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The Western Apache are a Native American group living in Arizona, divided into six groups with distinct dialects and cultural heritages. They were traditionally hunter-gatherers but developed a sophisticated civilization before contact with Europeans. The arrival of Spanish settlers brought horses and cattle, changing their food system. The US government launched an exile and extermination drive in 1875, relocating tribes to areas lacking fertile soil. Efforts are now underway to preserve their language and culture.
The Western Apache are the Native American ethnic group living in the eastern and central parts of Arizona in the United States. They are divided into six different groups, each issued a reserve of land. Some Western Apaches are intermingled with other Native American tribes due to long-standing treaties with the US government. According to anthropologists, there are five distinct dialects and three cultural heritages practiced by the groups, signifying a divergence between nations that predates contact with European Americans.
The San Carlos Apache live far south just outside the Colorado Plateau, a geographic region that extends into New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. Far to the west are the southern Tonto Apache near the Mazatzal Mountains, a feature that separates them from the Cibeque Apache near the Salt River and Mongollon Rim. The Northern Tonto Apaches are found west along the Verde River, not far from Flagstaff. The easternmost of the reserves is Mont Blanc Apache between the Monti Bianchi and Monti Pinaleno. There is also the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Reservation on the west bank of the Verde River, a combination of the Western Apache and Mohave Native Americans.
Traditionally, the Western Apache were a hunter-gatherer community. They planted crops throughout the spring and summer and harvested mescal from great distances. The mescal leaves were used to make cloth and rope before the flower was adapted by the Spanish into a fermented alcoholic beverage. By the time contact with Europeans was established, the Western Apache had developed a sophisticated civilization that included infrastructure such as irrigation canals and crop storage.
After Spanish settlers arrived in the region, they brought horses and cattle with them. This has radically changed the dynamics of life for the Western Apache. By trading with Europeans, Native American tribes acquired horses with which they used to raid Spanish settlements and other tribes. Stealing cattle, sheep and goats, the Apache food system was now much more centered around animal husbandry.
When the US government acquired the region from Mexico, it launched an exile and extermination drive on the Western Apache in an attempt to make way for Manifest Destiny. General George Crook led the charge and defeated a combined tribal force in 1875, leaving the Apaches at the mercy of the United States. Tribes were relocated from their homeland to areas lacking fertile soil in an attempt to isolate and control the population.
As of 2010, a major effort was underway to preserve the people’s language and culture. About 20,000 residents of the reservations still practiced elements of the former way of life and spoke the native language. Government grants and funds from casinos built on reservation land were used to hire teachers to educate younger children in Western Apache traditions and dialect.
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