The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation (
Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the
Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed from their original homelands under a strategy devised by General
George Crook
George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nanta ...
of setting the various Apache tribes against one another. Once nicknamed "Hell's Forty Acres" during the late 19th century due to poor health and environmental conditions, today's San Carlos Apaches successfully operate a Chamber of Commerce, the Apache Gold and Apache Sky Casinos, a Language Preservation program, a Culture Center, and a Tribal College.
History
On December 14, 1872, President
U.S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General of the United States ...
established the San Carlos Apache Reservation. The government gave various religious groups responsibility for managing the new reservations, and the
Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...
was in charge of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. The church chose
John Clum
John Philip Clum (September 1, 1851 – May 2, 1932) was an Indian agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the Arizona Territory. He implemented a limited form of self-government on the reservation that was so successful that o ...
, who turned down the position twice before accepting the commission as Indian Agent for the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in the
Arizona Territory
The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state o ...
on February 16, 1874.
The U.S. Army showed both animosity toward the Indians and disdain for the civilian Indian Agents.
[ Soldiers and their commanding officers sometimes brutally tortured or killed the Indians for sport while politicians in Washington, D.C., knew little about differences in tribal cultures, customs, and language. The 8th Cavalry was stationed in Arizona during this time until 1875. Politicians also ignored political differences and military alliances and tried to apply a "one-size-fits-all" strategy to deal with the "Indian problem". As a result, tribal friends and foes were forced to live in close proximity to one another.][ Meanwhile, the Apaches were supposed to be fed and housed by their caretakers, but they rarely saw the federal money and suffered as a result.
Clum arrived at the reservation on August 4, 1874. During his tenure at San Carlos, he struck a lifelong friendship with ]Eskiminzin
Eskiminzin ( ''Ndee biyati' / Nnee biyati: "Men Stand in Line for Him"; or ''Hashkebansiziin'', ''Hàckíbáínzín'' - "Angry, Men Stand in Line for Him", 1828–1894) was a local group chief of the Aravaipa band of the San Carlos group of the ...
, an Aravaipa Apache chief, and persuaded many of the White Mountain people to move south to San Carlos. Clum won the Indians' confidence and the Apaches responded by turning in their weapons. The Apaches formed a tribal court to try minor infractions and joined the Tribal Police organized under Clum's command, which helped to form a system of limited Indian self-rule. The agent soon attracted 4,200 Apache and Yavapai Indians to the semi-arid reservation. The Army bristled at Clum's actions because they prevented them from taking part of the funds that passed through the reservation.
In 1875, Buffalo soldiers
Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in ...
of the 9th Cavalry from Texas replaced the 8th Cavalry in Arizona. The 9th Cavalry would stay in Arizona until 1881. On April 21, 1877, Clum, along with 100 of his best Apache Police, captured Geronimo
Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache b ...
at the Ojo Caliente Reservation in the New Mexico Territory
The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomin ...
. The U.S. Army, which had mounted intense efforts to track down and capture Geronimo, was seriously embarrassed by Clum's success. Indian Bureau administrators and U.S. Army commanders disliked Clum's methods and continually frustrated his efforts. Clum finally resigned, and the reservation's new administrators released Geronimo, resulting in more than 15 years of conflict across the American southwest.[
]
Tribes consolidated
In March 1875, the government closed the Yavapai-Apache Camp Verde Reservation and marched the residents to the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. 375 Yavapai
The Yavapai are a Native American tribe in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai – literally “people of the sun” (from ''Enyaava'' “sun” + ''Paay'' “people”) – were divided into four geographical bands who identified as separate, i ...
perished in the ensuing Indian Removal
Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a ...
deportations out of the 1,400 deported.
After the Chiricahuan Apache were deported east to Florida in 1886, San Carlos became the reservation for various other relocated Apachean
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
-speaking groups. These included the Pinal Coyotero of the northern Gila River
The Gila River (; O'odham ima Keli Akimel or simply Akimel, Quechan: Haa Siʼil, Maricopa language: Xiil) is a tributary of the Colorado River flowing through New Mexico and Arizona in the United States. The river drains an arid watershed of ...
area, the former San Carlos Apache bands Aravaipa (also ''Arivaipa'' or ''Tsee Zhinnee''), Pinaleño (also ''Pinal Apache'' or ''Tiis Ebah Nnee''), Apache Peaks (also called ''Bichi Lehe Nnee''), and San Carlos proper (also ''Tiis Zhaazhe Bikoh'' or ′Small Cottonwood Canyon People′), the former Canyon Creek, Carrizo Creek and Cibecue bands of the Cibecue Apache.
