Hierarchy is the wrong starting point
“Complex hierarchy” is a phrase that suggests ranks, classes and a chain of command. That is not how most ethnographic sources describe the Apache peoples before the reservation era. Apache societies are generally characterized as relatively egalitarian, meaning that there were no hereditary social classes or permanent offices with power over others. Differences existed, in age, skill, reputation, family connections and gender, and some people had far more influence than others. But those differences were not formal ranks. The structure was complex because of its kinship ties, and not because of layers of authority.
The family as foundation
The basic unit was the extended family: parents, children, married daughters and their husbands and children, and other relatives. Households were usually clustered together. Kinship terms extended widely, so that many people in a camp were addressed and treated as relatives, with the duties that implied. How kinship worked is the subject of our articles on the Apache extended family and the Apache clan system, so only the outline is given here.
Clans among the Western Apache
The Western Apache (including groups such as the White Mountain, San Carlos, Cibecue and Tonto peoples) are described as having matrilineal clans. A child belonged to the mother’s clan, and clans were often grouped into larger sets of related clans. Clan ties connected people living in different local groups and created expectations of help and hospitality. Marriage within one’s own clan was generally forbidden. The Western Apache clans are the best-documented example, but other Apache peoples organized their kin groups in somewhat different ways, and Western Apache details should not be assumed for the Chiricahua, Mescalero or Jicarilla.
Local groups and bands
Several extended families camping and working together formed a local group, which is commonly treated as the main political and economic unit. Groups of local groups formed larger divisions, sometimes called bands, among the Chiricahua and Mescalero in particular, though membership shifted and loyalty to a larger unit was weaker than to kin and the local group. The term is an outsider’s convenience, and sources vary in how strictly they apply it. The Apache tribes and clans article takes up how these units are named.
Authority without rank
A headman, as described in the literature, led by respect. He advised, represented the group to outsiders and helped settle disputes, but rarely issued orders. His following could shrink if people lost confidence. No one stood above headmen to command them, though in a crisis several might cooperate under a respected war leader. The idea of a “head chief” over all Apache is largely a misunderstanding, partly caused by outsiders who sought one person to sign treaties with; there was no such office.
Elders held respect because of experience and knowledge. Senior women often carried influence within households and kin groups, particularly in matrilocal communities. Religious specialists, such as people with ceremonial knowledge, were consulted for their skill, but that did not turn into political rank.
Wealth, status and sharing
Apache communities were mobile and lived with limited material accumulation, and generosity was valued over display. Horses became important wealth in some groups during the Spanish colonial and later periods, and a person with more could gain standing by giving. Sharing norms and mutual aid worked to even out differences within the camp.
How outsiders imposed hierarchy
Spanish, Mexican and American officials often tried to find “chiefs” who could bind a whole people. Later, federal agents appointed leaders, and the reservation system created formal positions that had no traditional equivalent. These structures were new and sometimes cut across the older kin-based order. Our article on traditional leadership discusses the change.
Today
Modern Apache nations have written constitutions, councils and elected officials, which is a formal structure of a different kind from the pre-reservation kin order. Family and clan relations still matter in many communities, but how, and how much, varies. Readers should rely on the nations’ own websites for how each is organized now.