One word, many landscapes
“Apache” names a family of related peoples, not a single community with a single set of habits. The Western Apache groups, the Chiricahua, the Mescalero, the Jicarilla, the Lipan and the Plains Apache lived in very different country, from high conifer forest and mountain valleys to low desert and open grassland. The plants available to them differed accordingly, and so did the ways they were used.
This article is a general overview of plants that are widely documented in published sources on Apache food and material culture. It is deliberately limited to public knowledge. Apache nations are living communities, and much plant knowledge, especially about healing, is held within families and is not meant for outsiders. That boundary is discussed further below.
Plants as food
Wild plant foods were gathered alongside hunting and, for some groups, farming. The broader picture of Apache foodways is covered elsewhere on this site; the plants most often named in the literature include:
- Agave (mescal). The heart, or crown, of the plant was roasted in pits and eaten or dried. It was especially important to the Mescalero and Chiricahua, and the Mescalero name is generally understood to refer to this food.
- Acorns. Several oak species produce acorns that were ground into meal, with some needing leaching to remove bitterness.
- Piñon nuts. Gathered in autumn in years when the trees produced a good crop.
- Juniper berries. Eaten and used in some preparations.
- Mesquite pods. Ground into sweet meal in the lower country of the south.
- Cactus fruits. Prickly pear fruit and, in the Sonoran Desert margins, saguaro fruit.
- Yucca fruit. The fleshy fruit of some yucca species was eaten fresh or dried.
- Greens, seeds and berries. A wide range of wild greens, grass seeds, and berries such as those of sumac and wild fruits were collected when they were in season.
Several of these have their own articles on this site, including the gathering of nuts and berries, mescal roasting, mesquite beans, cactus fruit harvest and yucca uses.
Farming and the garden
Not every group depended on the same mix. Some Western Apache groups farmed along streams, planting corn, beans and squash, and sources describe small irrigation works. Apache farming among the Jicarilla and some other groups is also documented, while groups that moved over large territories relied more heavily on gathering and hunting. Scholars often caution that farming and gathering were not opposites: many communities combined them over a year, moving between planting areas and wild-food areas.
Fiber, cordage and building materials
Plants supplied much of what people needed apart from food.
- Yucca leaves were split into fibers for cordage, and the roots were used to make a lather for washing.
- Sumac, willow and other flexible stems went into baskets, burden baskets and cradleboard parts. Among the Apache basket makers described in museum and ethnographic literature, the choice of materials varied by region and by what grew nearby.
- Wood and brush were used for the frames of dwellings. The wickiup camps of the Western Apache and other groups used pole frames covered with brush, grass or other materials.
- Agave fibers could be turned into cord, and agave stalks served as a source of wood.
- Cottonwood, juniper and other woods were used for fuel, tool handles and household items.
Medicinal and ceremonial plants
Published sources record that many plants were used in healing, and a reader will find them mentioned under headings such as Apache medicinal plants. Those sources vary in quality, and many were written by outsiders in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This article does not list remedies or preparations. Plant medicine in Apache communities was and is often tied to knowledge, responsibility and in some cases ceremony, and nothing here should be read as a guide to treating illness. Anyone with a health concern should consult a qualified health professional.
Why plant use varied
Three things shaped what people gathered.
Elevation and rainfall. Mountain and plateau areas such as the Mogollon Rim country offered piñon, juniper and oak, while lower elevations offered mesquite, agave and cactus. Moving between zones through the year was a common pattern, often described in terms of a Western Apache seasonal round.
Timing. Many foods were available only briefly. Cactus fruit, mesquite pods, acorns and piñon nuts each had their own season, so gathering was planned around when plants ripened.
Variation between years. Piñon crops, acorn crops and the abundance of wild greens could differ greatly from one year to the next, depending on weather. This is one reason a flexible approach to many foods mattered.
Knowledge, land and change
Gathering required detailed understanding of where plants grew, when they were ready, and how to harvest them without harming the stand. This is part of what writers mean when they describe an Apache relationship with environment built over generations of residence. Reservation boundaries, fencing, grazing, logging, the loss of access to traditional places and changing climate have all affected where and whether people can gather today. These points are taken up in the articles on drought and wild foods and on seed revival.
Using this information respectfully
Several practical points apply to anyone reading about this subject.
- Treat older published accounts as sources with limits. They often generalize from a single group or a single place.
- Do not assume that a plant listed in a book is safe to eat or use. Some plants are toxic if prepared incorrectly, and the preparation methods in the literature are often incomplete.
- Do not gather plants on tribal land without permission. Many places are protected, and gathering rules are set by the nations themselves.
- For current information about programs, gardens, classes or restrictions, consult the official websites of the specific Apache nation concerned. This site is independent and does not speak for any nation.
Finally, remember that older books often describe a single moment in time, usually the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, when reservation life had already changed how many families gathered and grew food. Present-day practice differs from community to community, and living people are the best authorities on their own traditions.