About the doubled title
The repeated word in the title is an editing slip, and the subject is Geronimo, a Bedonkohe Chiricahua medicine man and war leader whose 1886 surrender is covered in the biography on this site. This article is about what came afterward: his years at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the long afterlife of his name.
A prisoner at Fort Sill
After the surrender, Geronimo was held in Florida and Alabama, and in 1894 he and other Chiricahua prisoners of war were moved to Fort Sill. Geronimo remained a prisoner of the army and was not free to leave the post area. The Chiricahua prisoners of war lived in villages near the fort, with soldiers keeping watch, and many farmed and raised cattle.
Geronimo lived in this arrangement until his death. Accounts say he grew melons and other crops, and sold crafts, photographs and signed souvenirs. Visitors came to see him, and some officers allowed him to travel under guard to fairs and expositions, including the 1904 world’s fair in St. Louis, where he was on display. He also took part in the 1905 inaugural parade of President Theodore Roosevelt. Historians often point out the strangeness of this: a man held as a prisoner for his resistance was also treated as an attraction.
Telling his own story
In 1906, with permission from authorities, Geronimo dictated an account of his life to S. M. Barrett, with Asa Daklugie, a younger Chiricahua man, interpreting. The book is a valuable source and also an uneasy one, as it was shaped by an editor and by the conditions of captivity. He reportedly asked in it to be allowed to return to his homeland, a request that was never granted.
Death and burial
Geronimo died at Fort Sill in February 1909, after a fall and exposure to cold, with pneumonia reported as the cause. He was buried in the Apache prisoners’ cemetery at Fort Sill, and his grave is still visited. The Chiricahua were not released until 1913. By then some chose to settle in Oklahoma, and others went to the Mescalero reservation in New Mexico, as covered in the account of the 1913 Chiricahua release.
A persistent story claims his remains were disturbed by students decades later. There is no firm proof of it, and descendants have pursued legal attempts to settle the matter. It should be treated as an unresolved claim and not as established fact.
How his image traveled
After his death, Geronimo’s name became a widely used symbol. Several things stand out:
- The cry “Geronimo!” shouted by jumpers is often traced to US Army paratrooper training around 1940. Many Apache people find the casual use of a prisoner’s name for a stunt hurtful.
- Several films have used his name as a title, often prioritizing action over accuracy. The wider pattern is discussed in the account of Apache in Hollywood film.
- Brands, products and sports teams have borrowed his name, the larger issue behind Apache names as mascots.
- In 2011 the code name “Geronimo” was reportedly used during the operation against Osama bin Laden. Geronimo’s descendants publicly objected, arguing that it linked a Native leader with a terrorist.
Why it matters
When a person’s name is used as shorthand for “fierce” or “daring”, the person disappears, and so do the families still living with the consequences. The Chiricahua experience of imprisonment lasted twenty-seven years, from 1886 to 1913, and is part of the family histories of today’s Fort Sill Apache Tribe and many Mescalero families. Remembering Geronimo carefully means keeping hold of the facts: he was a leader, a husband and father who lost his family, and a prisoner who died far from home.
Looking for better sources
Readers who want to learn more are best served by Apache-authored histories and the official sources of the nations that descend from the Chiricahua. They should also approach sensational web content with caution; even long-established legends about Geronimo contain errors, such as the idea that he was a chief, which fits the broader Geronimo chief misconception.