![Flag of the Tonto Apache Tribe](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Flag_of_the_Tonto_Apache_Tribe.png)
The Tonto Apache (Dilzhę́’é, also Dilzhe'e, Dilzhe’eh Apache) is one of the groups of
Western Apache
The Western Apache live primarily in east central Arizona, in the United States. Most live within reservations. The Fort Apache Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDo ...
people and a
federally recognized tribe, the Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona.
The term is also used for their dialect, one of the three dialects of the Western Apache language (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 ...
).
The following Tonto Apache tribes 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 United ...
:
* Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizona
[
* ]Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation (Yavapai: A'ba:ja), formerly the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Community of the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe and Indian reservation in Maricopa County, Arizona about northeast of ...
, Arizona["Tribal Governments by Area: Western."]
''National Congress of American Indians.'' Retrieved 7 March 2012.
* San Carlos Apache Tribe of the San Carlos Reservation
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation ( Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed f ...
, Arizona[
** ]White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache 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 th ...
, Arizona[
* Yavapai-Apache Nation of the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, Arizona][
]
Name
Ethnonym
The name ''Dilzhę́’é'' is a Western Apache name that may translate as "people with high-pitched voices," but the etymology is unclear.
The Dilzhe’e Apache refer to themselves (autonym
Autonym may refer to:
* Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym
* Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name
See also
* Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...
) as ''Dilzhę́’é'', as do the San Carlos Apache
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation ( Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed fr ...
. The Western Apache from Bylas use the word ''Dilzhę́’é'' to refer to both the San Carlos and Tonto Apache groups.
Exonym
The White Mountain Apache
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 th ...
use the term ''Dilzhę́’é'' to refer to the Bylas, San Carlos, and Tonto Apache. The Chiricahua called the Tonto Apache Ben-et-dine or Binii?e'dine’ (“brainless people”, “people without minds”, i.e. "wild", "crazy", "Those whom you don’t understand"). The neighboring Western Apache ethnonym for them was Koun'nde ("wild rough people"), from which the Spanish derived their use of ''Tonto'' ("loose", "foolish") for the group. The kindred but enemy Navajo to the north called both the Tonto Apache and their allies, the 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 ...
, Dilzhʼíʼ dinéʼiʼ, translating as “People with high-pitched voices”).
The name ''Tonto'' is considered offensive by some, due to its etymology and meaning in Spanish, although that usage was derived from their learning the names by which neighboring groups referred to the Dilzhe’e. The name ''Tonto Apache'' has been widely used by most people outside the Western Apache communities. The term ''Tonto'' is encountered the more frequently in anthropology literature, especially older works, than ''Dilzhe’e''.
History
Interaction with neighboring Yavapai
The Tonto Apache lived alongside the ''Wipukepa'' (“People from the Foot of the Red Rock”) and ''Kewevkapaya,'' two of the four subgroups of the 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 ...
of central and western Arizona. The Tonto Apache territory stretched from the San Francisco Peaks, East Verde River
The East Verde River is a tributary of the Verde River in the U.S. state of Arizona. Beginning on the Mogollon Rim near Washington Park, Arizona, Washington Park, it flows generally southwest through Gila County, Arizona, Gila County and the Ton ...
and Oak Creek Canyon along the Verde River
The Verde River ( Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona.
Description
The ...
into the Mazatzal Mountains and to the Salt River in the SW and the Tonto Basin
The Tonto Basin, also known as Pleasant Valley, covers the main drainage basin of Tonto Creek and its tributaries in central Arizona, at the southwest of the Mogollon Rim, the higher elevation '' transition zone'' across central and eastern Ariz ...
in the SE, extending eastwards towards the Little Colorado River in 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 Dilzhę́’é Apache (Tonto Apache) lived usually east of the Verde River
The Verde River ( Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona.
Description
The ...
(Tu Cho n'lin, "big water running," or Tu'cho nLi'i'i, "big water flowing"), and most of the Yavapai bands west of it. The Wipukepa tribal areas in the San Francisco Peaks, along the Upper Verde River, Oak Creek Canyon, and Fossil Creek
Fossil Creek ( yuf-x-yav, Hakhavsuwa or ) is a perennial stream accessed by forest roads near the community of Camp Verde in the U.S. state of Arizona. Primary access is from Forest Road 708 off Arizona State Route 260 east of Camp Verde. A tr ...
overlapped with those of the Northern Tonto Apache. Likewise, the Kwevkepaya shared hunting and gathering grounds east of the Verde River, along Fossil Creek, East Verde River, Salt River, and in the Superstition Mountains
The Superstition Mountains ( yuf-x-yav, Wi:kchsawa) is a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are anchored by Superstition Mountain, a large mountain that is a popular recreation destination fo ...
