The Genocide of the Chiricahua Indian Tribe

The Genocide of the Chiricahua Indian Tribe

United States history is taught in public schools from the time we are able to understand its importance. Teachings of honorable plights by our forefathers to establish this great nation are common. However, specific details of this establishment seem to slip through the cracks of our educational curriculum. Genocide by definition is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political or cultural group. The Chiricahua Indian Tribe of the American southwest and northern Mexico suffered almost complete annihilation at the hands of the American policy makers of the late nineteenth century, policy makers that chose to justify their means by ignoring their own tyrannical ways.

It has been discovered that Apaches in the late 1800s were reported to exist in four separate bands, or clusters of rancherias, although how far back in time the division occurs is unknown (Griffen 5). The native name for the easternmost band was the Chihene, or "red painted people"; they were also known as Victorio, Mangas Coloradas, and Loco Apaches after the Spanish names of important leaders. To the south and west were the Chokonen or "Rising Sun People". These people were often called Central Chiricahua, True Chiricahua, and Cochise Apaches. North and west of the Chokonen were the Bedonkohe, "In Front at the End People" sometimes called the Geronimo Apaches. The southernmost Chiricahua band was the Ndeinda, "enemy people". They were also called the Nedni and Nednai, Southern Chiricahua, Pinery, and Bronco Apaches (Cole 10). These names differ among some scholars, but the majority of them can agree consistently on at least four bands, even if the names are different.

Apache history is rich in custom, tradition, and worship of an all powerful supernatural force known as "The Power". Although accounts are different, after the creation of the world, "White Painted Woman" was created by Ussen. This supernatural female was the most important figure in Chiricahua religious belief. She was at once the progenitor of the Chiricahua people, the symbol of female activity and life, and the sponsor of all that was peaceful and gentle in human relationships. According to Chiricahuas, it was White Painted Woman who befriended the G’an, thus winning the sponsorship of the Apaches in a world filled with dangerous forces. ...

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...ught more widely in American public schools to better understand how the southwest was and how it became to be. Tyranny in American history would be too controversial for the majority of the population; easier dealt with by not addressing it. It is also true that accounts of what actually happened differ among many scholars. Since the Apaches do not like to speak of the dead, their side of the story is difficult to obtain, and many American officers of the Army are too quick to gain recognition for things they did concerning the Chiricahuas. Finally, it is important to point out that it was the white man that invaded the Indian territory. The pride of the Chiricahuas would not allow this to happen, even though they knew their defeat was inevitable; it was Apache way.

Works Cited

Cole, D.C. The Chiricahua Apache 1846-1876: From War to Reservation. New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press,1988.

Griffen, William B. Apaches at War and Peace: The Janos Presidio 1750-1858.

New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 1988.

Sweeney, Edwin R. Cochise: Chiricahua Apache Chief. Norman: University of

Oklahoma Press, Publishing Division of the University, 1991.