The plain fact
Apache peoples are alive today. They live on reservations and in towns and cities, in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and elsewhere, and in northern Mexico there are people of Apache descent as well. Several Apache nations are federally recognized, each with its own government, and others are communities of descendants whose status and recognition differ. Calling the Apache a vanished people, or writing about them only in the past tense, is simply inaccurate.
This page stays general on purpose. Details such as governments, leaders, programs and enterprises change, and the nations’ own official websites are the right place to look for current information.
Where the myth came from
The idea that Native peoples were fading away was widely repeated in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Writers, photographers and government officials often described Native nations as doomed to disappear, sometimes sincerely and sometimes as a way of justifying policy. For the Apache, one event gave the story a convenient ending: the surrender of Geronimo’s band in 1886, which is commonly used to mark the end of the Apache Wars.
That date is real, and it marked the end of organized armed resistance in the Southwest. But it was not the end of the people. The aftermath of 1886 included the removal and imprisonment of the Chiricahua, who were held as prisoners of war for more than two decades, but also the continued lives of Western Apache, Mescalero, Jicarilla and other communities who were never part of that surrender.
What happened after 1886
Reading the history forward shows continuity. Some key points, stated generally:
- The Chiricahua prisoners of war were held at several military sites in the Southeast and then at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and in 1913 were given a choice about where to go. Some returned to New Mexico and joined the Mescalero community, and others remained in Oklahoma. The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is made up of descendants of those who stayed.
- Western Apache communities continued on reservations in Arizona, living through cattle raising, wage work, farming, schooling and changing community life.
- Apache people served in the U.S. military in the twentieth century, including in the World Wars, a service that is part of the record of Apache veterans.
- In the later twentieth century, federal policy shifted toward greater tribal control, and Apache nations took on a larger role in managing their own affairs, schools and resources.
None of this is complete, and each nation has its own history that deserves its own telling.
Languages and culture still in use
Apache languages are still spoken, although the number of speakers has fallen in many communities and most are considered endangered or in need of support. Language classes, recordings and community programs exist in a number of places. The Apache language still spoken today is not a museum piece, but also not secure, and communities describe the work of passing it on as ongoing.
Traditional ceremonies, crafts such as basketry and beadwork, and ways of caring for land also continue, in forms that communities decide for themselves. Some of this is public, and some is private. Respect means accepting that not everything is meant to be shared with outsiders, and that a ceremony is not a performance for visitors unless a community says so.
Present tense and why it matters
Language shapes assumption. Textbooks and museum labels that say “the Apache lived” or “the Apache were” teach readers, often without intending to, that the story is over. Children from Apache nations sometimes meet classmates who are surprised they exist. Consistent present-tense references, such as “Apache nations govern” and “Apache people live,” are a simple way to correct this.
The same thing applies to images. A photograph of a warrior from the 1880s is a record of a particular person at a particular time, not a portrait of what Apache people are now. Picture libraries and films that offer only such images keep the myth alive, which is one reason why Westerns and the Apache image deserve scrutiny.
Diversity of communities today
There is no single modern Apache experience. The San Carlos Apache and White Mountain Apache nations in Arizona, the Mescalero and Jicarilla nations in New Mexico, the Fort Sill Apache and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, the Tonto Apache, the Yavapai-Apache Nation and others each have distinct histories, economies and priorities. Lipan Apache descendants, many in Texas, have their own history and status questions. Readers who want a sense of Apache communities today should look at what each community says about itself.
How to write and speak about it
A few simple habits help: use present tense for living nations, name the specific nation when you know it, avoid words like “extinct,” “vanishing” or “lost,” and treat historical photographs as history. Respect for communities includes respecting how they describe themselves, in language and in decisions about what to share.