, Sierra Ancha
The Sierra Ancha ("broad range" in Spanish, in Western Apache: Dził Nteel - "Wide Flat Mountain") is a mountain range in Gila County, in central Arizona. It lies between Roosevelt Lake to the south, the Tonto Basin to the west, Cherry Creek t ...
and Pinaleno Mountains with Southern Tonto Apache and bands of the San Carlos Apache
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation ( Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed fr ...
. Therefore they formed bilingual mixed-tribal band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
*Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
*Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
s, whose members could not be readily distinguished by outsiders (Americans, Mexicans or Spanish) except by their languages. The Apache spoke the Tonto dialect of the Western Apache language
The Western Apache language is a Southern Athabaskan language spoken among the 14,000 Western Apaches in Mexico in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua and in east-central Arizona. There are approximately 6,000 speakers living on the San Carlos ...
(Ndee biyati' / Nnee biyati') and the Yavapai spoke the Yavapai language
Yavapai is an Upland Yuman language, spoken by Yavapai people in central and western Arizona. There are four dialects: Kwevkepaya, Wipukpaya, Tolkepaya, and Yavepe. Linguistic studies of the Kwevkepaya (Southern), Tolkepaya (Western), Wipukepa ( ...
, a branch of Upland Yuman. Living together in common rancherias, whether they considered themselves to be Apaches or Yavapais, depending on their mother tongue as the origin of the matrilineal
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
society, directed by the mother. Most of them spoke both languages, and the headman of each band usually had two names, one from each tradition. The ethnic Europeans referred to the Yavapai and Apache together as Tonto or Tonto Apache. The peoples raided and warred together against enemy tribes such as the Tohono O'odham and the Akimel O'odham
The Pima (or Akimel O'odham, also spelled Akimel Oʼotham, "River People," formerly known as ''Pima'') are a group of Native Americans living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona, as well as northwestern Mexico in ...
. Scholars cannot tell from records whether the writers of the time when using the term Tonto Apache, were referring to Yavapai or Apache, or those mixed bands. In addition, the Europeans often referred to the Wipukepa and Kwevkepaya incorrectly as the Yavapai Apache or Yuma Apache. To further confusion, the Europeans referred to the Tolkepaya, the southwestern group of Yavapai, and the Hualapai
The Hualapai (, , yuf-x-wal, Hwalbáy) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in Arizona with about 2300 enrolled members. Approximately 1353 enrolled members reside on the Hualapai Reservation, which spans over three counties in Nort ...
(who belonged to the Upland Yuma Peoples
Upland or Uplands may refer to:
Geography
*Hill, an area of higher land, generally
*Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points
*Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level
*I ...
) as Yuma Apache or Mohave Apache.
Ethnological writings describe some major differences between Yavapai and Tonto Apache peoples. Yavapai were described as taller, of more muscular build, well-proportioned and thickly featured while the Tonto Apaches were slight and less muscular, smaller of stature and finely featured. The Yavapai women were seen as stouter and having "handsomer" faces than the Yuma in the Smithsonian report. Another difference, which could probably not have been noticed at long range, was that the Yavapai were often tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...
ed, while Apaches seldom had tattoos. Painted designs on faces were different, as were funeral practices. In clothing, Yavapai moccasins were rounded, whereas the Apaches had pointed toes. Both groups were hunter-gatherers, but were so similar here that scholars are seldom able to distinguish between their campsites.
Relations with Apache and other tribes
The Western Apache groups, adjacent Tonto Apache bands and Chiricahua bands lived in relative peace with each other. There were occasional mutual raids, especially against the southern bands of the Chiricahua. The close connection with the Yavapai may have helped inform the dialect Tonto Apache, which is most distinct from the other two Apache dialects.
The Tonto Apache competed more with the Navajo (in Apache ''Yúdahá'' – 'Live Far Up' – 'Those who live up north') and the Enemy Navajo
An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...
