A family of nations
The phrase “the Apache Nation” is common, but it is more accurate to speak of the Apache peoples or Apache nations. Several distinct nations share a related ancestry and languages, and each has its own government, history and name. Some outsiders have used “Apache” as if it described one tribe, but that is a simplification. This overview names the main groups and says briefly where they are today. It is a starting point and does not speak for any nation.
The main groups
Scholars and the nations themselves commonly describe the following. Subdivisions and names vary between sources.
Western Apache. This is a cluster of related groups in what is now Arizona, including the White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, Tonto Apache and Cibecue groups. Today, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and White Mountain Apache Tribe each have their own reservation, and there are also Tonto Apache communities and the Yavapai-Apache Nation, which shares a community with Yavapai people. Western Apache groups are described in the ethnographic record as having matrilineal clans and farming along with gathering and hunting. The Western Apache peoples are covered in more detail in their own cluster.
Chiricahua. The Chiricahua homelands lay in southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and northern Mexico, and are usually described as including several local bands. After the wars of the nineteenth century, Chiricahua people were held as prisoners of war from 1886 to 1913. Descendants today are mostly part of the Fort Sill Apache Tribe in Oklahoma and the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico.
Mescalero. The Mescalero Apache are based in south-central New Mexico, in and around the Sacramento Mountains. The Mescalero Apache people are known today through the Mescalero Apache Tribe, whose reservation also includes people of other Apache origin.
Jicarilla. The Jicarilla Apache Nation is in northern New Mexico, where its ancestors lived across mountain and plains country. The Jicarilla Apache people have their own reservation and government.
Lipan. The Lipan Apache historically ranged across parts of Texas and northern Mexico. Today Lipan descendants live in several communities, and some are enrolled in other Apache nations. Their situation differs from that of the groups above, and the details are covered in the article on Lipan Apache history.
Plains Apache. Also known historically as the Kiowa Apache, the Plains Apache people are associated with the southern Plains and today with southwestern Oklahoma, as the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. The old name reflects a long association with the Kiowa and does not mean they were a Kiowa group.
Where the nations are today
Taken together, the Apache nations are present in Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma, with descendants in Texas, northern Mexico and many other places. A good number of people live off reservations in cities. Apache people are citizens of living nations, with governments, schools, businesses and cultural programs. They should not be described as a vanished or historical people.
A shared language family
The Apache languages belong to the Southern Athabaskan language family, which is part of the wider Athabaskan family that also includes languages spoken in Alaska and western Canada. The Navajo language belongs to the same branch, and the Navajo Nation is a separate nation. Apache languages are not all alike. The Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan and Plains Apache languages are related varieties, with differences that are discussed in the articles on Apache dialects and Apache languages and dialects. Language programs in many communities work to keep these languages in use.
Where they came from
Scholars generally think that the ancestors of the Apache peoples moved south from the north, though when and how is debated, and the Apache nations have their own accounts of their origins. The article on Apachean arrival in the Southwest discusses what is known, and the broader subject of identity and origins is taken up in this cluster’s other articles.
A note on names
Many nations also have their own names for themselves, often a word meaning something like “the people,” and the name “Apache” itself came largely from outside. Using the specific name of a nation, such as Mescalero or White Mountain, is generally the better choice where it is known.
Where to learn more
The best sources are the nations’ own official websites, tribal museums and cultural centers, and works by Apache authors. Information changes, and anything about current governments or programs should be checked with the nation concerned.