The word "Apache" comes from the Yuma word for "fighting-men". It also comes from a Zuni word meaning "enemy". The Zuni name for Navajo was called "Apachis de Nabaju" by the earliest Spaniards exploring New Mexico. Their name for themselves is N'de, Inde or Tinde ("the people"). The Apaches are well-known for their superior skills in warfare strategy and inexhaustible endurance, and their techniques are taught in military universities to this day. Continuous wars among other tribes and invaders from Mexico followed the Apaches' growing reputation of warlike character. When they confronted Coronado in 1540, they lived in eastern New Mexico, and reached Arizona in the 1600s. The Apache are described as a gentle people; faithful in their friendship.

They belong to the Southern Athapascan linguistic family. The Apache are composed of six regional groups: the Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan, and Kiowa Apache. On marriage, men customarily take up residence with their wives' kin. Maternal clans exist among the Western Apache, who depend more on cultivation than did other groups. All Apache rely primarily on hunting of wild game and gathering of cactus fruits and other wild plant foods. The Western Apache (Coyotero) traditionally occupy most of eastern Arizona and include the White Mountain, Cibuecue, San Carlos, and Northern and Southern Tonto bands. The Chiricahua occupy southwestern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and adjacent Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora. The Mescalero (Faraon) live east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, with the Pecos River as their eastern border. The Jicarilla (Tinde) range over southeastern Colorado, northern New Mexico, and northwest Texas, with the Lipan occupying territory directly to the east of the Jicarilla. The Kiowa Apache (Gataka), long associated with the KIOWA, a Plains people, range over the southern plains of Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The Apache attained their greatest fame as guerrilla fighters defending their mountainous homelands under the Chiricahua leaders Cochise, Geronimo, Mangas Coloradus, Victorio, and Juh. Today the Apache occupy reservations in New Mexico and Arizona, with some Chiricahua, Lipan, and Kiowa Apache in Oklahoma. In 1680 the Apache population was estimated at 5,000; in 1989 it was estimated at about 30,000, of whom most live on reservations. While accommodating to changed economic conditions, the Apache on reservations have maintained much of their traditional social and ritual activities. Their invincible spirit is still shown today by an energy and fire that makes them a strong and hardy people in modern day society.

The Jicarilla are part of the Apache people. The name Jicarilla means "little basket," deriving from the expertise of their women in making baskets of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Within recent times, they make their homes in southeastern Colorado and northern New Mexico, though a few groups went to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Originally they came from northwestern Canada among the migration of Athapascan language tribes, then along the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains. When first met by explorers in the 1540s, they were called the Vaqueros by the Spanish. Though the Spanish established a mission for Jicarillas in 1733 near Taos, New Mexico, it did not succeed. Later, in 1880, the government set aside a reservation for the Jicarillas in the Tierra Amarilla region of New Mexico. Today they live on their reservations in Arizona and in Rio Arriba and Sandoval Counties, New Mexico.

Apaches have always been inherently aware of earth and sky spirits. From their early morning prayers to the Sun-God, through their hours, days, and their entire lives--for them every act has sacred significance.

Other Apache Home Pages

Indians of Texas
Letters on the Texas Missions
Na-Dene

---

Homage to Mildred I. Cleghorn

---

Apache (Lipan) Bibliography
Geronimo's Song
Three Lipan Apache Songs
Treaty of 1838 (Lipan)
Treaty of 1844 - Tehuacana Creek

