Apache Nations Today
Stewardship, ecological knowledge and environmental justice.
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How Apache nations have cared for land, water and resources, from detailed traditional knowledge to modern forestry, wildlife and water work and sacred place protection.
How Apache groups moved through the year between farming, gathering and hunting, using different elevations and environments across the Southwest and southern Plains.
What documented sources, from Spanish records to early ethnographies and oral traditions, show about early Apache ecological knowledge, and where those sources fall short.
Why the word symbiotic oversimplifies Apache relationships with land, and what documented land-use knowledge shows for Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero and Jicarilla groups.
How practical ecological knowledge, place names and place-based stories tie Apache communities to their homelands, with an emphasis on Western Apache sources.
How Apache nations contribute to conservation in the Southwest through tribal forestry, wildlife, fisheries and water programs, and why details are best checked with each nation.
A historical account of Apache disputes over land, water and sacred places, from reservation boundary changes and dams to Mount Graham and the Oak Flat controversy.
An overview of ongoing Apache concerns about mining, water, contamination, waste proposals and climate on Apache lands, with care about what is settled and what is still disputed.
Traditional Apache environmental practices as documented for specific groups: seasonal movement, careful harvesting, use of plant materials, hunting and place-based teaching.
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