White Fawn Apache Indian Woman

1998 Photograph with my Pictorial Artistic rendering of a woman Apache. The Apache Indians came from the Alaskan region, Canada, and portions of the... more

by Bill Marder

Title

White Fawn Apache Indian Woman

Artist

Bill Marder

Medium

Photograph - Photography Fine Art

Description

1998 Photograph with my Pictorial Artistic rendering of a woman Apache. The Apache Indians came from the Alaskan region, Canada, and portions of the American Southwest. Eventually the tribe migrated toward the United States further south, and divided itself into two basic regions, with the Rio Grande River serving as the dividing line. The Apaches were typically nomadic, meaning they traveled around, never quite settling in one place.
They mostly survived by eating Buffalo meat, and using their hides as protective clothing. It has been said that they were one of the first tribes to learn how to ride and use horses. Learning from runaway or captured Pueblos, the Apaches quickly adapted to their use of horses. Formerly peaceful trade relationships with the Pueblos deteriorated, however, as the Spanish discouraged trade with the Apaches and forced the Pueblos to work their farms. When the Pueblos became unwilling or unable to trade with the Apaches, the nomadic Indians turned their new equestrian skills to raiding for horses and supplies. The Spanish first contacted the Apaches in 1541, when Francisco V�zquez de Coronado and his men encountered a band of "Querechos" on the journey to Quivira. From 1656 to 1675, the Spanish settlers and Pueblo Indians of New Mexico suffered heavily from almost continuous Apache raids. These raids, in conjunction with drought, harsh Spanish rule, and missionary activities, led the Pueblo Indians to revolt and to drive the Spaniards out of New Mexico in 1680 (the "Pueblo Revolt). When the Spaniards reconquered New Mexico in 1692, the Apaches were a powerful nation of mounted Indians who raided with impunity wherever they desired. But the Apaches' dominance was short-lived. Their aggressive behavior turned their neighbors into enemies, and a new, potentially powerful tribe, the Comanches, began pressuring the Apaches from the north. By 1700 the Apaches began migrating southwest as the Comanche, Wichita, and Tejas Indians, better armed through trade with the French, began to occupy the dominant position on the South Plains. In addition, the Apaches had never adapted completely to a Plains culture. They continued to establish rancher�as, where they built huts and tended fields of maize, beans, pumpkins, and watermelons. This attempt to improve their source of food was a major cause of their defeat by the Comanches. Twice a year, during planting and again during harvesting, the Apaches were tied to their fields. As a result, the Comanches knew where to find their enemies and could launch devastating raids upon the Apache settlements. With each successful raid the Comanches grew stronger and the Apaches weaker.
As the Apaches fled before the Comanche onslaught, many groups moved westward into New Mexico and Arizona. Others, mainly the Lipans and Mescaleros, fled southward into Central Texas as well as into northern Mexico. There, they collided with the Spanish, who were advancing northward.
In 1871 , the original White Mountain Reservation was established. It contained today's Fort Apache and San Carlos reservations. In 1897, the land was divided into two independent reservations.
The present-day Apache groups include the Jicarilla and Mescalero of New Mexico, the Chiricahua of the Arizona-New Mexico border area, the Western Apache of Arizona, the Lipan Apache of southwestern Texas, and the Plains Apache of Oklahoma. There undoubtedly existed other Apache groups which are not as well-known by modern anthropologists and historians.
Today several of the Apache reservations have lead in commercial development of reservation resources. The White Mountain Apache of Arizona manage the popular Sunrise Park Ski Resort and Fort Apache Timber Company.

Uploaded

September 9th, 2013