---

Lipan Apache
Lipan-Karankawas Park

---

Apache Leaders

Cochise
Geronimo

---

Indians Misc. A Pack of Wolves - American Buffalo - American Indian Names - Bear Hunting - Braided Hairstyles - Brown Bear - Buffalo Meat - Canoes - Canoe Building - Chief Crazy Horse - Chief Joseph - Chief Pontiac - Chief Seattle - Corn - Corn Bread - Coyote Facts - Coyote Fur - Crazy Horse - Crazy Horse Monument - Dances with Wolves - Drum Beats - Feathers - Fur Traders - Grizzly Bear - Horse Breeding - Horse Tattoo - How to Braid Hair - Indian Chief - Indian Fashion - Indian Feathers - Indian Food - Indian Food Recipes - Indian Grants - Indians Home - Indian Music - Indian Recipes - Indian Reservations - Indian Reservations 2 - Indian Songs - Indian Tattoos - Indian Women - Indigenous Peoples' Literature - Iroquois Longhouse - Longhouses - Palomino Horses - Planting Zones - Powwow - Timber Wolves - Tribal Dance - Tribal Music - Tribal Tattoos - Tribal Tattoo Designs - Rain Dance - Smoke Signals - Spear Fishing - Spirit Bear - Squaw - Thanksgiving - Welker's Bookmarks - White Buffalo - Wild Horses - Wild Wolves Indian Products American Indian Art - American Indian Jewelry - American Indian Pottery - Arrowheads - Baby Papoose - Beads - Bead Bracelet - Bead Jewelry - Bead Necklace - Bead Supplies - Black Hills Gold Jewelry - Bone Beads - Bow and Arrows - Braids - Braided Rugs - Buffalo Jerky - Buffalo Steak - Handmade Moccasins - Horse Blankets - Indian Art - Indian Artifacts - Indian Bridal Wear - Indian Clothes - Indian Dresses - Indian Drums - Indian Flag - Indian Flute - Indian Headdress - Indian Headress - Indian Jewelry - Indian Jewelry 2 - Indian Masks - Indian Motorcycles - Indian Movies - Indian Rugs - Indian Tepee - Indian Weapons - Indian Wedding Dresses - Native Flutes - Navajo Jewelry - Sterling Silver Jewelry - Teepees - Throwing Knives - Totem Poles - Tribal Decals - Turquoise - Turquoise Jewelry Indian Tribes American Indians - Anasazi Indians - Apache Indians - Apache Indian - Apache Tribes - Aztec Indians - Blackfoot Indians - Blackfoot Indian Tribe - Cherokee Indians - Cherokee Indian - Cherokee Tribes - Cheyenne Indians - Cheyenne Tribe - Choctaw Indians - Chumash Indians - Comanche Indians - Cree Indians - Creek Indians - Crow Indians - Hopi Indians - Iroquois Indians - Lakota Indians - Maya Indians - Mayan Indians - Mohawk Indians - Navajo Indians - Nez Perce Indians - Northwest Coast Indians - Paleo Indians - Pawnee Indians - Pueblo Indians - Plains Indians - Potawatomi Indians - Seminole Indians - Shawnee Indians - Sioux Indians - Sioux Indian Tribe - Sioux Tribe - Southwest Indians - The Mohawk Tribe - Wampanoag Indians Native American Native American Native Americans Native American Ancestry Native American Art Native American Artifacts Native American Artists Native American Art Gallery Native American Beadwork Native American Blankets Native American Books Native American Bracelets Native American Ceramics Native American Clothes Native American Clothing Native American Coins Native American Crafts Native American Culture Native American Dance Native American Dating Native American Demographics Native American DNA Native American Dolls Native American Drawings Native American Drums Native American Earrings Native American Figurines Native American Films Native American Flute Native American Food Native American Games Native American Genealogy Native American Genetics Native American Gifts Native American Gifts 2 Native American Headdress Native American Healing Native American Heritage Month Native American History Native American Indians Native American Indian Jewelry Native American Jewelry Native American Jewelry 2 Native American Law Native American Life Native American Market Native American Medicine Native American Medicine Wheel Native American Moccasins Native American Money Native American Month Native American Music Native American Names Native American Navajo Native American Necklace Native American Paintings Native American Peace Pipe Native American Poetry Native American Portraits Native American Pottery Native American Pow Wow Native American Products Native American Rattles Native American Rights Native American Rings Native American Rugs Native American Sand Painting Native American Sculptures Native American Spears Native American Spirituality Native American Stories Native American Tattoos Native American Tattoos Native American Tomahawks Native American Totem Pole Native American Totem Poles Native American Tribe Native American Tribes Native American Tribes 2 Native American Videos Native American Wolf Native American Words Native American Women Northwest Native American Art

Begin Your journey, learn the Steps to
Your Indian Ancestry
Start Your Family Tree
Find Ancestors, Indian Census Rolls

Indians.org Home

Indigenous Peoples' Literature Index Page

Tribal Directory

"Native Wire"
Today's News about American Indians

---

The Indigenous Peoples' Literature pages were researched and organized by Glenn Welker.