San Carlos Apache

Name

The name San Carlos Apache (pronounced sahn CARR-los uh-PATCH-ee) refers to the area where the tribe lives, along the San Carlos River in Arizona.

Location

The Apache who make up the San Carlos Apache tribe descended from members of many Apache groups. The traditional Apache homeland included a vast region stretching from what is now central Arizona to central Texas, and from northern Mexico to the high plains of southeastern Colorado. The modern-day San Carlos Apache live on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, which covers 1.8 million acres in Gila, Graham, and Pinal counties in central Arizona. The reservation is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Globe and 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of Phoenix, Arizona.

Population

In 1930 there were three thousand San Carlos Apache. In the 1990 U.S. Census, 32,912 people identified themselves as Apache; of that number, 2,300 said they were San Carlos Apache. The San Carlos Indian Reservation claims an enrollment of 10,500. In 2000 the census indicated that a total of 57,199 Apache lived in the United States and that 9,867 of those were San Carlos Apache. The San Carlos Reservation had the seventh largest population and the largest land mass of all the reservations in the United States.

Language family

Athabaskan.

Origins and group affiliations

Most historians believe the Apache made a gradual move from western Canada to the American Southwest between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Apaches themselves, however, say they originated in the Southwest and migrated north. According to their oral history, those who live in the Southwest today were people who stayed behind. The Apaches were never one unified group, but rather a number of bands who spoke similar languages and shared similar customs. The people who now make up the San Carlos Apache tribe descended from the Aravaipa, Chiricahua (see entry), Coyotero, Mimbreño, Mogollon, Pinaleno, and Tonto Apache peoples.

The U.S. government established the San Carlos Indian Reservation in 1871 to hold members of many Apache groups and stop their raiding of American and Mexican settlements. The confining nature of reservation life caused considerable unrest among the Apache, who were used to living in small family groups. The trouble was compounded by persistent, grinding poverty, pressure to give up their native ways, and mismanagement of the fragile Arizona landscape where they lived. The San Carlos Apache have yet to overcome these problems, but some advancements have been made in recent years.

History

San Carlos Indian Reservation established

In 1848 the United States took over Apache lands from Mexico. The American government soon made it clear that it would not tolerate Apache raids or allow Natives to hunt on land claimed by settlers. (See Apache and Chiricahua Apache entries.) Following years of resistance by Apache groups, some were moved in 1871 to a new site, Arizona’s White Mountain-San Carlos Indian Reservation, located at the place where the Gila River joined the San Carlos River. By 1890 all Apache groups had submitted to the government’s reservation policy.

In 1897 the White Mountain-San Carlos Indian Reservation was divided into the San Carlos Indian Reservation and the Fort Apache Reservation (where the White Mountain Apache now live; see entry). The adjustment to reservation life was very hard for these wandering peoples, who were not used to living in large communities. Historians indicate that many still have not adapted to white ways.

Important Dates

1848: Mexico gives northern Arizona and northern New Mexico lands to United States. Warfare between the Apache people and the U.S. Army begins.

1871: The United States establishes White Mountain-San Carlos Indian Reservation to hold captured Apache.

1897: The White Mountain-San Carlos Indian Reservation is divided and renamed the Fort Apache and San Carlos reservations.

1972: A U.S. Executive Order increases the size of the reservation.

1990: The Apache Survival Coalition is formed to oppose the building of a telescope atop Mt. Graham, a sacred site of the San Carlos Apache.

1994: A telescope on Mt. Graham is dedicated.

1994: The Apache Gold Casino opens.

1995: The San Carlos Apache Culture Center opens.

Early days on the reservation

From the beginning, government officials ran the San Carlos Reservation. They expected the Apache to become farmers, a way of life that was totally alien to them. While the land was beautiful, much of it was desert—dry and not at all suited for agricultural use.

Slowly the Apache tried to adapt to their new lives, but it was not long before their land was found to be rich in mineral resources. Between 1872 and 1902 the U.S. government took away reservation land five times at the urging of white business owners. Copper and silver mines were opened, and the San Carlos Apache found their reservation reduced to about one-third of its original size.

Coolidge Dam brings lake to reservation

Construction of the Coolidge Dam across the Gila River changed the lives of the San Carlos Apache. The Coolidge Dam stretches across the portion of the Gila that runs through southeast-central Arizona, forming San Carlos Lake (now a popular fishing and water sports center). Completed in 1928, the dam was intended to help both Native American and white farmers in the region by sending much-needed water their way. But when backed-up waters flooded San Carlos in 1929, headquarters were then moved upstream on the San Carlos River to the village of Rice (later renamed San Carlos).

Religion

Although many modern-day San Carlos Apache are Christian, some people still retain traditional Apache beliefs. They have also adopted features of other Southwestern religions. Apaches believe that Usen, the Creator, sent the Ga’an to teach the people how to walk in the the Holy Life Way. Important principles include kindness, charity, respect for others (even in hunting and warfare), and living in harmony with the Earth and with others.

