Separate nations, shared concerns
Today there is no single Apache government. The Apache peoples are a group of separately governed nations, each with its own constitution or governing documents, elected or otherwise selected leadership, laws and priorities. This is a feature of their sovereignty, not a failure of unity. What exists is a set of voluntary relationships among nations that have a shared linguistic ancestry and, in many cases, family ties.
This article describes the kinds of cooperation that are generally known, in broad terms. It does not list specific current programs, officials or events, which change often. Each nation’s own website is the right place to check current information.
Why sovereignty comes first
A tribal nation that is federally recognized has a government-to-government relationship with the United States and exercises authority over its own affairs, which is the core of Apache tribal sovereignty. Any cooperation among nations therefore takes place between equals. One Apache nation cannot speak for another, and an agreement between two nations binds only those two. The same is true of cooperation with non-Apache nations, including neighbors such as the Yavapai and the Navajo.
The federal policies that shaped this arrangement include the Indian Reorganization Act, which encouraged the adoption of written tribal constitutions in the 1930s, and later laws such as the Indian Self-Determination Act, which expanded tribal control of programs.
Family ties that cross reservation lines
Many of the strongest links among Apache peoples are personal. Families have members in several communities because of marriage, the consolidation of reservations, the Chiricahua release of 1913 and the later movement of people to cities and jobs. A person may have relatives at San Carlos, Mescalero and in Oklahoma, for example. These ties support visits, shared occasions and mutual help, even when no formal agreement exists.
Language
Several Apache languages are endangered to varying degrees, and communities have taken up efforts to teach and document them. Many programs are run by each nation on its own, and nations sometimes share materials, ideas and expertise because their languages are related. The Southern Athabaskan language family connects the Apache languages with Navajo, and speakers and teachers in different communities sometimes find that the similarities are a help in learning from one another. This work is usually called Apache language revitalization.
It is important not to overstate this. The languages are distinct, and a speaker of one is not automatically understood by a speaker of another. Cooperation is mainly in the form of shared methods and mutual encouragement.
Repatriation of ancestors and objects
Another area of shared effort is the return of ancestors, funerary items and cultural objects held by museums and agencies. Federal law, notably the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, gives tribes a process for making claims. Nations with connected histories may consult or jointly submit claims when ancestors or items cannot be traced to just one community. Examples might involve the Chiricahua, whose descendants belong to more than one nation today. The general subject is discussed in NAGPRA Apache repatriation.
Because this is a sensitive area, details about specific cases and the cultural handling of ancestors are the business of the nations concerned and are generally not shared in public.
Gatherings
Apache communities host gatherings that bring people together, such as public celebrations, rodeos, fairs and powwows, and some are attended by visitors from other nations. Some commemorations also bring together descendants of people who shared a historical experience, such as the Chiricahua prisoner of war era. The Apache powwow is one familiar public form.
Many ceremonies are private and are for community members only, and visitors should not expect access to them. Where events are open to the public, they usually have their own rules about behavior, photography and recording, which visitors should follow.
Shared advocacy and organizations
Native nations sometimes cooperate through regional or national inter-tribal organizations on matters such as health care, education, water and land. Apache nations may participate in these alongside other tribes. On water and land issues in particular, a nation’s interests can differ from its neighbors’, and there are matters on which Apache nations do not agree with each other, as any set of governments sometimes will.
Differences remain
Unity here does not mean sameness. The nations differ in size, location, economy, history and approach to questions such as enrollment, language teaching and development. The long history of Apache reservation consolidation left both bonds and tensions, and the modern nations continue to make their own choices. Different Apache communities have, for example, different relationships with their state governments and neighbors.
Reading about this topic
Readers who want to follow current developments should use each nation’s own sites and communications, since news, programs and leadership change. Outside summaries, including this one, are no substitute for what a nation says about itself. The larger story, from the wars of the 1800s to the present, is that Apache peoples have repeatedly found ways to cooperate when it served shared interests, while maintaining their own governance.