Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan

Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, who have lived in the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and

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, and ...

for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, Oklahoma,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, and northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Historically, they were the easternmost band of Apache.Swanton, ''The Indian Tribes of North America'', p. 301 Early adopters of

horse culture A horse culture is a tribal group or community whose day-to-day life revolves around the herding and breeding of horses. Beginning with the domestication of the horse on the steppes of Eurasia, the horse transformed each society that adopted it ...

and peyotism, the Lipan Apache hunted bison and farmed. Many Lipan Apache descendants today are enrolled members of the

Mescalero Apache Tribe Mescalero or Mescalero Apache ( apm, Naa'dahéńdé) is an Apache tribe of Southern Athabaskan–speaking Native Americans. The tribe is federally recognized as the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Apache Reservation, located in south-ce ...

.Mescalero Apache Research Report
(2020), p. 3. Other Lipan descendants are enrolled with the Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma and Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, also known as the

Kiowa Apache The Plains Apache are a small Southern Athabaskan group who live on the Southern Plains of North America, in close association with the linguistically unrelated Kiowa Tribe. Today, they are centered in Southwestern Oklahoma and Northern Texas a ...

or Plains Apache. Other Lipan Apache descendants live in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, and northern Mexico.

Language

Lipan Apache is a

Southern Athabaskan language 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 a ...

, considered to be closely related to the

Jicarilla Apache language Jicarilla ( apj, Abáachi mizaa) is an Eastern Southern Athabaskan language spoken by the Jicarilla Apache. History The traditional homelands of the Jicarilla Apache (Tinde) were located in the northeast and eastern regions of New Mexico. The ...

. In 1981, two elders on the Mescalero Apache Reservation were fluent Lipan speakers.

Name

Their first recorded name is ''Ypandes''. Captain Felipe de Rábago y Terán first wrote the term ''Lipanes'' in 1761. The terms ''Eastern Apache'' and ''Texas Apache'' can also include them as well as the Chiricahua and Mescalero. ''

Querecho The Querechos were a Native American people. In 1541 the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his army journeyed east from the Rio Grande Valley in search of a rich land called Quivira. Passing through what would later be the ...

'', a Navajo name for the Apache, was adopted by early Spanish colonists.Mescalero Apache Research Report
(2020), p. 7. Spanish chroniclers recorded their names as Achos, Chipaines, Conejeros, and Rio Colorados (or Canadian River Apaches). The Spanish recorded the Tucubante as being a band of Lipan Apache.

History

Southern Athabascans, the Apache and Navajo, had settled in New Mexico and western Texas at least by 1300 CE.Mescalero Apache Research Report
(2020), p. 4. Precontact Plains Apache first lived along the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Pueblo peoples The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Z ...

to the west and Caddoan peoples to the east.

Pictographs A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and g ...

Hueco Tanks Hueco Tanks is an area of low mountains and historic site in El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. It is located in a high-altitude desert basin between the Franklin Mountains to the west and the Hueco Mountains to the east. ''Hueco'' is ...

may be associated with the Apache.

16th and 17th centuries

Ancestors of the Lipan Apache lived along the Canadian River when the Expedition of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado traveled there in 1541 and were still in the region when

Diego de Vargas Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León y Contreras (1643–1704), commonly known as Don Diego de Vargas, was a Spanish Governor of the New Spain territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, to the US states of New Mexico and Arizona, titular ...

arrived in 1694. Historians believe the Teya Indians of the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

likely merged into the Lipan. Lipan Apache obtained horses from the Spanish by 1608 and adopted a nomadic lifestyle. They were excellent horsemen and freely raided settlements. Throughout the 17th century, Spaniards raided Apache communities for slaves. The Acho, a branch of Lipan, fought with

Taos Pueblo Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo de Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos-speaking (Tiwa) Native American tribe of Puebloan people. It lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico. The pueblos are considered to be one of the oldest ...

and Picuris Pueblo people against the Spanish in the 1620

Pueblo Revolt The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé's Rebellion or Popay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than present-day New Mex ...

.Mescalero Apache Research Report (2020), p. 16 In 1684, Spanish colonists completed the Mission San Francisco de los Julimes near

Presidio, Texas Presidio is a city in Presidio County, Texas, United States. It is situated on the Rio Grande (''Río Bravo del Norte'') River, on the opposite side of the U.S.–Mexico border from Ojinaga, Chihuahua. The name originates from Spanish and means " ...

, to serve

Jumano Jumanos were a tribe or several tribes, who inhabited a large area of western Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, especially near the Junta de los Rios region with its large settled Indigenous population. They lived in the Big Bend area in ...

