Apache Indians
Where did the Apache Indians come from?
Before the Spanish colonization, the Apache people extended their domain over Arizona, Southern Colorado, and Southwest Texas.
However, their ancestors did not originate in the South west but came from Western Canada way back.
When the horse was introduced by the Spanish, they chose to adopt a plains way of life.
Some of the people did stay living a sedimentary way of life farming the land along the side of the Dismal river in what is now Kansas.
Other tribes with horses then began to harris the Apache with gorilla style attacks.
This led to them split into smaller groups. Some of them retreated to the South West.
Once the Apache had settled in the Southwest, they developed a flexible subsistence way of life including hunting and gathering foods and plants. Some of them were influenced by other plains Indian tribes. This led them to start hunting buffalo out on the southern Plains.
The Apache were known as one of the most war like and aggressive people in the U.S.
They did also trade with other tribes in the south west like the Navajo and Pueblo and it was these tribes that influenced the farming and agricultural way of life to them.
They were very confident in their military capabilities and began to make raids against Spanish Mexican missionaries.
Although to begin with they did try to make friends with the Spanish Mexican and Americans.
Eventually though they began to become more aggressive to wards the Mexicans and American so in 1858 they did manage to make a peace treaty that lasted until1861 when Cochise went on the war path that lasted 25years.
The Apache did not like any ideas of being enclosed in any sort of reservation and so they became notorious for the gorilla style raids and warfare. They able to use their knowledge of the terrain and mountains to retreat to and hide from the U.S Army.
However, they were no match for the superior weaponry and tactics of the Americans and so they eventually had to surrender to the U.S. Army.
They were not the first to surrender in 1865 the Navajo were settled on to reservations followed by the Apache in 1871-73.
Not all Apache followed suit a large proportion of warriors refused to surrender their nomadic way of life. So intermittent raids continued to be led by such leaders as Geronimo and Victorio.
The last of the Apache wars ended in 1886with Geronimo and a few followers surrendering to the U.S. Army.
Some of the Apache bands loke the Chiricahua band were moved to the West and held prisoners of war in such places as Florida, Fort Sill Oklahoma for 27years.
In in 1913they were given a choice of taking allotments of land in Oklahoma or moving to New Mexico on the Mescalero reservation.
One Third chose to remain in Oklahoma and Two thirds chose to re settle in back in New Mexico.
There are around 100,000 descendants today living in the U.S.
Famous Apache Indians include people like Chief Cochise, Mangas Coloradas, Victorio, and the most famous of all the Apache Indians Geronimo who has now worldwide fame.
Geronimo was born in 1829 and died in 1929 at Fort Sill Oklahoma.