shipped first to Florida, then to Alabama, and finally to the Fort Sill Reservation in Oklahoma. Others were placed on reservations in the Southwest. Different Apache groups had various destinies (see Chiricahua Apache, San Carlos Apache, and White Mountain Apache entries).

Religion

The Apache are very religious, and all of their actions are guided by their beliefs. They seek the help and guidance of the gods before hunting, farming, or going to war. The Apache believe in a creator called Usen, or Life Giver, who is the most important of their several gods. Other supernatural spirits include White Painted Woman, the symbol of life, and her children, Child of the Water and Killer of Enemies. The friendly Mountain Spirits are worshiped in special ceremonies led by spiritual leaders called shamans (pronounced SHAH-munz or SHAY-munz) who could also heal the sick.

Many Apache people converted to the Catholic faith under the influence of Spanish missionaries, but they never abandoned their ancient religion because it is such an important element in their way of life. In the late 1800s the U.S. government and Christian missionaries tried to suppress the old religion, and conducting rituals like the Sunrise Ceremony became illegal. To keep their traditions alive, the Apaches held their ceremonies in secret. In 1978 the American Indian Religious Freedom Act passed, and the tribe could once again hold these rituals openly. In the mid-2000s many Apache still practiced those customs, and it was not uncommon for Apache people to participate in both Christian and traditional religions.

Language

The Southwestern Athabaskan language, which is sometimes called Apachean, has seven dialects (varieties): Navajo, Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan, and Kiowa Apache. All Apache dialects differ from one another in some ways, but members of the different groups can still understand one another. Most dialects, especially Western Apache, are spoken in modern times.

When the Spanish came to the New World in the mid-1500s, the Apache easily communicated with them using sign language.

Government

In the old times

For the Apache the family is the most important unit. Until the twentieth century they never had a government body that ruled over everyone. Instead family groups usually acted independently. Apache groups moved about constantly from place to place, and government officials found it hard to find them and reach agreements with them.

Apache Population: 2000 Census

According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census in 2000, 57,199 people identified themselves as Apache. Because the government no longer keeps population figures for groups numbering less than fifty, no statistics were available for the Lipan Apache. The breakdown of population figures looked like this:

“2000 Census of Population and Housing. Matrix 7: American Indian and Alaskan Native summary file.” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Data User Services Division, American FactFinder, 2004.

From time to time, a number of these family groups came together to make important decisions, such as whether to send out a war party. In those instances, the male heads of each family group formed a council, discussed the problem, and made a decision. Even if they decided to act together, though, the groups were never very large. When faced with threats from the Comanche tribe, the Spanish, the Mexicans, and the Americans; the Apache might have a war or raiding party consisting of a maximum of one hundred men (and sometimes women).

Although Apache men made decisions about war and whether to move to a new location, women had influence too. The oldest woman in a household acted as leader and was greatly respected.

On the reservations

Once on the reservations, the Apache came under the control of government agents who did not always treat them well. The government established a U.S. Indian Police force to oversee law enforcement, health, and the use of land. Government agents—mostly white men—were mainly interested in making Native Americans more like whites, and they devoted their efforts to getting the Native Americans to turn over decision-making power to them.

In 1934 the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act. American Indian tribes were given the opportunity to form their own elective tribal councils, a type of government the Apache still use in the twenty-first century.

Economy

Before the twentieth century

In the early days the Apache carried on a lively trade, especially with the Pueblo and Pima tribes. The Apache were very clever at hunting and manufacturing items from buffalo, especially robes and jerky (meat that is cut into long strips and dried in the sun or cured by exposing it to smoke). In return for these, the Apache received corn and beans, gourds, cotton cloth, and minerals from other tribes.

Later the Apache traded with the Spanish, exchanging buffalo hides for grain and cattle, as well as for horses and guns that allowed them to expand their hunting and trading opportunities. Raiding was as natural to them as trading, though, and they often took what they wanted from other tribes and from the Mexicans. Some Apache groups relied on a limited amount of farming for food, but once they had horses, they depended less on farming.

The U.S. government began moving the Apache onto reservations in the late 1800s. Life on the reservations was a great shock to a people who were accustomed to roaming. Men who were once warriors were expected to turn to farming, and they struggled to do so for a time. Some succeeded, but others did not because the land was poor and there was little water. Some left the reservations to work for wages.