(''Nda Yutahá'' – 'Navajo White Man' or 'Navajo who live like white men'), and the peoples engaged more in open conflict. From their sheep raising, the Navajo were able to acquire more European goods in trade, such as blankets, foods, and various tools, which the Tonto lacked. In addition, "Enemy Navajo" often served as scouts against the Tonto Apache for the hostile tribes and Europeans. Sometimes the Apache exchanged the stolen cattle and horses they had acquired in raids for the prestigious Navajo blankets while maintaining peace with the Navajo.
Typically hunter-gatherers
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
, the Tonto Apache hunted (antelope, deer, birds, bush rats, etc.) and collected (agave
''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...
, berries, wild plants, seeds). The women also cultivated watermelon
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...
s, pumpkins, corn, later grain, etc. When stocks were running low and the stored food supplies were depleted, it was common that a respected woman (so-called 'woman chief' or elder) brought public attention to the plight. The woman asked the leaders of the ''rancheria'' to go on raids against other Indians and European-Americans to raid to acquire what was needed. The Western Apache raided over an area from 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 ...
in western Arizona, to the Zuni (''Nashtizhé'' – 'black-dyed eyebrows') and Hopi (''Tseka kiné `'' – 'people who dwell in stone houses') in the north, to the later Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Durango in the far south.
Reservation life
Yavapai-Apache Nation Indian Reservation
After being relocated to the Camp Verde Reservation, on the Verde River
The Verde River ( Yavapai: Haka'he:la) is a major tributary of the Salt River in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is about long and carries a mean flow of at its mouth. It is one of the largest perennial streams in Arizona.
Description
The ...
near Camp Verde
Camp Verde ( yuf-x-yav, ʼMatthi:wa; Western Apache: Gambúdih) is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town is 10,873.
The town hosts an annual corn festival in July, sponsored and orga ...
, the Yavapai and Tonto Apache began to construct irrigation systems (including a five-mile (8 km) long ditch). These functioned well enough for them to reap sufficient harvests, making the tribe relatively self-sufficient. But, contractors who worked with the United States government to supply the reservations were disappointed, and petitioned to have the reservation revoked. The government complied, and in March 1875, the government closed the reservation. They forced the residents to travel by foot in winter to the San Carlos Reservation
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation ( Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed f ...
. More than 100 Yavapai died during the winter trek.
By the early 1900s, the Yavapai were drifting away from the San Carlos Reservation. They requested permission to live on the grounds of the original Camp Verde Reservation. In 1910, the US government set aside as the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, and in the following decade added in two parcels, which became the Middle Verde Indian Reservation. These two reservations were combined in 1937, and the people formed the federally recognized Camp Verde Yavapai-Apache Nation.
Today, the reservation spans , in four separate locales. Tourism contributes greatly to the economy of the tribe. Their reservation has many significant historic sites which have been preserved, including the Montezuma Castle National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument protects a set of well-preserved dwellings located in Camp Verde, Arizona, which were built and used by the Sinagua people, a pre-Columbian culture closely related to the Hohokam and other indigenous peoples o ...
. The Yavapai-Apache Nation is the amalgamation of two historically distinct tribal people; the Yavepe (Central Yavapai), Wipukepa (Wipukapaya) (Northeastern Yavapai) and Kewevkapaya (Southeastern Yavapai) People and the Tonto Apache (Dilzhe’e Apache), each of whom occupied the Upper Verde prior to European invasion. The Tonto Apache, calling themselves ''Dilzhe'e'', utilized the lands to the north, east and south; while the various Yavapai bands were using country to the north, the west and the south. They overlapped in the Upper Verde.[Yavapai-Apache Nation]
, ITCA
Fort McDowell Yavapai Reservation
The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation
The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation (Yavapai: A'ba:ja), formerly the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Community of the Fort McDowell Indian Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe and Indian reservation in Maricopa County, Arizona about northeast of ...
is located within Maricopa County, Arizona
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and List of the most populous counties in the ...
, approximately 20 miles from Phoenix. The reservation was authorized by President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
from the former Fort McDowell in 1903. By 1910, the Office of Indian Affairs was trying to relocate its residents to open up the area for development and enable other interests to use its water rights. A delegation of Yavapai testified to a Congressional Committee against this action, and won.
Today, the tribal community consists of 900 members, 600 of whom live on the reservation. The ''Guwevka'ba:ya'' or ''Southeastern Yavapai'' on Fort McDowell Reservation call themselves ''Aba:ja'' (″The People"). The population of Fort McDowell consists mostly of the Guwevka'ba:ya Yavapai as well as other Yavapai groups.
