jjares reviewed Apache Wars: A History from Beginning to End (Native American History) on + 3270 more book reviews
Between 1200 and 1500 CE, Apache tribes arrived in a large area known as Apacheria. It was a huge tract of land, including much of modern-day Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The Apache were known as a nomadic people who followed the bison herds. Things were fine when the early European explorers traded with the Apache. But when Mexico got its independence in 1821, they declared Apache as enemies and placed a price tag on their heads.
After the Mexican-American war ended in 1848, the Apache became the 'problem' of America; Apache wars would continue from 1849 to 1886. This is the tragic story of the annihilation of a tribe of people because they were in the way of progress. This narrative includes some of the most famous in the West, including Kit Carson (an Indian Agent in northern New Mexico for 7 years), Cochise, Tom Jeffords (made famous by the movie, Broken Arrow, and the television program about Cochise and Jeffords), Geronimo, Mangas Coloradas, General Sherman (of Civil War fame, who found conditions in the reservations to be horrific), and even the Earp brothers.
I wasn't aware that when Indian women and children were apprehended, American miners sold them (as slaves and prostitutes) on the Mexican side of the border (miners weren't the only ones because Mexican soldiers did the same). This is a tragic series of battles and retaliations that lasted for decades. It only ended when the Apaches were all in the San Carlos Reservation. Today, about 10,000 still live on the reservation; the income of half of the Apaches is below the poverty line.
After the Mexican-American war ended in 1848, the Apache became the 'problem' of America; Apache wars would continue from 1849 to 1886. This is the tragic story of the annihilation of a tribe of people because they were in the way of progress. This narrative includes some of the most famous in the West, including Kit Carson (an Indian Agent in northern New Mexico for 7 years), Cochise, Tom Jeffords (made famous by the movie, Broken Arrow, and the television program about Cochise and Jeffords), Geronimo, Mangas Coloradas, General Sherman (of Civil War fame, who found conditions in the reservations to be horrific), and even the Earp brothers.
I wasn't aware that when Indian women and children were apprehended, American miners sold them (as slaves and prostitutes) on the Mexican side of the border (miners weren't the only ones because Mexican soldiers did the same). This is a tragic series of battles and retaliations that lasted for decades. It only ended when the Apaches were all in the San Carlos Reservation. Today, about 10,000 still live on the reservation; the income of half of the Apaches is below the poverty line.