The Recreation Business

Several Apache tribes have been successful at taking advantage of Americans’ interest in outdoor recreation. For example, many members of the Mescalero Apache find employment at their ski resort, Ski Apache. Others work at the tribal museum and visitor center in Mescalero, Arizona. A large Mescalero enterprise, the Inn of the Mountain Gods in New Mexico, has a gift shop, several restaurants, and an 18-hole golf course. It also offers horseback riding, skeet and trap shooting, and tennis.

For the Yavapai Apache, whose small reservation has fewer than 300 acres of land suitable for agriculture, the tourist complex at the Montezuma Castle National Monument—where the tribe owns the 75 acres of land surrounding the monument—is an important source of employment and revenue. The Jicarilla Apache operate a ski enterprise, offering equipment rentals and trails for a cross-country ski program during the winter months. The gift shop at the Jicarilla museum provides an outlet for the sale of locally crafted traditional items, including basketry, beadwork, feather work, and finely tanned buckskin leather.

Tourism, especially for events such as tribal fairs and for hunting and fishing, provides jobs and brings money into the local economies at a number of reservations. Deer and elk hunting are especially popular on the Jicarilla reservation. The Jicarilla also maintain five campgrounds where camping is available for a fee. Other campgrounds are maintained by the Mescalero Apache, the San Carlos Apache, and the White Mountain Apache.

Twentieth-century economy

After 1918 the U.S. government encouraged the Apache to begin raising cattle, and some tribes have done so very successfully. Others engaged in processing lumber. When large numbers of Americans began to own cars and travel in the 1950s, many Apache turned to the outdoor recreation business.

In the twenty-first century the Apache can be found pursuing careers in all the professions, though most of them must leave their communities to do so. Farming and ranching continue to provide employment for many Apache. The Apache are also known as some of the finest professional rodeo performers.

Those who live on the reservations face a persistently high level of unemployment. About 30 percent of tribal members who want to work cannot find jobs.

Daily life

Families

Daily life revolved around the extended family, which included mother, father, children, grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunts, who lived in single-family homes placed close together. Apache women bore few children. There was no word in the Apache language for “cousins,” and children considered their cousins to be their brothers and sisters.

Although Apaches had a reputation as warlike, they were gentle and affectionate with their own children and other relatives. Children were taught manners, kindness, endurance, and obedience. They played games to improve their skills and quickness.

Buildings

The Apache usually built single-family homes called wickiups (pronounced WIK-ee-ups). These are cone- or dome-shaped structures with a framework of poles covered with brush, grass, reed mats, or sometimes skins. A fire pit in the center vented smoke through a hole directly above it. The Kiowa Apache and Jicarilla usually lived in Plains-style tepees covered with hides, although some Jicarilla may have lived in Pueblo-style homes.

Wickiups were easy to put up, take down, and carry to the different camps Apache bands lived in throughout the year. In very early times, before they acquired horses, they would strap their housing materials to the backs of dogs to carry to the new location.

Education

In early times Apache children learned by listening to, observing, and imitating their parents. Both boys and girls learned survival skills like how to run swiftly, how to ride horses (the Apache were outstanding riders), and how to sneak up on enemy villages because these skills might one day save their lives. Games and contests were held that were fun and also made contestants stronger.

Boys trained for warfare by walking for miles without food and water. They learned to send and read smoke signals and to hunt silently. Girls learned to do household chores because they usually married very young.

Once they were on reservations and under the control of U.S. government agents, Apache children were expected to become “civilized,” or more like whites. Not long after the 1879 founding of the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, many Apache children were sent there, to live unhappily far from their homeland and families. Government and mission schools were established among the Apache in the 1890s. All of these schools offered instruction only in English.

In the mid-2000s the majority of the Apache population was under the age of eighteen. Education remains highly regarded, and the Apache take an active role in making decisions about their children’s education. This has resulted in some Apache public schools being singled out by the U.S. government as model schools for their bilingual and bicultural programs, especially in the elementary grades.

Food

The Apache were hunter-gatherers. They hunted bison, antelope, deer, elk, cougar, coyote, javelina, mountain sheep, and such birds as quail and wild turkey. Apache religion would not allow the eating of fish or bears. The people believed some animals were unclean—snakes, frogs, prairie dogs, and fish—so they never ate them. Bears resembled people because they sometimes walked on two legs, so most bands did not kill them. Before the men hunted for game, they greased their bodies with animal fat so their human scent would not scare off the prey.

