The Apache: Stereotypes vs. History
The word ‘Apache’ is a name that comes up many times whether you are talking about the Apache Helicopter or web servers like Apache HTTP. In western pop culture, ‘Apache’ has connotations of violence and savagery, stereotypes that are perpetuated through films and other stories and records created from a European perspective. However, as many know, the word Apache refers to the Native American tribe that was native to Arizona and New Mexico before the European arrival and also during the American expansion westward. The Spanish conquistadors were the first to name them the Apache, although this was not their actual name in their native language. In their Native language, they would call themselves the ‘Indé’ which translates to people, but nowadays, they refer to themselves as the Apache for government functions.
The Apache are split into eight different tribes spread out in the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Texas. Some Apache were nomadic and would hunt buffalo. They would also create buffalo skin Teepees in order to move around fast. Despite this, they also traded goods such as crops like Maize with neighboring peoples like the Pueblo. Religion was also a part of Apache life with festivals and celebrations for their pantheon of gods, which represented their surroundings and life. When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, conflict quickly arose between them and the Apache. The Apache, the Spanish, and later Mexicans would sometimes have skirmishes in each other's territories, which would usually end in a treaty being signed between both parties. War continued even after Mexico gained its independence, with the Mexican government even putting a bounty on Apache scalps in 1835. However, despite this conflict, a trade relationship between the Spanish and Apache was present. For example, the Apache got the horses that they are famous for originally from trade with Europeans. Another important thing they received from the Europeans was guns which were used in hunting game as well as defending themselves later from colonists.
The Apache were able to gain more numbers from captured neighboring peoples like the Pueblo. During the Mexican-American war, the Apache aided the Americans and after the American victory in the war, an uneasy treaty was signed between the Americans and the Apache. Despite this tentative peace, in 1875, the American Army moved in to forcefully remove the Apache from their land and put them onto reservations. This forced removal resulted in many Apache being forced to move across difficult terrain and for a long amount of time, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Many Apache never accepted this, and many ‘breakouts’ would occur, in which Apache would break out of their reservation to return to their original nomadic lifestyle. This led to the Geronimo campaign, named as such because it was led by the Apache leader Geronimo, in which United States and Mexican armies would attempt to hunt down Geronimo and his breakout Apache. This would end in the United States army forcing Geronimo to surrender at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona on September 4, 1886. After the war, many Apache children were forcefully taken from their families to live with white American families in an assimilation program. The Apache still live today on reservations primarily in modern day Arizona and New Mexico.
Sources:
https://mescaleroapachetribe.com/our-culture/