Ga’an (mountain spirits or crown dancers) bring blessings and ward off evil. Four men, their bodies with painted black and white animal, lightning, and mountain motifs, represent the four directions. A clown, painted gray, dances with them. These five dancers perform at the Sunrise Dances for girls’ initiation into womanhood.

Like many Native Americans, the San Carlos Apache have long considered their religious beliefs to be a private matter—one not to be discussed among outsiders. It was not widely known, then, that members of the tribe still traveled to Mt. Graham in the Coronado National Forest in Arizona to conduct spirit dances in honor of the mountain spirits. The mountain also provided special herbs for traditional ceremonies, and burials once took place there. Mt. Graham, one of the Pinaleno Mountains, was taken from the Natives by government order in 1873, but it is still considered sacred. San Carlos Apache priests were forced to openly discuss their beliefs after the University of Arizona announced in the early 1980s that it would build multiple telescopes there.

The building of telescopes in the mountains generated considerable controversy both as an issue of religious freedom and as an environmental issue. It has pitted nonreligious Apache people against traditional Apache, and Natives and environmentalists against astronomers, politicians, and the Roman Catholic Church. In 1990 the Apache Survival Coalition was formed to save the sacred mountain. Although the group failed in this effort—a telescope was erected and dedicated there in 1994—it remains active in the struggle for the religious freedom and rights of the San Carlos Apache.

Language

Government schools built around the turn of the twentieth century routinely punished children for speaking their Native languages on the reservation, but the Apache have managed to retain their language. Many fear that it may soon be lost as the American culture takes over and Apache people intermarry with non-Natives.

Securing Fire

Many tribes tell tales of Coyote, who is a trickster. Sometimes he uses his skills to harm others, but in this San Carlos Apache story, he triumphs, and people get fire. The legend also explains how animals came to have certain physical features.

They say long ago there was no fire. The people ate their food uncooked. There were only two men who had fire. They [the San Carlos People] could see it in the tops of a very tall pine tree which stood there.

Coyote proposed that a large company of people be invited to come together for a dance. He also suggested that a letter be sent to those who had fire asking them to bring some as they wished to gamble with the guessing game.

Coyote told his companions to tie dry grass around his tail. When it was daybreak Coyote danced by himself. “I will dance over the fire,” he said. “Your tail is afire,” they called to him. “Why do you say my tail is burning?” he asked. “Your tail is burning,” they called to him again. He went around the fire four times and then jumped over them. He ran away with the fire. Those who owned the fire ran after him and put out what fire they found. They caught Coyote after he had run a long distance and pulled out his nose so it is long and spread his mouth apart so it is wide.

Then another man was running away beyond with the fire. It was Night Hawk. They caught him after a long chase. They pushed the crown of his head down hard and spread his mouth open.

Another person was running with the fire. It was Turkey Buzzard. They caught him a long distance away and pulled the hair out of his head. He had given the fire to Humming Bird. A large mountain was standing in the distance. Fire was coming out from the top of this mountain. The people had been without fire but came to have plenty of it because of Coyote. The fire went inside of the trees and became plentiful.

Goddard, Pliny Earle. “Securing Fire (Second Version)” Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XXIV, Part I: Myths and Tales from the San Carlos Apache. New York: The American Museum of Natural History, 1918. Available online at: ^{http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/164/1/A024a01.pdf} (accessed on July 2, 2007).

Government

The San Carlos Apache tribe is run democratically (by the people) according to a constitution. An elected tribal council has a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and nine representatives from five districts. A secretary and treasurer are appointed. In 1993, the tribe started the San Carlos Elders Cultural Advisory Council. This group advises the tribal council and works to preserve Apache culture.

Economy

Land-based economy

After enduring years of poverty as they adjusted to life on the reservation, the economy at San Carlos improved when cattle were introduced around 1930. Overgrazing occurred, however, and cattle monies declined. At the turn of the twenty-first century San Carlos cattle operations were the tribe’s third-largest source of money, generating about $1 million in sales annually.

One-third of the tribe’s land is forest or woodland, and timber operations are another source of income. Arizona is one of only three places in the world where the rare peridot (a transparent yellowish-green mineral) gemstones can be found, and the San Carlos tribe earns money from mining it.

The San Carlos Apache have been haunted by poverty and lack of opportunity, and their standard of living remains well below the national level. In recent years, though, the San Carlos tribe has placed a high priority on the development of agriculture. Irrigation facilities are being modernized, and an Agricultural Development Committee was formed to guide the process. Alfalfa (a haylike plant) and jojoba beans (pronounced huh-HOBE-uh; edible seeds that are also prized for their thick moisturizing liquid center) are promising crops.

Government and recreation as employers

Recreation yields a significant amount of money for the tribe. San Carlos Lake, the state’s largest body of water, offers fishing opportunities, but from time to time the lake dries up completely. Hunters pay fees to track big and small game like elk, bighorn sheep, antelope, and migratory birds. Campgrounds, boat ramps, stores, tackle shops, and warm- and cold-water fisheries are available to tourists. Visitors are also permitted to observe Apache ceremonies while in the area.

