The Plains Apache are a small

Southern Athabaskan Southern Athabaskan (also Apachean) is a subfamily of Athabaskan languages spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States (including Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah) with two outliers in Oklahoma and Texas. The language is spoken to ...

tribe who live on the

Southern Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

of North America, in close association with the linguistically unrelated

Kiowa Tribe Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and eve ...

. Today, they are headquartered in Southwestern Oklahoma and are

federally recognized This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the Unite ...

as the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. They mostly live in Comanche and

Caddo County, Oklahoma Caddo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,600. Its county seat is Anadarko. Created in 1901 as part of Oklahoma Territory, the county is named for the Caddo tribe who were ...

Name

Their autonym is Ná'ishą, or "takers" based on their skill at stealing horses, or Naishadena, meaning "our people." This is also written ''Na-i-shan Dine''.Pritzker, 295 They were also called ''Káłt'inde'' or ''γát dìndé'' meaning "cedar people" or ''Bek'áhe'' meaning "whetstone people". The Plains Apache are also known as the Kiowa Apache. To their Kiowa allies, who speak an unrelated language, the Plains Apache are known as Semat. At major historical tribal events, the Plains Apache formed part of the Kiowa tribal "hoop" (ring of

tipi A tipi , often called a lodge in English, is a conical tent, historically made of animal hides or pelts, and in more recent generations of canvas, stretched on a framework of wooden poles. The word is Siouan, and in use in Dakhótiyapi, Lakȟ� ...

s). This may explain why the Kiowa named the Plains Apache ''Taugui'' meaning "sitting outside".

Government

Today the tribe is headquartered in

Anadarko, Oklahoma Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The city is fifty miles southwest of Oklahoma City. The population was 5,745 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County. History Anadarko got its name when its post off ...

. Their tribal jurisdictional area covers parts of Caddo, Comanche,

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

, Greer,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th a ...

Tillman Tillman is a surname and given name of English origin and an Americanized spelling of Tillmann. Other variants of the name include Tilman and Dillman. Notable people with the name Tillmann include: Surname * Albert Tillman (1928–2004), Ameri ...

and Harmon Counties in Oklahoma. In 2011, the tribe had 2,263 total members, of whom 1,814 lived in-state. Tribal membership is based on 1/8

blood quantum Blood quantum laws or Indian blood laws are laws in the United States that define Native American status by fractions of Native American ancestry. These laws were enacted by the federal government and state governments as a way to estab ...

, meaning a person must be able to prove they have at least 1/8 Native American ancestry to be considered eligible for tribal enrollment. As of 2024, the Tribe Chairman is Durell Cooper, supported by Vice Chairman Matt Tselee, Secretary/Treasurer Ruth Bert and committee members Donald Komardley and Dustin Cozard. In addition to the Apache Business Committee outlined above, the tribe also operates the following tribal departments: * AOA (Administration on Aging) ** ''Director: Billy Harris'' * Housing Authority of the Apache Tribe ** ''Director: Ronald Twohatchet'' * Child Welfare * EPA (Environmental Program) ** ''Director: Wamblee Smith'' * Finance ** ''Director: Wendy Whiteshield'' * Food Distribution ** ''Director: Jennifer Boynton'' * Human Resources ** ''Director: Tamara Paukei'' * Procurement ''Director:'' ** ''Joann Belgarde'' * Social Services ** ''Supervisory Social Worker: Sallie Allen'' * Tax Commission ''Tax Clerk: Sandy Jay'' * Vocational Rehab ** ''Director: Tanner Mahseet'' * CHR (Community Health Rep) ** ''Director: Antionette Short'' * (Violence Against Indian Women) * Apache Tribal Enrollment ** ''Director: Lisa Bower'' VAIW

Economic Development

The Apache Tribe of Oklahoma owns and operates the Apache Golden Eagle Casino in

Apache, Oklahoma Apache is a town in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,444 at the 2010 census. History Before opening the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache Reservation on August 1, 1901, for unrestricted settlement by non-Indians, Land Lott ...

. The Golden Eagle Casino was previously closed in 2013 due to a tribal dispute, along with the Silver Buffalo Casino in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Only the Golden Eagle Casino reopened once the dispute was settled. The casino is under the jurisdiction of the Apache Gaming Commission, headed by Gaming Commissioner Ryan Adudell. There is also a smokeshop and a gas station on the reservation. The tribe issues their own tribal license plates through the Tax Commission."Pocket Pictorial."
''Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission.'' 2010: 8. (retrieved 10 June 2010)
''Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission.'' 2010 (retrieved 11 April 2010)

History

Their

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people w ...

states that the Plains Apache broke away from the Tsuutʼina, an Athabascan people who moved onto the Great Plains in

Alberta, Canada Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territo ...