Tonto Apache Reservation
The Tonto Apache Reservation, located south of Payson, Arizona
Payson is a town in northern Gila County, Arizona, United States. Due to Payson's location being very near to the geographic center of Arizona, it has been called "The Heart of Arizona". The town is surrounded by the Tonto National Forest, the la ...
(in Apache: Te-go-suk – “Place of the Yellow Water” or “Place of the Yellow Land”) in ancestral territory of one of the principal Dilzhe'e Apache clans – the “People of the Yellow Speckled Water”, was created in 1972 within the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix. It consists of 85 acres (344,000 m²). With the smallest land base of any reservation in the state of Arizona, it serves about 100 tribal members of the 140 total; 110 are enrolled tribal members. The reservation is located adjacent to the town of Payson, in northwestern Gila County
Gila County ( ) is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,272. The county seat is Globe.
Gila County comprises the Payson, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Gila County contains p ...
, approximately 95 miles northeast of Phoenix and 100 miles southeast of Flagstaff.
The Tonto Apache are the direct descendants of the ''Dilzhe'e Apache'' who lived in the Payson vicinity long before the arrival of Europeans. During the first reservation era, they were moved to the large Rio Verde Reserve, near Camp Verde
Camp Verde ( yuf-x-yav, ʼMatthi:wa; Western Apache: Gambúdih) is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town is 10,873.
The town hosts an annual corn festival in July, sponsored and orga ...
, which was established in 1871 for the Tonto and Wipukepa (Northeastern Yavapai). The U.S. federal government dissolved the reservation in 1875 and forced the people to relocate to the San Carlos Reservation
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation ( Western Apache: Tsékʼáádn), in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1872 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe as well as surrounding Yavapai and Apache bands removed f ...
. After 20 years of exile, some Tonto Apache gradually returned to Payson only to find white settlers had taken much of their land. Today, legislation is pending to provide them with trust title to the land on which they reside. The majority of the Tonto Apache, however, had decided to return together with their Yavapai allies and relatives to the Camp Verde Reservation to form the Yavapai-Apache Nation of today.
Western Apache Indian Reservations
Because of their forced relocation in 1875, today some Tonto Apache live in two reserves dominated by other Western Apache groups, the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and 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 ...
.
Sociopolitical organization
Like the other Western Apache groups, the Tonto Apache were not centrally organized. The smallest social unit was the matrilocal
In social anthropology, matrilocal residence or matrilocality (also uxorilocal residence or uxorilocality) is the societal system in which a married couple resides with or near the wife's parents. Thus, the female offspring of a mother remain ...
and matrilineal
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance ...
family living in one wickiup (''kowa'' or ''gowa''); each wife lived with her children in a separate wickiup. Some kindred families lived together as an extended family (so-called ''gotah'') in a ''rancheria'' together. Several ''gotah'' (extended families) formed local groups. Together, these claimed hunting and gathering areas. The highest organizational unit was the group or band, which are usually composed of several smaller local groups; it was organized mostly for military purposes and for common defense. (Band organization was strongest in Chiricahua society). The Tonto Apache were divided into the following bands:
Northern Tonto (inhabited the upper reaches of the Verde River and ranged north toward the San Francisco Mountains
The San Francisco Peaks (Navajo: , es, Sierra de San Francisco, Hopi: ''Nuva'tukya'ovi'', Western Apache: ''Dził Tso'', Keres: ''Tsii Bina'', Southern Paiute: ''Nuvaxatuh'', Havasupai-Hualapai: ''Hvehasahpatch''/''Huassapatch''/''Wik'hanbaja' ...
north of Flagstaff, because they shared hunting and gathering grounds with ''Wi:pukba/Wipukepaya'' bands of the Yavapai they formed bilingual mixed-tribal Northern Tonto Apache-Wi:pukba/Wipukepaya bands with common headmen, both the band/local group or its headman usually had two names, one was Apache (Southern Athabascan) the other Yavapai (Upland Yuman).)
* Bald Mountain band, in Apache: Dasziné Dasdaayé Indee (‘Porcupine Sitting Above People’) or in Yavapai: Wiipukepaya local group (′Oak Creek Canyon People′); in English often known as ''Bald Mountain band'' (Apache)or as ''Oak Creek Canyon band'' (Yavapai). Lived mainly around Bald Mountain or Squaw Peak, on the west side of the Verde Valley, southwest of Camp Verde. They lived entirely by hunting and gathering plant foods.
