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The Chiricahua Apache Prisoners of War, 1886 to 1913
An overview of the 27 years Chiricahua Apache people were held as prisoners of war, from Arizona to Florida, Alabama and Oklahoma, until release in 1913.
History and Conflict
The Chiricahua Prisoner of War Years
The 27-year imprisonment of Chiricahua people in Florida, Alabama and Oklahoma.
Chiricahua Children Sent to Carlisle Indian School
How Chiricahua Apache children were separated from their families at the Florida prison camps and sent to Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania in 1886.
Fort Marion and Fort Pickens: Chiricahua Exile in Florida
The first years of Chiricahua Apache exile in Florida, when prisoners were held at Fort Marion and Fort Pickens and families were split between the two.
Fort Sill: The Chiricahua Years in Oklahoma
Life for Chiricahua Apache prisoners of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, from 1894: village life, farming and cattle work, and the limits of life under Army control.
Geronimo as a Prisoner of War: The Final Decades
Geronimo's 23 years as a prisoner of war after 1886, including exhibitions at fairs, his 1906 autobiography and his death at Fort Sill in February 1909.
Mount Vernon Barracks: The Alabama Years
The Chiricahua Apache years at Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama, from 1887 to 1894, including family reunion, school, work and the serious toll of illness.
Primary Sources on the Chiricahua Imprisonment
The government records, letters, photographs and later accounts historians use to study the Chiricahua Apache prisoner years from 1886 to 1913, and their limits.
Remembering the Prisoner of War Era Today
How descendants, communities and historians keep the memory of the Chiricahua Apache imprisonment of 1886 to 1913 alive, without speaking for the nations.
The 1913 Release: Choosing Between Mescalero and Oklahoma
How Chiricahua Apache prisoners were released in 1913 and divided between moving to the Mescalero reservation in New Mexico and staying in Oklahoma.
The Apache Cemeteries at Fort Sill
The burial grounds of Chiricahua Apache prisoners of war at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, including Geronimo's grave, and how the sites are cared for and remembered.
The Fort Sill Apache Tribe: Descendants of the Prisoners
How the Fort Sill Apache Tribe took shape from Chiricahua and Warm Springs people who stayed in Oklahoma after 1913, and its ties to New Mexico.
Why Peaceful Chiricahua Were Imprisoned Too
Why Chiricahua Apache people who had never fought, and scouts who had served the Army, were sent into captivity with Geronimo's party in 1886.
Related topics
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Apache History An overview of Apache history across regions and eras. Spain and Mexico Apache relations with Spanish and Mexican rule. Apache and the United States Army, treaties, missions and federal policy. The Apache Wars The wars, removal and loss of land, told with care. Resistance and Survival Apache resistance to conquest and the wars it brought, told with care. Impact of Colonization How colonization, disease and settlement changed Apache societies. History Overviews and Timelines Long views and timelines of Apache history. Apache Nations in American History Apache peoples’ place in the wider history of the West and the United States. Cultural Exchange Trade, contact and exchange between Apache peoples and others. Self-Determination in History How Apache nations pressed for justice, governance and redress across the 20th century. Apache Scouts Apache men who served as US Army scouts, and the hard questions their service raises.