. They migrated south, where the

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: *Lakota, Iowa *Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County *Lakot ...

gave them territory south of the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

in what became

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

. The Apache are associated with the

Dismal River culture The Dismal River culture refers to a set of cultural attributes first seen in the Dismal River area of Nebraska in the 1930s by archaeologists William Duncan Strong, Waldo Rudolph Wedel and A. T. Hill. Also known as Dismal River aspect and Dismal ...

(ca. 1650–1750) of the western Plains,E. Steve Cassells, ''The Archeology of Colorado'' (Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Books, 1997), 236. . generally attributed to the Paloma and Cuartelejo Apaches.

Jicarilla Apache Jicarilla Apache (, Jicarilla language: Jicarilla Dindéi), one of several loosely organized autonomous bands of the Eastern Apache, refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Ath ...

pottery has also been found in some of the Dismal River complex sites.Gibbon, Guy E.; Ames, Kenneth M. (1998
''Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia''.
p. 213. . Some of the people from the Dismal River culture joined the Plains Apache in the Black Hills.

18th century

Due to pressure from the Comanche from the west and

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

from the east, the Kiowa and remaining people of Dismal River culture migrated south where they later joined the

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, ...

and

nations. In the early 18th century, the Plains Apache lived around the upper Missouri River and maintained close connections to the Kiowa. They were ethnically different and spoke different languages. They communicated with their allies using the sophisticated

Plains Indian Sign Language Plains Indian Sign Language (PISL), also known as Hand Talk, Plains Sign Talk, and First Nation Sign Language, is a trade language, formerly trade pidgin, that was once the lingua franca across what is now central Canada, the central and west ...

. The Plains Apache continued migrating south along the eastern

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

and hunting bison. They allied with the

Arapaho The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho ...

, and Kiowa. Even before contact with Europeans, their numbers were never large, and their 1780 population was estimated at 400.

19th century

The Plains Apache and Kiowa had migrated into the Southern Plains sometime around 1800. The Treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867 established an Indian Reservation for the Kiowa, Plains Apache, and Comanche in Western Oklahoma. They were forced to move south of the Washita River to the Red River and Western Oklahoma with the Comanche and the Kiowa. The 1890 Census showed 1,598 Comanche at the Fort Sill reservation, which they shared with 1,140 Kiowa and 326 Plains Apache. Some groups of Plains Apache refused to settle on reservations and were involved in Kiowa and Comanche uprisings, most notably the

First Battle of Adobe Walls The First Battle of Adobe Walls was a battle between the United States Army and American Indians. The Kiowa, Comanche and Plains Apache (Kiowa Apache) tribes drove from the battlefield a United States Expeditionary Force that was reacting to a ...

which was the largest battle of the Indian Wars. It would be the last battle in which the Natives repelled the U.S. Army in the Southern Plains. The Kiowa-Comanche-Apache (KCA) Reservation was broken up into individual allotments under the 1889 Springer Amendment to the

Indian Appropriations Act The Indian Appropriations Act is the name of several acts passed by the United States Congress. A considerable number of acts were passed under the same name throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the most notable landmark acts cons ...

20th century

The so-called "surplus" lands of the KCA Reservaton were opened up to white settlement in 1901. The U.S. federal government took more KCA lands in 1906. Despite tribal opposition to the land sessions, the U.S. courts upheld allotment. Most Plains Apache families chose land north of the

Wichita Mountains The Wichita Mountains are located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the principal relief system in the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, being the result of a failed continental rift. The mountains are a northwest-southe ...

. In 1966, the tribe organized a business committee and regained federal recognition. In 1972, the Kiowa, Comanche, and Plains Apache legally separated.

Social organization

The Plains Apache social organization is split into numerous extended families (''kustcrae''), who camped together (for hunting and gathering) as local groups (''gonka''). The next level was the division or band, a grouping of several gonkas (who would come together, for mutual protection, especially in times of war). In pre-reservation times there were at least four local groups or gonkas who frequently joined together for warring neighboring tribes and settlements. Historically, the tribe was led by an elder council, chiefs,

medicine men A medicine man is a traditional healer and spiritual leader among the indigenous people of the Americas. Medicine Man or The Medicine Man may also refer to: Films * ''The Medicine Man'' (1917 film), an American silent film directed by Clifford ...

, and warriors. Women controlled and maintained family belongings, including

s. Skilled artists joined women's societies.

Language

The Plains Apache language is a member of the

language family, a division of the

Na-Dene languages Na-Dene (; also Nadene, Na-Dené, Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit, Tlina–Dene) is a family of Native American languages that includes at least the Athabaskan languages, Eyak, and Tlingit languages. Haida was formerly included, but is now considered ...

. The

Plains Apache language The Plains Apache language (or Kiowa Apache language) was a Southern Athabaskan language formerly spoken by the Plains Apache, organized as the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, living primarily around Anadarko in southwest Oklahoma. The language is ...

