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Apache Tribe Origins: A Story of Migration and Exploration
An overview of the Apache southward migration: how Athabaskan-speaking ancestors moved from the north over generations, and why the timing is still debated.
Origins and Identity
Migration Stories
Southward migration, settlement and the myths that surround Apache beginnings.
Apache Nation: A Brief History of the Tribe's Origins
Where the word Apache comes from, what Ndé, Inde and Tinde mean, and why the names outsiders used differ from what Apache nations call themselves.
Apache Origins: Debunking the Myths and Misconceptions
Four common Apache origin myths checked against the evidence: one tribe, always in Arizona, a settled name origin, and a people who vanished.
Apache Tribe Origins: A Story of Migration and Exploration Across the American West
What the evidence says about the Plains to Southwest route versus a mountain corridor, and which Apache groups scholars think may have used each one.
Apache Tribe Origins: A Story of Migration and Exploration Across the Americas
Apachean peoples did not cross the Americas. They belong to the wider Athabaskan family, with relatives in Alaska, Canada and on the Pacific coast.
Apache Tribe Origins: A Story of Migration and Exploration in the 21st Century
How new research on Apache origins, from genetics and site dating to language modelling and Apache-led scholarship, is refining the migration story.
Apache Tribe Origins: A Story of Migration and Exploration in the Modern Era
Modern Apache relocation was not exploration. It meant federal removals, confinement and later urban relocation, and it shaped Apache communities today.
The Apache People: A Brief History of Their Migration and Settlement
Apache settlement patterns by group: Jicarilla farming villages, Western Apache farm sites, Mescalero mountains, Chiricahua ranges and the Lipan Texas range.
Related topics
More in origins and identity
Apache Origins What scholarship and oral tradition say about Apache beginnings. Migration and Homelands How Apachean peoples came to the Southwest and Plains. Culture and Traditions Shared and distinct ways of life across Apache groups. Heritage Celebrations Powwows, night ceremonies and the many ways Apache communities describe and celebrate their heritage. Early History and Archaeology What evidence says about Apache life before written records. Diversity and Unity The many distinct Apache nations and the ties between them and their neighbours. Apache Identity Belonging, self-names and media images of Apache people. Origins and Belonging How Apache peoples understand origin, identity and belonging, then and now. Southwest Migration The movement of Apachean ancestors into the Southwest and southern Plains. Western Apache Peoples The White Mountain, San Carlos, Cibecue and Tonto Apache and their homelands in what is now Arizona. Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan and Plains Apache The Apache peoples east of the Western Apache, from New Mexico to Texas and Oklahoma. Common Myths and Corrections Widespread mistakes about Apache peoples, and the documented facts.