, Julime, and neighboring tribes. These tribes taught the peyote ceremony to the Tonkawa and Lipan, who in turn, shared it with the Comanches, Mescalero Apaches, and Plains Apaches. In the 1860s, Spanish chroniclers wrote that some Lipan Apache lived near the Gulf Coast and adopted lifeways of the neighboring

Karankawa The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by John ...

18th century

By 1700, Lipan had settled across southern Texas and into Coahuila,

.Mescalero Apache Research Report (2020), p. 18 They still lived in agricultural settlements, where they farmed indigenous crops such as pumpkins, corn, and beans, as well as watermelons, introduced from Africa. French explorer

Bénard de La Harpe Benard or Bénard is a surname or given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Abraham-Joseph Bénard (1750–1822), French actor of the Comédie-Française * Aimé Bénard (1873–1938), Canadian politician * Alexander Benard, Am ...

encounter the Lipan Apache near present-day

Latimer County, Oklahoma Latimer County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Wilburton. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,154. The county was created at statehood in 1907 and named for James L. Latim ...

, in 1719. The Lipan were first mentioned in Spanish records in 1718 when they raided Spanish settlements in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. They frequently raided Spanish supply trains traveling from Coahuila to the newly established San Antonio. In 1749, two Lipan Apache chiefs joined other Apache leaders in signing one of the earliest recorded peace treaties with Spain in San Antonio.Mescalero Apache Research Report (2020), p. 28 Some Lipan Apache people settled northwest of San Antonio during the mid-18th century. Spanish colonists built forts and missions near Lipan settlements. A mission on the San Sabá River was completed in 1757 but destroyed by the Comanche and the Wichita.Swanton, ''The Indian Tribes of North America'', p. 322 That same year, the Lipan Apache fought the Hasinais, a band of

Caddo people The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

. The Lipan participated in a Spanish expedition against the Wichita and Comanche_in_1759_but_were_defeated_in_the_Battle_of_the_Twin_Villages._Missions_established_for_the_Lipan_at_Candelaria_and_San_Lorenzo_were_destroyed_by_the_Comanche_in_1767.Swanton,_''The_Indian_Tribes_of_North_America'',_p._323 By_1767,_all_Lipan_had_completely_deserted_the_Spanish_missions._In_the_same_year,_Cayetano_Pignatelli,_3rd_Marquis_of_Rubí.html" ;"title="Battle_of_the_Twin_Villages.html" ;"title="Comanche in 1759 but were defeated in the Battle of the Twin Villages">Comanche in 1759 but were defeated in the Battle of the Twin Villages. Missions established for the Lipan at Candelaria and San Lorenzo were destroyed by the Comanche in 1767.Swanton, ''The Indian Tribes of North America'', p. 323 By 1767, all Lipan had completely deserted the Spanish missions. In the same year, Cayetano Pignatelli, 3rd Marquis of Rubí">Marquis of Rubí started a policy of Lipan extermination after a 1764 smallpox epidemic had decimated the tribe.

19th century

In the early 19th century, Lipan Apache primarily lived in south and west Texas, south of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

and east to the Rio Grande. To resist their enemies the Comanche and the Mexicans, the Lipan Apache allied with the Republic of Texas in the 1830s. They served as

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

to the Texas Militia during the Texas Revolution of 1835–36. Upon joining the United States in 1846, Texas owned massive war debts and used land sales to raise funds. The state of Texas left almost no land to American Indians. Texas established the Brazos Reservation in 1854 but then forced the tribes to relocate to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

by 1859. In 1855, some Lipan Apache joined the Brazos Reservation; however, most did not. Some joined the Plains Apache in Oklahoma; others joined the Mescalero in New Mexico, and others fled to Mexico. Anglo-Americans drove the Lipan Apache into Coahuila in the 1840s and 1850s. In 1869, Mexican troops from Monterrey were brought to Zaragosa to eliminate the Lipan Apache, who were blamed for causing trouble. Chief Magoosh (Lipan, ca. 1830–1900) led his band from Texas and joined the Mescalero Apache on the Mescalero Reservation in 1870. Troops attacked many Lipan camps; survivors fled to the Mescaleros in New Mexico. From 1875 to 1876,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

troops undertook joint military campaigns with the Mexican Army to eliminate the Lipan from the state of Coahuila in northern Mexico. In 1879, a group of 17 Lipan settled near Fort Griffin, Texas, but were in 1884, they forcibly removed to

, where they joined the Tonkawa. In 1881, a large campaign by

Mexican Army The Mexican Army ( es, Ejército Mexicano) is the combined land and air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National ...