Today the Community Cibecue is part of the Fort Apache Reservation of the White Mountain Apache, historically with the communities Cedar Creek and Carrizo of the Cibecue Apache territory, various bands of Southern Tonto Apache, Tsiltaden ("mountain side people", a clan or band of the Chiricahua Apache a part of the Pinaleño), some Eastern White Mountain Apache (Dził Ghą́ʼ oder Dzil Ghaa a or 'On Top of Mountains People'), and the Lipan, Dzil Dlaazhe (''Mount Turnbull Apache'', a mixed Kwevekapaya San Carlos Apache band). By the early 1900s, Yavapais were drifting away from the San Carlos Reservation and were requesting permission to live at the original Camp Verde Reservation.
After the Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...
of 1934, the various Apache groups formed a government and became federally recognized as the San Carlos Nation. Grenville Goodwin
Grenville W. "Gren" Goodwin (1898 – 27 August 1951) was Mayor of Ottawa for several months in 1951. His hometown was Prescott, Ontario and he was an optometrist by profession. He moved to Ottawa in 1911. He served in France during World ...
, an anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...
who had lived with the Western Apache since the late 1920s, helped them to decide what government they wanted to form under the new law to gain more sovereignty.
Current growth and development
In 1999, the San Carlos Apache founded the Apache Nation Chamber of Commerce NCCto "create environments that ensure the greatest opportunity to succeed, and to become self-sufficient for Indigenous and all communities." The ANCC encourages individuals and corporations to form business relationships with Arizona's tribal governments.
Th
San Carlos Apache Tribe Wellness Center
established in 2003, is a tribally run out-patient mental health and substance abuse program. The new expanded clinic includes two round group rooms designed to simulate traditional Apache wickiups as well as sky lights to bring natural lighting into interior spaces and outside meeting space.
The San Carlos Apache Tribe's Language Preservation Program, located in Peridot, Arizona, began its outreach in 2011 to the 14,000 tribal members to help preserve and develop the Apache language.
In 2014, tribal Chairman Terry Rambler announced the establishment of the San Carlos Tribal College. The tribe signed a Memorandum of understanding with Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
to help develop curriculum for its proposed two-year Associate degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
Th ...
.
Resolution Copper controversy
In December 2014, President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
signed the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress o ...
, which would give land sacred to the Apache in Arizona to Resolution Copper
Resolution Copper (RCM) is a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP formed to develop and operate an underground copper mine near Superior, Arizona, U.S. The project targets a deep-seated porphyry copper deposit located under the now inacti ...
Mine (RCM), a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to:
Businesses
* Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation
** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada
** Rio Tinto Borax in America
*** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...
and BHP Billiton
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
. The Act cleared the way for the land swap in which Resolution Copper
Resolution Copper (RCM) is a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP formed to develop and operate an underground copper mine near Superior, Arizona, U.S. The project targets a deep-seated porphyry copper deposit located under the now inacti ...
would receive 2,422 acres of National Forest land in exchange for deeding to the federal government 5,344 acres of private land.
A proposal or rider in Section 3003 of the Act, titled "Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act", would allow RCM to develop and operate an underground copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...
mine 7,000-feet deep (approximately five Empire State buildings) in the publicly owned Tonto National Forest
The Tonto National Forest, encompassing , is the largest of the six national forests in Arizona and is the ninth largest national forest in the United States. The forest has diverse scenery, with elevations ranging from 1,400 feet (427 m) in ...
near Superior
Superior may refer to:
*Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind
Places
*Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state
*Lake ...
, Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
. The land contains more than 2,400 acres of the Oak Flat Campground, an area dotted with petroglyphs and historic and prehistoric sites. Said former San Carlos Apache tribal chairman Wendsler Nosie Sr. of the Act's attached rider: "This is Congressional politics at its worse, a hidden agenda that destroys human rights and religious rights."
The San Carlos Apache Tribe, under the leadership of Chairman Terry Rambler, has led a strong opposition to the RCM land exchange. Both the National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...
in Tucson and the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who b ...
in Arizona along with 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 ...
have joined in the fight to Resolution's land grab. Native American groups and conservationists worry about the impact to surrounding areas, including the steep cliffs at Apache Leap. James Anaya
Stephen James Anaya is an American lawyer and the 16th Dean of the University of Colorado Boulder Law School. He was formerly the James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of L ...
, former United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said that without community and tribal support, Rio Tinto should abandon its Resolution Copper
Resolution Copper (RCM) is a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP formed to develop and operate an underground copper mine near Superior, Arizona, U.S. The project targets a deep-seated porphyry copper deposit located under the now inacti ...
mining project. United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natur ...
Sally Jewell said she was "profoundly disappointed with the Resolution Copper
Resolution Copper (RCM) is a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP formed to develop and operate an underground copper mine near Superior, Arizona, U.S. The project targets a deep-seated porphyry copper deposit located under the now inacti ...
provision, which has no regard for lands considered sacred by nearby Indian tribes".
By January 2015 over 10,004,000 had signed a petition to President Obama, "We the People, Stop Apache Land Grab". Jodi Gillette, Special Assistant to the President for Native American Affairs, quickly gave an official White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
response, vowing that the Obama Administration will work with Resolution Copper's parent company Rio Tinto to determine how to work with the tribes to preserve their sacred areas.
