CHAPTER 1 Homelands The Apache moved from northern Canada to their new desert homeland around 1200 CE The Apache settled in the deserts plains and mountains of the Southwest The Apache name comes from a Zuni word meaning the Enemy Early Spanish colonists used this name for all people who spoke the Athabaskan language But each tribe of Athabaskan-speaking people has its own preferred name One of the larger tribes was the Jicarilla They lived in northeastern New Mexico The Mescalero lived in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico The Mimbreños lived in southwestern New Mexico The Chiricahua lived in southern Arizona and northern Mexico The Dilzhe’e Tonto Aravaipa and Coyotero lived in central and eastern Arizona The Lipan lived in Mexico Texas and Oklahoma 4
The Apache homelands included the Salt River Canyon in Arizona 5
CHAPTER 2 Society The main social unit of the Apache was the family group It was important for everyone to work together and share in all things This ensured the health and well-being of all members A band was made up of two to five families with a total of ten to fifty people Each band had a leader who could be a man or a woman By example the leader reminded everyone of their duty to the family and their band’s traditions People could not marry within their own band When a couple got married they lived with the woman’s mother’s band This created family ties between the bands A group of related bands formed a tribe 6
THE APACHE HOMELANDS WASHINGTON MAINE MONTANA NORTH DAKOTA OREGON MINNESOTA IDAHO SOUTH DAKOTA WISCONSIN NEW YORK VERMONT NEW HAMPSHIRE MASSACHUSETTS RHODE ISLAND CONNECTICUT NEW JERSEY WYOMING MICHIGAN IOWA PENNSYLVANIA NEVADA NEBRASKA OHIO UTAH ILLINOIS INDIANA DELAWARE MARYLAND WASHINGTON DC WEST VIRGIN COLORADO KANSAS VIRGINIA CALIFORNIA MISSOURI KENTUCKY ARIZONA Jicarilla NORTH CAROLINA Dilzhe'e TENNESSEE Arava Coyote NEW MEXICO OKLAHOMA Lipan ARKANSAS SOUTH CAROLINA Mimbleños Chiricahua Mescalero MISSISSIPPI ALABAMA GEORGIA TEXAS LOUISIANA Lipan MEXICO FLORIDA Lipan THE APACHE HOMELANDS
