A History That Is Still Present
The Chiricahua imprisonment ended in 1913, but it is not remote history for the families whose ancestors lived through it. Children born in captivity, and those who were taken to boarding schools, became the grandparents and great-grandparents of people alive now. That is why this subject is often described as living memory in a family sense, not just a topic in textbooks.
This page is written by an independent site. It does not speak for the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, the Mescalero Apache Tribe or any other nation, and it cannot say what any family or community feels or believes. What it can do is describe, in general terms, the ways remembrance is often carried out and point readers to the right places to learn more.
Who Holds the Memory
The first holders of this history are the descendants themselves. The Fort Sill Apache Tribe in Oklahoma, formed from those who stayed after 1913, and the Mescalero Apache people in New Mexico, where most of the freed prisoners went, each have their own ways of telling and preserving the story. These are not identical, and outside writers should avoid presenting a single view. Not all of what families know is shared publicly, and some of it is not meant to be.
Memory is also held in individual families, through names, places and stories passed from older to younger relatives. That is why Apache oral traditions are an important part of the historical record, and why oral history as evidence is now widely respected in the field.
Places of Remembrance
Burial grounds are among the most important sites. The prisoners who died at Fort Marion, Mount Vernon Barracks and Fort Sill were buried near where they died, and Fort Sill’s Apache cemeteries remain a place where families and visitors pay respects. Rules about access and behavior at such sites are set by the people responsible for them, and visitors are expected to follow those rules.
Historic forts used as prison sites, such as the Castillo de San Marcos in Florida and Fort Sill in Oklahoma, are also now sites with public programs. How they tell this history has changed over time, and it is reasonable to expect that the quality of interpretation varies from place to place.
Writing and Teaching
Historians have written about the imprisonment for over a century, and the approach has shifted. Older works leaned on Army reports and told the story from the officers’ point of view. More recent work pays more attention to the experience of the prisoners, uses a wider range of sources, and often involves collaboration with descendants. Teaching Apache history in schools is another part of keeping the memory alive, since the imprisonment is rarely covered in depth in general American history courses.
Authors from the community, including the many books by Apache authors, give perspectives that outsiders cannot. Readers who want to understand the subject can begin there, while remembering that any single book represents one author’s view.
Museums, Objects and Return
Museums and archives hold photographs, documents and objects from the prisoner years, some collected at the time by officers and visitors. The question of who should hold these items, and how they should be shared, has been taken up under laws and policies on return of cultural items, including NAGPRA Apache repatriation. These are complicated matters decided case by case with the nations concerned.
Avoiding Common Errors
Because the imprisonment is not well known, several mistakes recur. One is treating the Chiricahua as if they were extinct or confined to the past; they are living nations. Another is blending all Apache peoples into one story, when the Western Apache, the Mescalero and others had very different experiences. A third is treating Geronimo as the whole story, when hundreds of other lives, including those of women, children and scouts, were part of it. A fourth is repeating dramatic but unsupported anecdotes from older books.
How Readers Can Respond
For people who wish to learn, a respectful approach has a few parts: read widely, start with sources by Native authors and nations, consult official tribal websites for current information, and treat cemeteries and sacred places with care. It is also worth remembering that the work of memory belongs first to those whose families lived it, and that outsiders are guests in that conversation.