* Oak Creek band, in Apache: Tsé Hichii Indee (‘Horizontal Red Rock People’) or in Yavapai: Wiipukepaya local group (′Oak Creek Canyon People′); in English often known as ''Oak Creek band'' (Apache) or as ''Oak Creek Canyon band'' (Yavapai). Lived near today´s Sedona, along Oak Creek, Dry Beaver Creek, Wet Beaver Creek and southward to the west side of the Verde River between Altnan and West Clear Creek, eastward to Stoneman's and Mary's Lakes, and northward to Roger's Lake and Flagstaff.
* Fossil Creek band, in Apache: Tú Dotłʼizh Indee (‘Blue Water People,i.e. Fossil Creek People’) or in Yavapai Matkitwawipa band (′People of the Upper Verde River Valley (in Yavapai: Matkʼamvaha)′) Lived along and had a few tiny farms on Fossil Creek, Clear Creek and-a site on the Verde River below the mouth of Deer Creek, they hunted and gathered west of the Verde River, northwest to the Oak Creek band territory and northeast to Apache Maid Mountain.
* Mormon Lake band, in Apache: Dotłʼizhi HaʼitʼIndee (‘Turquoise Road Coming Up People’) Lived east of Mormon Lake
Mormon Lake is a shallow, intermittent lake located in northern Arizona in Pleasant Valley. With an average depth of only , the surface area of the lake is extremely volatile and fluctuates seasonally. When full, the lake has a surface area of ...
near the head of Anderson's Canyon and ranged up to the southern foot of the San Francisco Mountains, at Elden Mountain near Flagstaff, around Mormon, Mary's, Stoneman's and Hay Lakes, and at Anderson and Padre Canyons. Because they were exposed to the hostile Navajo on the north and east, they depended entirely on hunting and gathering wild plant foods for sustenance. ''Only the Mormon Lake band was composed entirely of Tonto Apache''.
Southern Tonto (lived in the Tonto Basin from the Salt River in south northward along and over the East Verde River, including the Sierra Ancha
The Sierra Ancha ("broad range" in Spanish, in Western Apache: Dził Nteel - "Wide Flat Mountain") is a mountain range in Gila County, in central Arizona. It lies between Roosevelt Lake to the south, the Tonto Basin to the west, Cherry Creek t ...
, Bradshaw Mountains
The Bradshaw Mountains ( yuf-x-yav, Wi:kañacha, "rough, black range of rocks") are a mountain range in central Arizona, United States, named for brothers Isaac and William D. Bradshaw after their deaths, having been formerly known in English as ...
and Mazatzal Mountains – like the Northern Tonto Apache with the ''Wi:pukba/Wipukepaya'' – they formed with the ''Guwevkabaya/Kwevkepaya'' bands of Yavapai bilingual mixed-tribal Southern Tonto Apache-Guwevkabaya/Kwevkepaya bands with common headmen.)
* Mazatzal band, in Apache: Tsé Nołtłʼizhn (‘Rocks in a Line of Greenness People’) or in Yavapai by two names: Hakayopa clan or Hichapulvapa clan Lived mainly in the eastern slopes of Mazatzal Mountains.
** Tsé Nołtłʼizhn' (Apache name) or in Yavapai: Hakayopa clan (‚Cottonwood People‘);[the ''Guwevkabaya/Kwevkepaya'' were the only Yavapai who had clans, the clans were probably taken over through contact with their Southern Tonto and San Carlos Apache neighbors and kin] in English simply known as ''Mazatzal band'' (Apache). Claimed the area around the community Sunflower Valley, the Mazatzal Mountains south of its highest peak, Mazatzal Peak (2.409 m), and to the east in the area around the former Fort Camp Camp Reno in the western Tonto Basin (also called Pleasant Valley).
** Tsé Nołtłʼizhn' (Apache name) or in Yavapai: Hichapulvapa clan (‚bunch-of-wood-sticking-up People‘); in English simply known as ''Mazatzal band'' (Apache). They claimed the Mazatzal Mountains southward from East Verde River and westward from North Peak to Mazatzal Peak.
