Three Ways of Getting Food
Traditional Apache subsistence combined gathering, hunting and, for some groups, farming. No nation relied on only one of these, and the balance among them shifted with the environment, the season and the period of history. This article looks at the three in turn and then at how they combined in different regions. Timing of movement and the cooking of specific foods are left aside here.
Gathering
Gathering wild plants was a basic part of the economy for nearly every Apache group, and the knowledge it required was extensive. Commonly cited foods in the Southwest include:
- Agave, or mescal, whose heart was cooked slowly in pits, a process described under mescal roasting and especially associated with the Mescalero and Chiricahua, though other groups used it too.
- Acorns, piñon nuts and juniper berries in woodland and upland areas, with the harvest varying from year to year.
- Mesquite beans, which grow in lower and southern country, and the fruit of various cacti, including prickly pear and, where it grows, saguaro. Saguaro belongs more to the Sonoran Desert edge than to the colder uplands.
- Seeds, greens, roots and berries, according to the area.
Many plants also supplied materials, and yucca uses ranged from fibre to soap, while various woods and grasses for baskets and cradleboards. Apache plant uses included medicine as well, though some plant knowledge is private to families and healers. The art of knowing where, when and how to gather safely was part of children’s education, and women are generally described as the main gatherers, though others took part.
Hunting
Hunting provided meat, hides and materials for tools. In mountain and desert country, deer were a central game animal, along with smaller animals such as rabbits. On the Plains edge and the southern Plains, bison became important for the Plains Apache, Lipan, Jicarilla and others, and for the Mescalero on hunting trips. The horse transformed this hunting where it was available, and Apache hunting, like other aspects of life, changed after its introduction.
Hunting was typically carried out by men, often with preparation and observances that are not described here. The meat was shared according to kinship obligations, and hides went to household work. People are described as using most parts of the animals they took. Certain animals and foods were avoided or treated with special care in some groups, but sources differ and it is not safe to generalise.
Farming
Farming is most strongly associated with the Western Apache, who grew corn, beans and squash in river valleys and canyons, often in small plots near streams, and who in some places irrigated with ditches. The Jicarilla, especially those described as Olleros, are also reported to have farmed, and the historical record includes farming among some Chiricahua and Mescalero people as well, though less prominently. Farming among Apache groups is sometimes misunderstood, because the popular image of Apache life centres on hunting and raiding. In fact, crops contributed important food in several nations and shaped where families spent parts of the year.
Farmers usually did not stay all year at their fields. They planted, moved to other camps to gather and hunt, and returned for harvest. Stored crops supported them through winter.
Trade
Trade filled gaps. Apache peoples exchanged hides, meat and other goods with farming neighbours such as the Pueblos for corn, cloth and pottery, and later with Spanish, Mexican and American settlements for manufactured items. Apache trade networks history differed by region and period, and they could be disrupted by war and by changing policies on both sides.
How Environment Shaped Each People
| Region | Typical emphasis in the sources |
|---|---|
| Mountains and valleys of eastern Arizona (Western Apache) | Farming, with gathering of agave, acorns and cactus fruit, and deer hunting |
| Mountain ranges and basins of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and northern Mexico (Chiricahua) | Gathering, especially agave and mesquite, and hunting |
| Mountains of southern New Mexico (Mescalero) | Mescal, other plant foods and hunting, with Plains trips |
| Northern New Mexico (Jicarilla) | Mix of bison hunting, mountain gathering and hunting, and some farming |
| Southern Plains (Lipan and Plains Apache) | Bison hunting, horse use, trade |
This table is a simplification. It reflects broad emphasis, and there were exceptions by band and period.
Knowledge as the Real Resource
What made these systems work was not any single food but knowledge: of when plants ripen, where water holds in dry years, how to prepare foods that would otherwise be hard to eat or unsafe, and how to store them. This knowledge was passed down through families, and drought and changing climate raise new questions for it today. Many Apache communities carry out gardens, seed projects and cultural education to keep it alive, and the nations’ own websites and cultural programmes are the best place to learn what is currently offered.