A Short Guide, Not a Complete Directory
The United States federally recognizes several Apache and Apache-related nations. They are located in Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma, and they are separate governments. This guide gives short profiles for orientation. It is not an official list, and names, enrollment rules and governance details are best confirmed on each nation’s own website or in the Department of the Interior’s published list of federally recognized tribes.
Names matter here. Some governments call themselves a “Tribe” and others a “Nation,” and both are in use. The profiles below use the names these governments commonly use.
Arizona
San Carlos Apache Tribe. The San Carlos Reservation in southeastern Arizona was established in the 1870s and brought together several Western Apache groups, along with others, under difficult and often coercive conditions. Today the tribe is a self-governing nation with its own council and services. Background on the reservation’s creation is covered in the article on the San Carlos Apache.
White Mountain Apache Tribe. The Fort Apache Reservation lies in the mountains of east-central Arizona, where the community’s ancestors lived for generations before the reservation period. The tribe’s name refers to the region and to one of the Western Apache groups. For the longer history, see the White Mountain Apache article.
Tonto Apache Tribe. The Tonto Apache Tribe is a small nation with a reservation near Payson, in central Arizona. The Tonto Apache are one of the Western Apache groups, and the “Tonto” name has also been applied by outsiders to other peoples in the region, so historical records can be confusing.
Yavapai-Apache Nation. Based at Camp Verde, this nation combines Yavapai and Apache (Dilzhe’e) people in a single community and government. They are distinct peoples with different languages and histories who came to share a reservation and a political structure. The nation is often described in terms of the Yavapai-Apache Nation’s two-peoples story.
New Mexico
Jicarilla Apache Nation. The Jicarilla homeland is in northern New Mexico, and the reservation, established through a long series of federal actions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is centered near Dulce. The Jicarilla are an Eastern Apache people with a history connected to both the mountains and the plains edge. For more, see the Jicarilla Apache people.
Mescalero Apache Tribe. The Mescalero Reservation sits in the Sacramento Mountains of south-central New Mexico. The tribe includes Mescalero people as well as Chiricahua and Lipan descendants, reflecting how different groups came to share one reservation. The Mescalero Apache people article gives more on the group’s history.
Oklahoma
Fort Sill Apache Tribe. This nation consists of descendants of Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apache people who were held as prisoners of war for 27 years beginning in 1886. After their release in 1913, some chose to move to the Mescalero Reservation and others stayed in Oklahoma. Those who remained, and their descendants, form the Fort Sill Apache Tribe. Its headquarters is in Oklahoma, and its history is told in the article on the Fort Sill Apache Tribe.
Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. Also known as the Plains Apache and formerly called the Kiowa Apache, this nation is based in southwestern Oklahoma. Its history is tied to the southern Plains and to long relations with the Kiowa. The background is covered in the Plains Apache people article and in the explanation of the Kiowa Apache name.
Quick Reference
| State | Recognized nation | Broad grouping |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | San Carlos Apache Tribe | Western Apache |
| Arizona | White Mountain Apache Tribe | Western Apache |
| Arizona | Tonto Apache Tribe | Western Apache |
| Arizona | Yavapai-Apache Nation | Yavapai and Apache |
| New Mexico | Jicarilla Apache Nation | Eastern Apache |
| New Mexico | Mescalero Apache Tribe | Eastern Apache, with Chiricahua and Lipan descendants |
| Oklahoma | Fort Sill Apache Tribe | Chiricahua and Warm Springs descendants |
| Oklahoma | Apache Tribe of Oklahoma | Plains Apache |
What Is Not on This List
Several things are not on this list, for good reason. The Navajo Nation, though Apachean in language and distantly related, is a separate nation and is not described as Apache. Communities in Texas and elsewhere that identify as Lipan Apache or as other Apache descendants and are seeking federal recognition are discussed in a separate article in this cluster. Some Apache people also live in cities and towns and belong to nations listed above, and many Lipan, Chiricahua and other descendants are citizens of the tribes named here.
Why the Differences Matter
These nations do not share one set of laws, one leadership, or one history. Their language varieties, relationships with federal agencies, economies and land bases all differ. A Western Apache community in Arizona has a different past from the Chiricahua descendants in Oklahoma or the Jicarilla in northern New Mexico, and generalizations about “the Apache” often fail for exactly this reason. Federal recognition gives each of these governments a formal relationship with the United States, but the nations decide for themselves how to govern, whom to enroll and how to represent their histories.
For current information about services, enrollment, visiting rules or contact details, consult each nation’s official website directly.