The Apache Gold Casino, which includes a hotel, restaurant, an RV (recreational vehicle) park, and a pavilion for car shows, rodeos, powwows, and concerts, opened in 1996 and is a big moneymaker for the tribe. As of 2007 the San Carlos Industrial Park was expected to open shortly.

The government is a major employer of San Carlos Apache. It operates health, education, and other services on the reservation and employs members of the tribe. Despite these enterprises, reservation members still contend with poverty and high unemployment.

Daily life

Education

In 1900 the U.S. government opened a boarding school on the San Carlos reservation. Children were taken from their families and forced to attend the school, where they were not allowed to speak their Native language or practice their traditional religion. The experiment proved to be a failure and left many Apache with a long-standing resentment toward white schools and their style of education. This has contributed to low levels of educational attainment on the reservation.

Apache leaders are trying to address these critical educational issues. The reservation houses a library, and the tribe was proud to announce the opening of its first cultural center in 1995. Located in Peridot, Arizona, the center tells the story of the Apache people in their own words and offers educational programs in cooperation with Arizona schools and other groups.

Healing practices

In modern times some San Carlos Apache still place their trust in medicine men, who journey to Mt. Graham to look for healing herbs—special plants and plant parts that can only be found there—and to learn healing techniques from the mountain spirits.

The U.S. Public Health Service operates a hospital on the reservation. The San Carlos Apache tribe faces serious health problems, including alcoholism (and the illnesses that result from it) and high rates of infant death and teenage suicide.

Arts

Basketry

The Apache tribe is known for its outstanding basketmakers and artists. San Carlos Apache Cultural Center contains an arts and crafts guild where visitors can buy many traditional crafts such as burden baskets, beaded moccasins, and leatherwork as well as artwork by many Apache artists.

Customs

Festivals and ceremonies

The San Carlos Indian Reservation hosts an annual Holy Ground Summer Blessing Ceremony. Recent controversies over the building of telescopes on Apache sacred land have sparked a renewed interest in this traditional religious practice.

The tribe also celebrates the coming-of-age of its young women in a Sunrise Ceremony, formerly called the Changing Woman Ceremony. (For more information on the Sunrise Ceremony, see Apache entry.)

The casino sponsors several powwows a year that are open to tourists. Powwows are celebrations that include traditional Native American singing and dancing. The Mt. Turnbull Rodeo is held in June, and the All-Indian Rodeo Fair is held in November. On June 18, the San Carlos Apache hold Independence Day festivities.

Current tribal issues

The San Carlos Apache are currently engaged in efforts to reverse the trends of alcoholism, suicide, crime, and violence that plague their people. According to experts, serious problems like these often result from decades of poverty and high unemployment. Many homes lack electricity and indoor plumbing. Disputes between the tribe and mining companies over rights to Arizona’s scarce water supplies are also a nagging issue.

Until 1998 the reservation had three dumping sites, but when a new landfill opened and the tribe offered curbside pickup, many people did not want to pay. They dumped their trash illegally; fourteen different dumpsites were discovered. Some of them were as large as six acres. To deal with the problem, the tribe set up stations where people could take their trash. That helped stop the illegal dumping, but officials worried that the existing dumps could pollute the groundwater. They obtained a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up the sites. They hauled away junked cars and refrigerators, which can leak dangerous chemicals. Police and game rangers also began enforcing the no-dumping policies.

Another major problem facing the San Carlos people is the looting of the eight-hundred-year-old ruins. Looters today have access to modern equipment like Global Positioning Systems (GPS), enabling them to locate artifacts more easily. As a result, relics are disappearing from tribal lands in great numbers. With 1.8 million acres to cover with only a handful of enforcement officers, the government has little chance of catching the thieves. The damage amateur archaeologists inflict on the ancient sites is very great; many areas are pockmarked with holes, and important pieces of history are lost forever. Even worse for most Native Americans is the violation of graves; grave robbers care more about profit than the spiritual and scientific losses they cause.

Notable people

Evalena Henry (1939–) is a San Carlos Apache known for her award-winning baskets. Her works are on display at the Heard Museum in Phoenix and are held by art collectors all over the world. Her goal is to pass on her basketmaking methods to future generations.

Goddard, Pliny Earle. Myths and Tales from the San Carlos Apache. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006.

———. San Carlos Apache Texts. Kila, MN: Kessinger Publishing, 2006.

Samuels, David W. Putting A Song on Top of It: Expression and Identity on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2004.

Martin, Evelyn. “The Last Mountain (Mount Graham in Arizona).” American Forests. 99, 3–4 (March–April 1993): 44.

Warshall, Peter. “The Heart of Genuine Sadness: Astronomers, Politicians, and Federal Employees Desecrate the Holiest Mountain of the San Carlos Apache.” Whole Earth. 91 (Winter 1997): 30.

“The Children of Changing Woman.” Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. (accessed on July 2, 2007).

“San Carlos Apache Cultural Center.” (accessed on July 2, 2007).

Ned Blackhawk, Associate Professor, Department of History, American Indian Studies Program, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Laurie Edwards

Laurie Edwards