After they acquired horses in the late 1600s, some Apache groups hunted buffalo like their Plains neighbors, but buffalo were not plentiful. They had to travel great distances to find buffalo, and sometimes approached the animals by crawling a long way through the underbrush to disguise their scent.

Gathered foods included agave (pronounced ah-gah-VEE; a plant with tough, spiny, sword-shaped leaves that grows in hot, dry regions), cactus fruits, pecans, acorns, black walnuts, pine nuts, chokecherries, juniper berries, and raspberries. The climate of the Southwest was not good for farming, and water was scarce. Some Western tribes who were willing to carry water, however, produced limited amounts of corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash.

Clothing and adornment

Apache men wore buckskin breechcloths (garments with front and back flaps that hung from the waist), ponchos (blanket-like cloaks with a hole for the head), and moccasins with attached leggings. Women wore buckskin skirts, similar ponchos, and high bootlike moccasins. These moccasins with their attached leggings protected the Apache from the rough terrain of the deserts, the spikes of spiny cacti, and snakes. Some leggings extended almost to the hip, and the top could be folded over to hold a knife.

Men usually cut their hair shoulder-length and tied a cloth headband across their forehead. They also wore deerskin caps with symbolic decorations. Women wore their hair long.

The Apache acquired cloth and wool through trade with other tribes. At the turn of the twentieth century they began to wear more American-style clothing, such as white cotton shirts and black vests for men and long-sleeved cotton blouses and full skirts for women. Even so, traditional clothing is worn on important occasions. A girl’s puberty ceremony costume generally consists of a two-piece buckskin dress of the highest quality, adorned with fringe, shells, beads, and metal pieces. A shaman’s buckskin garment might have feathers, beads, and paint.

Healing practices

The Apache believed that sicknesses were often (but not always) sent by evil spirits to people who had offended them. Such ailments were cured by healers called shamans, who could be either male or female and who cured with herbs and by dancing and chanting. A suffering person requested the aid of a healer, then sprinkled the healer’s head with pollen and offered a gift. The shaman would accept the gift only if he or she decided to take the case.

During the healing ceremony, the shaman sprinkled the patient with pollen and performed a ritual involving four dancers. The ceremony would be repeated over four nights.

Sometimes sweat baths were used as a remedy for colds and fever. The Apache also knew practical skills such as how to set broken bones with splints fashioned from cedar bark. Bleeding—draining blood from a sick person—was also a medical treatment used for headaches and other ailments.

Twentieth-century health problems

Well into the twentieth century ailing Apache continued to seek the services of shamans, but the kinds of ailments they suffer have changed. The Apache have suffered tremendous health problems associated with malnutrition (poor diet), poverty, and despair. They have incredibly high rates of contagious diseases such as tuberculosis. With the establishment of schools in the early 1900s the tuberculosis bacteria spread rapidly through the tribe. By 1914, 90 percent of the Jicarilla suffered from tuberculosis. Between 1900 and 1920, one-fourth of the people died. One of the reservation schools had to be converted into a tuberculosis sanatorium (a type of treatment facility) in an attempt to address the crisis. The sanatorium remained open until 1940.

Like other tribes the Apache have struggled with the ill effects of alcohol abuse. Alcohol, though long known to the Apache, has not always been a destructive force. In times past the custom of sharing the drink telapi, made from fermented corn sprouts, “made people feel good about each other and what they were doing,” said an Apache elder. Tribal leaders have attempted to address these health problems through education and by creating jobs that keep people from feeling despair.

Arts

Crafts revival

Many Apache are demonstrating a new pride in traditional crafts as they attempt to survive in the larger American culture while still remaining Apache. Basketry and pottery making, which had nearly died out during the 1950s, are now valued skills once again, taught and learned with renewed vigor.

Oral literature

The Apache tell stories about the creation of the universe and the supernatural, but these stories are considered sacred and are kept secret. Other tales about the adventures of Coyote and Big Owl are told to instruct young people and to entertain, and some of these stories have been written down.

Coyote is sometimes portrayed as a hero because he taught the Apache how to care for themselves. At other times Coyote plays the role of a fool, for he frequently makes bad moral decisions and then suffers from the consequences. The Apache believe Coyote was responsible for bringing death and darkness into the world.

