Many economies, not one
Apache nations never shared a single economy, so their economic histories cannot be told as one line. The Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan and Plains Apache each lived in different environments, from desert and mountain country to the edge of the plains, and each came out of the reservation era with different resources. This article follows the broad shifts in livelihood, and notes where nations diverged.
The seasonal round
Before reservations, subsistence was organised around movement through the year. The details varied by group and place. Western Apache families often combined gathering and hunting with small-scale planting, moving between farming sites and higher or lower country as foods ripened. The Western Apache seasonal round is among the better described examples in the sources. Mescalero and Chiricahua groups relied heavily on wild plants, with mescal roasting a notable example, along with hunting. Groups on the eastern side, such as the Jicarilla and the Plains Apache, made more use of bison hunting and trade.
Exchange was part of the economy. Apache groups traded with Pueblo and other neighbours, and the arrival of horses and livestock opened new possibilities. In some periods and for some groups, raiding was also an economic activity, but it was one element among several, and describing Apache economies as raiding alone distorts the record.
Rations and the first reservation economies
When groups were confined to reservations, the old round became difficult or impossible. Movement was restricted, hunting grounds were lost to settlers and miners, and the government issued rations. Rations were often late, insufficient or of poor quality, and dependence on them created hardship and reshaped daily life.
In response, many families took up farming and, where the land allowed, livestock. Western Apache communities, with older farming traditions, were able to build on existing knowledge of irrigation and planting. Others had to start from less favourable conditions. Some men worked for the army or on government projects, and some families earned money by selling hay, wood, or crafts to nearby settlements.
Allotment and land pressure
Federal policy often worked against economic security. The Dawes Act allotment policy, intended to divide communal land into private parcels, affected many Native nations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, though its application to Apache reservations varied. More generally, mining, ranching and railroad interests pressed on reservation boundaries, and land loss reduced the resources available to communities.
Cattle
Cattle became one of the most important reservation industries in the early twentieth century. Several Western Apache communities, in particular, developed cattle herds and associations, and the work fit well with pastoral skills and knowledge of the range. Cattle enterprises also created new forms of cooperation and sometimes friction, as families and the nation negotiated grazing rights. Drought, overgrazing concerns, and market fluctuations have affected the industry at various times, and the importance of cattle today differs between nations.
Timber, recreation and tourism
Where there were forests, as on the White Mountain Apache lands in the Arizona mountains, timber became a major source of employment and revenue through tribal management. In the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico, the Mescalero developed a mountain recreation business. Hunting and fishing opportunities, scenery and cultural attractions have drawn visitors to several reservations. Tourism can bring income and jobs, but it also raises questions about privacy and respect, especially regarding sacred places and ceremonies that are not open to the public.
Minerals, energy and other resources
Resources below the ground have been significant for some nations and not for others. The Jicarilla reservation in northern New Mexico, for example, has been associated with oil and gas development. Such resources can generate revenue, but they also depend on markets and carry environmental trade-offs, and decisions about them have been matters of debate within communities.
Tribal enterprise and self-determination
From the late twentieth century, tribal governments took on more control of their economies. The Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975 allowed nations to administer programs that had been run by federal agencies, and this contributed to the growth of tribal businesses. These have included gaming and hospitality operations, retail, construction and natural-resource enterprises. The Apache tribal business ventures differ widely in scale and purpose, and some nations have much more developed enterprises than others.
Many analyses of reservation economies note persistent challenges: remote locations, limited capital, complicated land status and gaps in infrastructure. Apache reservation economies also provide public services, and revenue is often directed to schools, health programs, housing and cultural activities, though how funds are used is each government’s own decision.
Differences and continuities
Looking across the nations, several differences stand out. The Western Apache reservations had farming and timber. The Mescalero combined mountain recreation with other ventures. The Jicarilla drew on energy resources and other holdings. The Fort Sill Apache Tribe in Oklahoma is a small nation with a different land base and set of opportunities, and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, the Plains Apache, lives in a region shared with other nations.
At the same time, some threads continue. Many families still gather wild foods, hunt and share them as part of community life, and knowledge of land and plants has been adapted rather than abandoned. Economic change has affected the old rounds but has not ended them.
For up-to-date information about any nation’s enterprises, employment and services, the nation’s own official website is the best source. This site gives general history only and offers no financial or business advice.