The Apache Peoples

This book presents a comprehensive history of the seven Apache tribes, tracing them from their genetic origins in Asia and their migration through the continent to the Southwest. The work covers their social history, verbal traditions and mores. The final section delineates the recorded history starting with the Spanish expedition of 1541 through the Civil War.

Jessica Dawn Palmer lectures on Native American culture and wildlife issues and is the author of 29 books. She lives in Colorado and works as a wildlife rehabilitator.

Jessica Dawn Palmer
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 328
Bibliographic Info: 78 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2013
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4551-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0195-3
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments vi

Introduction 1

 1. In the Land Before Time: The Prehistory of the Southwest 5

 2. Advent: The People and Their Arrival in the American Southwest 23

 3. From Athapascan to Apache: Tribes and Divisions 40

 4. Governance and Structure: The Family Unit and Governments of the Various Tribes and Bands 58

 5. Of Hunt and Harvest: Food Resources and Food Production 72

 6. Of Hearth and Home: Everyday Living and Everyday Things 88

 7. Families and Marriage: The Nuclear Family—Couples and Their Children 103

 8. Women’s Roles: The Puberty Rite and Women’s Responsibilities in Society 116

 9. Matters of Faith: The Supernatural and Relationships with the Divine 130

10. Rituals and Rites: The Powers and the Place of the Shaman in the Religious Environment 146

11. Witchcraft, Taboos and Rites of Death: Religion in Everyday Usage 161

12. Entertainments and Vices: Games, Play and Leisure-Time Activities 176

13. The Arts of War: The Training of the Young Warrior 191

14. Enmity and War: Raid and Warfare as Practiced Among the Apache 205

15. The Spanish Period: From 1541 to 1824 219

16. The Mexican-American Period: From 1828 to 1860 238

17. The Civil War: From 1860 to 1865 260

18. Indeh—From People to Ghosts: The Dissolution from Free Peoples to Reservations 281

Chapter Notes 295

Bibliography 307

Index 313