The Emergence: How the Apache Came to Earth

Long ago they say. Long ago they made the earth and the sky. There were no people living on the earth then. There were four places under the earth where Red Ants were living. These Red Ants were talking about this country up here on the surface of the earth, and they wanted to come up here. Among them was the Red Ant chief and he talked about coming here. “All right, let’s go to this new place above!” all the Ants decided. There was a big cane growing in that place. This grew upwards toward the sky. Then all the Red Ant People started off from the bottom of this cane and traveled up it. When they reached the first joint of the cane they made camp there all night. The next day they traveled on from there, still upwards.

They spent many nights on their way, always making their camp at the joints of the cane. They kept on traveling that way, upwards, and then finally the chief told them to look around this place where they were. So all the people went out and looked around this new country and all of them said that this was a nice place. There were lots of foods growing all around. The chief said, “Bring in all those foods that are good to eat, to our camp.” So the people brought in the different kinds of foods and fruits that were good. They went all over the country for these wild foods. This way they found lots to eat and they found good places to live all over the new land.

After that the chief told the people to look around, and then he sang a song. At every song that he sang all the people were to come together again. Then the chief was singing and in his song he said, “You can go off any place you want to, and when you find a place that is good, then stop there and settle.” So this was the first place that people were living, and these were the first people, the Red Ants

Badger and Porcupine were the first ones on this earth also. Then all kinds of birds started to live on this earth; Eagle and Hawk and all the other kinds. Then God had made man on this earth and everyone was living well. This is the story about how man first became.

Bane, Tithla. “Hatc’onondai (The Emergence, or the Emerging Place).” Myths and Tales of the White Mountain Apache. Glenville Goodwin. New York: American Folk-lore Society, 1939.

Customs

Festivals and ceremonies

The Apache did not have rituals celebrating the harvest, as many other tribes do. Apache ceremonies focused on celebrating important life events such as the naming of an infant, a child receiving his or her first pair of moccasins, a first haircut, puberty, healing by shamans, and asking supernatural beings for power. There might be hundreds of ceremonies celebrating life events each year.

Most rituals involved the use of pollen and the number four. Pollen is a symbol of life, fertility, and beauty. The Apache believe it brings good luck and still use it in some ceremonies. The number four represents the four directions (north, south, east, west), and rituals are often performed four times.

Puberty

Unlike many other tribes Apache boys and girls did not go on vision quests to receive the spiritual guidance some call Power. Instead Power came to them suddenly and unexpectedly, and this could happen several times throughout a person’s life. Without Power, a man could not be a leader, and a woman had no influence.

A girl’s coming-of-age was the occasion for a major ceremony, the Sunrise Ceremony, which lasted four days and was hosted by her parents. Part of the ceremony is called the Dance of the Mountain Spirits, in which masked participants pretend to be gods of the mountains. The young girl being honored impersonated White Painted Woman, who is like Mother Earth. Performance of the dance brought good fortune to the entire tribe. During the ceremony the young girl was attended by an older woman who would be her guide throughout life. After four days of constant singing and dancing, a girl took four days to recover. This puberty ceremony is still observed today, although, because of the expenses involved in paying dancers and providing food for the tribe, it may last only a day or two, or several girls may share the same ceremony.

The boy’s version of a puberty ceremony was his first four raids on enemy settlements. After he completed them, he was considered an adult.

Courtship and marriage

Young Apache women were supervised to limit their contact with young men, and dances provided rare and welcome opportunities for socializing. A young man’s entire family decided on his choice of a bride. Once all his relatives had voiced their approval of his choice, the young man’s parents or their representative offered presents to the girl’s parents.

If the bride’s parents accepted the gift, the couple was often considered married with little or no further ceremony. Author Michael Melody described one simple Apache wedding that he observed: “A basin made of buffalo hide was carried to a secluded place and filled with fresh water. The bride and groom stepped into it, held hands, and awaited the appearance of both sets of parents, who had to acknowledge the matrimony.” Afterward, the couple joined a public dance.

Married life

The Apache trace their ancestry through the mother, and married couples set up housekeeping near the wife’s parents in a separate wickiup. The Apache believed a marriage would be happier if the wife’s mother never spoke to, or even appeared in the presence of, her son-in-law. No such rule applied to the wife’s grandmother, who today remains a powerful presence in family life.

