Apache

Apache, group of six culturally related Native American peoples descended from Athabascan-speaking nations. The various peoples are: the Kiowa Apache, who lived between the northern border of New Mexico and the Platte River; the Lipan of eastern New Mexico and western Texas; the Jicarilla of southern New Mexico; the Mescalero of central New Mexico; the Chiricahua of the Chiricahua mountain range in south-western Arizona; and the Western Apache of central Arizona.

Early Apache inhabitants of the south-western United States were a nomadic people; some groups roamed as far south as Mexico. They were primarily hunters of buffalo, but they also practised farming to a limited degree. For centuries they were fierce warriors, adept in desert survival, carrying out raids on those who encroached on their territory.

The first intruders were the Spanish, penetrating Apache territory in the late-16th century. The Spanish drive northwards disrupted ancient Apache trade connections with neighbouring peoples. When New Mexico became a Spanish colony in 1598, hostilities increased between the Spanish and the Apaches. An influx of Comanche people into traditional Apache territory in the early 18th century forced the Lipan and other Apaches to move south of their main food source, the buffalo; these displaced Apaches then began raiding for food.

Apache raids on settlers accompanied the American westwards movement and the United States acquisition of New Mexico in 1848. The Native Americans and the US military authorities engaged in fierce wars until all Apache groups were eventually placed on reservations. Most of the groups were subdued by 1868, except for the Chiricahua, who continued their attacks until 1872, when their chief, Cochise, signed a treaty with the US government and moved with his band to an Apache reservation in Arizona. The last band of Apache raiders, led by medicine man Geronimo, was hunted down in 1886 and was confined in Florida.

In traditional Apache culture, women gathered food, wood, and water, while men went out to hunt and raid. Most family units lived in wickiups—dome-shaped brush huts erected by the women—or in buffalo-hide tepees. Western Apache peoples were matrilineal (that is, they traced their kinship through the female line); others apparently traced their descent through both parents. Polygamy was practised when economic circumstances permitted, and marriage could be terminated easily by either party. Religion was a fundamental part of Apache life; among the best-known supernatural beings were the ga'ns, protective mountain spirits represented in religious rites such as the girls' puberty ceremony, still performed by Western Apaches.

Many individuals claiming Apache descent live on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Farming, cattle herding, and tourist-related businesses are important economically; nevertheless, unemployment is high. Present-day culture is a mixture of traditional Apache and contemporary American elements.