’s Díaz division (assisted by US troops) forced all Lipan out of Coahuila and into Chihuahua.

20th century

In October 1903, 19 surviving Lipan Apache who fled Texas into Coahuila were taken to northwest Chihuahua and kept as prisoners of war until 1905. They were released to the Mescalero Reservation.

Population

Ethnographer James Mooney estimated that there were 500 Lipan Apache in 1690. Morris Opler estimated that the population was around 3,000 to 4,000; He estimated a total of 6,000 in 1700. In 1805, three bands of Lipan men were estimated to have been 750, while the 1910 census only listed 28 Lipan Apache people.

21st century

Lipan Apache descendants are enrolled with the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico, Tonkawa Tribe in Oklahoma, and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. Other individual descendants live in Texas, Coahuila, and surrounding areas. Several unrecognized tribes in Texas identify as being descendants of Lipan Apache. These include: # Cuelgahen Nde Lipan Apache of Texas in Three Rivers, Texas # Lipan Apache Band of Texas in

Brackettville, Texas Brackettville is a city in Kinney County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,688 at the 2010 census, down from 1,876 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kinney County. History Founded in 1852 as "Las Moras" (the name of a nearb ...

# Lipan Apache Nation of Texas, also known as the Kuné Tsa Nde Band of the Lipan Apache Nation of Texas, in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

# Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas in

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

. The Texas groups are not

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 United ...

. The

National Congress of American Indians The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is an American Indian and Alaska Native rights organization. It was founded in 1944 to represent the tribes and resist federal government pressure for termination of tribal rights and assimilati ...

identifies Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas as being a

state-recognized tribe State-recognized tribes in the United States are organizations that identify as Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by a process established unde ...

, while the

National Conference of State Legislatures The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

does not. The Texas Legislature has passed numerous congratulatory resolutions, honoring the Lipan Apache Band of Texas and the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas; however, "Resolutions are statements of opinions and, unlike bills, do not have the force of law." In January 2021, Texas Senate Bill 274 to formally recognize the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas died in committee. Texas has "no legal mechanism to recognize tribes."

Leaders

* Bigotes, "Mustached One" (mid-18th century), left Texas in 1751 and crossed with his Kuné tsa the Rio Grande into Coahuila. About this date they lived along the Rio Escondido and Rio San Rodrigo in Coahuila * Casimiro (18th c.), chief of one band in southern Texas, perhaps of the Ha´didla`Ndé * Cavezon, "Big Head" (unknown – ca. 1780), chief of the Ndáwe qóhä, a powerful band of the

San Saba River The San Saba River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It is an undeveloped and scenic waterway located on the northern boundary of the Edwards Plateau. Course The river begins in two primary branches. The North Valley Prong runs east throu ...

near the upper Nueces River * Coco, chief of the Cannesi N'de of Louisiana, ca. 1810–1860 * Costalites (ca. 1820 – 1873), chief of one band, that was wandering from Coahuila into southwest Texas * Cuelgas de Castro (ca. 1792 – ca. 1844), chief of the Tche shä in the territory of

across the Rio Grande in Tamaulipas * Flacco (ca. 1790 – ca. 1850), chief of the Kóke metcheskó lähä east and southeast of San Antonio) * Magoosh, Ma´uish (ca. 1830 – 1900), chief of the Tsis Nde of southeastern Texas, because of a severe epidemic one part of this band went to Zaragosa in Coahuila, the other part of Magoosh took refuge by the Mescalero and accompanied them in 1870 onto the Mescalero Reservation) * Poca Ropa, "Few or scant clothes" (ca. 1750 – ca. 1790), chief of the Tcha shka-ó´zhäye along the lower Pecos River * Yolcna Pocarropa (ca. 1820 – unknown), chief of several bands of the Tcha shka-ó´zhäye in western Texas, in 1830 he led them across the Rio Grande into

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

in Mexico downriver of Laredo

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Mescalero Apache Tribe
official website
Lipan Apache Band of Texas
official website
Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas
official website
Spanish Relations with the Apache Nations East of the Río Grande.

Treaty between the Republic of Texas and the Lipan and other Indian tribes, 1844

* ttp://www.tshaonline.org/publications/journals/shq/online/v017/n4/article_2.html The Apache Mission on the San Sabá River; Its Founding and Failure {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipan Apache People Apache tribes Native American tribes in New Mexico Native American tribes in Oklahoma Native American tribes in Texas Plains tribes Unrecognized tribes in the United States Indigenous peoples in Mexico