A man had to take care of his wife’s family, and if she died, he had to marry her sister or unwed cousin. Several wives might be taken by successful hunters or warriors or others who could afford it. In the case of divorce, children remained with the wife’s extended family. Modern-day Apache have adopted American marriage customs.

War rituals

Warfare was a major part of the Apache existence until almost 1900. Michael Melody wrote that most Apache battles “were undertaken to avenge deaths of group members, usually killed during raids. The slain warrior’s family led the way during battle.” The Apache requested the help of the gods prior to battle in a ceremony that included warriors in costume. The dancers acted out the brave deeds they intended to perform. If the warriors were successful, another dance was held in which they acted out their achievements.

War parties might consist of a maximum of one hundred warriors who bravely faced much larger forces. During the late 1800s they took on the U.S. Army. When a cause seemed hopeless, however, warriors would scatter rather than fight to the bitter end.

Death and burial

Death of loved ones was a source of great dread for Apache, who feared they would be haunted by the ghost of the deceased. They painted the face of a corpse red, and wrapped the body in skins and disposed of as soon as possible to hasten the spirit’s journey to the underworld. They loaded the body onto a horse and took it to a cave or some other secluded area, where they entombed it and sealed the tomb opening. Then the horse was killed, and the deceased’s house and belongings were destroyed. Survivors did not go near the burial ground, nor did they ever again speak the name of the dead person.

In the twenty-first century the Apache seek the services of funeral homes, in part because of state laws, but also because it allows for a quick disposal of a body.

Current tribal issues

Poverty—and what to do about it—is a constant concern. The Apache have proved very modern in their efforts to resolve this issue.

Another issue is the illegal seizure of Apache lands. The Jicarilla Apache were awarded nearly $10 million in a lawsuit for land unjustly taken from them, but the United States will not return any of the land. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Jicarilla have the right to impose tribal taxes on minerals extracted from their lands by others.

Environmental problems also concern many Apaches. On the Fort Sill Apache lands, many people have developed lupus and and cancer. They believe this is related to the oil drilling on their land. The Mescalero Apache are working to reduce hazardous fuels, clean up their water, and prevent forest fires. A forest fire in 1996 destroyed a large portion of the Jicarilla Apache lands and has adversely affected the wildlife and fish. The Jicarilla tribe are also struggling with problems related to clear-cut logging, overgrazing, erosion, and pollution. On the Fort McDowell and Camp Verde Indian reservations good water supplies are an ongoing concern.

Notable people

Jicarilla Apache scholar Veronica E. Velarde Tiller is the author of Discover Indian Reservations USA,Tiller’s Guide to Indian Country: Economic Profiles of American Indian Reservations,The Jicarilla Apache Tribe: A History, and other works. Apache-Hopi-Pueblo author Michael Lacapa, who was raised as an Apache, has written award-winning children’s books both alone and with his wife, Kathleen, a Mohawk. They co-authored Less than Half, More than Whole (1994), about a part-Native American child troubled by his mixed heritage. The works of poet and educator Jose Garza (Coahuiltec-Apache) and poet and short-story-writer Lorenzo Baca (Mescalero Apache), appear in Returning the Gift: Poetry and Prose from the First North American Native Writers’ Festival (1994) and elsewhere.

Ball, Eve, Nora Henn, and Lynda A. Sánchez. Indeh: An Apache Odyssey, reprint. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1988.

Behnke, Alison. The Apaches. Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 2006.

Colwell-Chanthaphonh, Chip. Massacre at Camp Grant: Forgetting and Remembering Apache History. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2007.

Jastrzembski, Joseph C. The Apache Wars: The Final Resistance. Minneapolis: Chelsea House Publications, 2007.

Miller, Raymond H. North American Indians: The Apache. San Diego: KidHaven Press, 2005.

Robinson, Sherry. Apache Voices: Their Stories of Survival as Told to Eve Ball. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2003.

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“Apache Indian Language.” Native American Language Net: Preserving and Promoting Indigenous American Indian Languages. (accessed on June 1, 2007).

“Apache Nation: Nde Nation.” San Carlos Apache Nation. (accessed on June 29, 2007).

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“The Children of Changing Woman.” Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. (accessed on June 29, 2007).

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“Native Americans and Public Policy.” Native American Guide. The University of Oklahoma: Carl Albert Center Congressional Archive. (accessed on June 29, 2007).

Ned Blackhawk, Associate Professor, Department of History, American Indian Studies Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Laurie Edwards

Laurie Edwards