Apache

“Apache: American Indians of the southwest U.S. Culturally, the Apache are divided into Eastern Apache, which include the Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua, and Lipan, and Western Apache, which include the Cibecue. The Eastern Apaches were predominantly hunting and gathering societies, while their Western counterparts relied more on farming. Their ancestors had come down from the north to settle the Plains, but with the introduction of the horse they were pressed south and west by the Comanche and the Ute. They attempted to be friends with the Spanish, the Mexicans, and later the Americans. In 1861, however, there began a quarter-century confrontation between U.S. military forces and the Apache and Navajo. The Apache wars were among the fiercest fought on the frontier. The last ended in 1886 with the surrender of Geronimo. The Chiricahua Apache were evacuated from the West and held successively in Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma. The Apache today total about 11,000 and live largely on or near reservations in Arizona and New Mexico.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.