In March 2016, the Oak Flat campground was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. While the designated site, which is identified by the National Register as the "Chi'chil Bildagoteel Historic District" will not stop the Resolution Copper mine, a federal agency must evaluate the project's effects on the property before taking action. Bills introduced in 2015 by Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
(D-Vermont) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva
Raúl Manuel Grijalva (; born February 19, 1948) is an American politician and activist who has served as the United States representative for since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 7th from 2003 to 2 ...
(D-Tucson) would reverse the land-exchange deal, but neither received a hearing. New legislation was introduced by Rep. Grijalva on January 17, 2019 with the promise of a companion bill in the Senate to be sponsored by Bernie Sanders.
Population
As of August 2014, the San Carlos Apache tribe had an enrollment of 15,393 tribal members. As of 2018, approximately 9,945–10,945 lived on the Reservation.
The San Carlos Reservation's annual median household income of approximately $27,542, according to the US Census. About 49.2 percent of the people live under the poverty line, and 36.7 percent of the active labor force is unemployed.
Geography
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation encompasses 1.8 million acres of land area in northern Graham
Graham and Graeme may refer to:
People
* Graham (given name), an English-language given name
* Graham (surname), an English-language surname
* Graeme (surname), an English-language surname
* Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer
* Clan ...
, southeastern Gila, and eastern Pinal Counties. The reservation's communities include Bylas, Gilson Wash, Peridot, San Carlos, and 7mile. The San Carlos Lake was formed by the construction of Coolidge Dam
The Coolidge Dam is a reinforced concrete multiple dome and buttress dam southeast of Globe, Arizona on the Gila River. Built between 1924 and 1928, the Coolidge Dam was part of the San Carlos Irrigation Project. Coolidge Dam was named after ...
and is the second largest body of water in Arizona. The reservation is the tenth-largest Indian reservation in land area with desert, alpine meadows, and Ponderosa Pine
''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...
forest. The Fort Apache Indian Reservation
The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation on the border of New Mexico and Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of ...
, which has a smaller land area, is directly north.
The reservation is also home to one of the most productive localities in the world for peridot, hosting the precious gem as nodules within the vesicular basaltic rocks found at Peridot Mesa. The prominent mesa rises about 90 meters from the surrounding desert environment. Having been worked since at least the late 19th century, the mesa hosts many small open pit mines excavated into the host vesicular basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
. Due to the protected status of the locality there are strict rules regarding mining in the area; being open only to tribal members or from permission by the tribe via a permit.
Transportation
U.S. Route 70 traverses the reservation from north to south.
San Carlos Apache Nnee Bich'o Nii Transit provides transportation within the reservation, as well as service to Globe
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model globe ...
and Safford. Greyhound Lines serves Bylas and Peridot on its Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
–El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
via Globe route.
Attractions
* Th
San Carlos Apache Culture Center
tells the stories and history of the Apache people.
* Th
owned and operated by the San Carlos Apache Nation, offers gaming, dining and lodging.
* Th
offers hunting, fishing, boating, camping, birdwatching, and nature study on the scenic reservation. Tribal permits (required) available from local convenience and sporting-goods stores.
Notable tribal members
* Douglas Miles
Douglas Miles is a San Carlos Apache-Akimel O'odham painter, printmaker and photographer from Arizona, who founded Apache Skateboards and Apache Skate Team.
Background
Douglas Miles grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, then moved back to the San Carl ...
, artist and founder of Apache Skateboards
* Mary Kim Titla, former reporter/anchor for the NBC-TV affiliate in Phoenix
* Craig Dan Goseyun, Sculptor
*
* Chesley Goseyun Wilson
Chesley Goseyun Wilson (July 31, 1932 – October 4, 2021) was a maker and performer of the Apache fiddle, singer, dancer, medicine man, silversmith, former model, and actor. Wilson received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endo ...
, actor and maker of the Apache violin
* Lynnette Haozous, artist
See also
* San Carlos Apache Police Department
The San Carlos Apache Police Department is the tribal police agency responsible for law enforcement within the jurisdiction of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. The agency is responsible for about 10,000 persons.
Substations
* San Ca ...
* Rattlesnake Fire (2018)
References
External links
Official San Carlos Apache Nation website
''The Apache Messenger''
, tribal newspaper
Joint Statement of the San Carlos Apache Tribe Concerned Citizens and Retired Miners Coalition and Arizona Mining Reform Coalition
East Central Arizona History
Geologic Map of the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona
United States Geological Survey
San Carlos Apache Texts
American Museum of Natural History
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation
Apache tribes
Western Apache
American Indian reservations in Arizona
Federally recognized tribes in the United States
Geography of Graham County, Arizona
Geography of Gila County, Arizona
Geography of Pinal County, Arizona
1872 establishments in Arizona Territory
Native American history of Arizona
Yavapai