, also referred to as Plains Apache, was the most divergent member of the subfamily. While three people spoke the language in 2006, the last fluent speaker died in 2008.

Historical chiefs

* Gonkon (''Gonkan'' – "Stays in Tipi" or "Defends His Tipi", also known as "Apache John"). A shortened form of his full name Gon-kon-chey-has-tay-yah (Man Over His Camp). * Tsayaditl-ti (''Ta-Ka-I-Tai-Di'' or ''Da-Kana-Dit-Ta-I'' – "White Man", ca. *1830 – ca. †1900) * Koon-Ka-Zachey (''Kootz-Zah''). A shortened form of his full name Gon-kon-chey-has-tay-yah (Man Over His Camp). * Essa-queta (better known as Pacer or ''Peso'', derived from ''Pay-Sus'', ca. *unknown – † 1875, Pacer was the leader of the Kiowa Apache tribe. Actually, Pacer was part of the peace faction and kept the main group of Plains Apaches on the reservation during the Red River War of 1874–75) * Si-tah-le ("Poor Wolf") * Oh-ah-te-kah ("Poor Bear") * Ah-zaah ("Prairie Wolf")

Notable tribal members

Vanessa Jennings Vanessa Paukeigope Santos Jennings (born October 5, 1952) is a Kiowa/Kiowa Apache/Gila River Pima regalia maker, clothing designer, cradleboard maker, and beadwork artist from Oklahoma. Early life Jennings was born in the Gila River Indian Com ...

, Plains Apache/Kiowa/Pima beadwork artist and regalia-maker

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples.'' Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

Bibliography

*Beatty, John. 1974. ''Kiowa-Apache Music and Dance.'' Occasional Publications in Anthropology: Ethnology Series. Number 31. Greeley, CO: Northern Colorado UP. *Bittle, William. 1954. “The Peyote Ritual of the Plains Apache.” ''Oklahoma Anthropological Society''. 2: 69-79. *______. 1962. “The Manatidie: A Focus for Plains Apache Tribal Identity.” ''Plains Anthropologist.'' 7(17): 152-163. *______. 1963. “Kiowa-Apache.” In ''Studies in the Athapaskan Languages''. (Ed. Hoijer, Harry). University of California Studies in Linguistics vol. 29. Berkeley: California UP. 76-101. *______. 1964. “Six Plains Apache Tales.” ''Oklahoma Papers in Anthropology.'' 5:8-12. *______. 1971. “A Brief History of the Plains Apache.” ''Oklahoma Papers in Anthropology''. 12(1): 1-34. *______. 1979. “Plains Apache Raiding Behavior.” ''Oklahoma Papers in Anthropology''. 20(2): 33-47. *Brant, Charles S. 1949. “The cultural position of the Kiowa-Apache.” ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology''. 5(1): 56-61. *Brant, Charles S. 1950. “Peyotism among the Kiowa-Apache and Neighboring Tribes.” ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology''. 6(2): 212-222. *Brant, Charles S. 1953. “Kiowa-Apache Culture History: Some Further Observations.” ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology''. 9(2): 195-202. *Brant, Charles S. 1969. ''Jim Whitewolf: The Life of a Plains Apache.'' New York: Dover Publications. *Jordan, Julia A. 2008 ''Plains Apache Ethnobotany''. University of Oklahoma Press. *McAllister, J. Gilbert. 1937. “Kiowa-Apache Social Organization.” In ''Social Anthropology of North American Tribes''. (ed. Eggan, Fred). Chicago: Chicago UP.99-169. *_______.1949. “Plains Apache Tales.” In ''The Sky is My Tipi.'' (ed. Boatright, Mody). Dallas: SMU Press. 1-141. *_______.1970. ''Dävéko: Kiowa-Apache Medicine Man.'' Austin: Bulletin of the Texas Memorial Museum, No. 17. *Meadows, William C. 1999. Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche Military Societies. University of Texas Press, Austin. * Opler, Morris E. (1969). Western Apache and Plains Apache materials relating to ceremonial payment. ''Ethnology'', ''8'' (1), 122-124. * Opler, Morris E; & Bittle, William E. (1961). The death practices and eschatology of the Plains Apache. ''Southwestern Journal of Anthropology'', ''17'' (4), 383-394. * Schweinfurth, Kay Parker. (2002). ''Prayer on top of the earth: The spiritual universe of the Plains Apaches''. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Apache Tribe of Oklahoma (Kiowa-Apache)

Kiowa Comanche Apache IT
Kiowa Comanche Apache Indian Territory Project {{DEFAULTSORT:Plains Apache Apache tribes Athabaskan peoples Native American tribes in Oklahoma Federally recognized tribes in the United States