Did Apache peoples farm?
A common assumption is that Apache peoples were only hunters and gatherers. The record is more varied. Some groups planted crops regularly, some planted occasionally, and some relied far more on wild foods and game. Because “Apache” covers several distinct nations, the answer depends on which one is meant.
The Western Apache, whose groups include the White Mountain, San Carlos, Cibecue, Northern Tonto and Southern Tonto, are the best-documented Apache farmers. The Jicarilla in northern New Mexico also planted fields, and historical sources describe their contact with Pueblo farming communities. Other groups, including the Lipan, the Mescalero and the Chiricahua, are described in historical sources as doing some planting in certain places and periods, while placing more weight on gathering, hunting and trade. The Plains Apache, historically focused on bison hunting on the Plains, are not generally described as farmers in early accounts. Sources differ on the details for several groups, so these statements are best read as a general guide.
The crops
The crops most often named for Apache farmers are the staples of Southwestern agriculture: corn (maize), beans and squash. Western Apache sources also mention other plants grown in small quantities, and many families continued to depend on wild plants alongside what they planted. Corn held a special place and appears in the food and, for some communities, the ceremonial life of the people; the topic of Apache corn and farming in ceremony is a subject for its own article, and ceremonial details are not shared publicly here.
Planted food was usually one part of a mixed diet rather than the whole of it. Stored corn could help a family through winter, while wild foods such as agave, acorns and piñon nuts, and the meat of deer and other game, filled the rest of the year.
Farming within a seasonal round
For the Western Apache, planting is generally described as fitting into a mobile yearly cycle. Families planted small fields in spring in locations with reliable moisture, then left to gather wild foods and hunt during the growing season, and returned to tend and harvest the crop later. Some families lived near fields for part of the year and in other camps for the rest. This is different from the settled, village-based farming of the Pueblo peoples, though the Jicarilla and other groups had contact and exchange with Pueblo communities, and the history of Jicarilla and Pueblo trade shows how food, hides and other goods moved between neighbours.
Fields were typically small and located near water, such as along streams or in valley bottoms. The methods used to bring water to them are the subject of the companion article on Western Apache irrigation, so they are not repeated here.
Tools and storage
Farming tools were simple and made from local materials. Digging sticks of hardwood were used to break ground and plant, and grinding stones were used to turn dried corn into meal. Harvested corn could be dried and kept in baskets or in storage pits and caches. Families who spent months away from their fields needed ways to keep food safe from animals and weather, and the practice of caching supplies in remote locations is described in several accounts. For more on equipment, see the article on Apache tools.
Change over time
During the nineteenth century, warfare, military campaigns and the imposition of the reservation system disrupted farming for many groups. Fields were sometimes destroyed or abandoned, and communities were moved or confined. On reservations, the federal government encouraged farming and later ranching, with mixed results; land quality, water supply and government policy all affected outcomes. Some families kept farming and gardening through these years, and their practical knowledge was passed on.
Today, agriculture on Apache lands takes several forms, including gardens, small farms, ranching and community food projects. The details change, and readers who want current information should check the official websites of the individual nations. Those interested in the wider food picture can read about Apache foodways more generally.