* Dil Zhęʼé semi-band, in Apache: Dilzhę́’é, Dil Zhe`é (‘People with high-pitched voices’) or in Yavapai: Matkawatapa clan (‚red-strata-country People, i.e. Sierra Ancha People‘) The ''Dil Zhęʼé semi-band'' are the first and most important semi-band under which name the five remaining semi-bands were known, some Dil Zhęʼé of Sierra Ancha formed with members of the Walkamepa band a bilingual unit known to its Yavapai-speaking members as ''Matkawatapa''.
* second semi-band
* third semi-band
* fourth semi-band
* fifth semi-band
* sixth semi-band
Chiefs of the Tonto Apache
Tonto leader (bilingual Kwevkepaya-Tonto-Apache or Kwevkepaya-Pinaleno-Apache leader)
* Delshay (''Delshe'', ''Delchea'', ''Delacha'' - ‘Big Rump’, in Yavapai ''Wah-poo-eta'' or ''Wapotehe'', Kwevkepaya-Tonto-Apache leader, his bilingual mixed band of the Matkawatapa local group of the Walkamepa-Kwevkepaya and Southern Tonto-Apache with about 200 members lived in the Sierra Ancha with their western limit forming the Tonto Creek and in the east Cherry Creek, but often they were reported living in the Mazatzal Mountains west of their core range, not to be confused with ''Wah-poo-eta'', * about 1835; was involved in the killing of Lt. Jacob Almy at San Carlos in 1873 and fled after the murder along with Chuntz, Cochinay, and Chan-deisi into the wilderness, was tracked down by Apache scouts under Desalin and killed on 29. July 1874, his head together with 76 captured Kwevkepaya-Tonto were brought in Camp McDowell)
* Wah-poo-eta (''Wapotehe'', ''Wapooita'' - ‘Big Rump’, in Apache ''Delacha'' or ''Delshe'', Kwevkepaya-Tonto-Apache leader, about 750 band members, mostly Kwevkepaya and some Southern Tonto-Apache of the Mazatzal band, his band living in the southern Mazatzal Mountains was known to be the largest and fiercest band, because he refused to make peace with the Americans little is known about him, not to be confused with ''Delshay'', *?; killed † 15. August 1869 by a band of 44 Maricopa and Akimel O'odham under the Maricopa war leader Juan Chivaria in Castle Creek Canyon)
* Eschetlepan (''Chalipun'', ''Cha-Thle-Pah'', ''Choltepun'', called by the US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
''Charlie Pan'', Kwevkepaya-Tonto-Apache leader, was himself a Southern Tonto-Apache of the Mazatzal band, his band consisted mostly of Wikedjasapa-Kwevkepaya, his Apache following belonged to the Mazatzal and four of the six semi-bands of the Southern Tonto, his band of about 100 people lived southwest of Green Valley and south of the East Verde River, about ten miles east of the Verde River into the northern slopes of the Mazatzal Mountains, therefore they could easily raid in the Prescott and Wickenburg areas)
* Ashcavotil (''Ascavotil'', in Apache ''Escavotil'', Kwevkepaya-Pinaleno-Apache leader, his band of about 200 warriors was living east of Cherry Creek southward along both sides of the Salt River and in the Pinaleno Mountains, next to ''Wah-poo-eta'' he was the most warlike leader in central Arizona, heavily armed and well supplied with ammunition from Apache on the Fort Goodwin reservation, his warriors raided and warred as far south as Tucson, Sacaton and Camp Grant)
* Oshkolte (''Hascalté'', ''Has-Kay-Ah-Yol-Tel'', Tonto-Apache-Kwevkepaya leader, to his band belonged 70 warriors, 20 women and 20 children, his band – made up mostly of Southern Tonto-Apache and some Kwevkepaya – ranged on both sides of the Tonto Creek north to the East Verde River and south to the Salt River, close ally of ''Ashcavotil'' and ''Wah-poo-eta'', his warriors were well armed but depended on Ashcavotil and Wah-poo-eta for ammunition, lived east of the Four Peaks in the Mazatzal Mountains towards the Salt River, killed † March 1873)
* Nanni-chaddi (Tonto-Apache-Kwevkepaya leader, *?; was responsible for many raids on Akimel O'Odham and white settlements along the Salt and Gila River, killed † 28. December 1872 in the Battle of Salt River Canyon
The Battle of Salt River Canyon, the Battle of Skeleton Cave, or the Skeleton Cave Massacre was the first principal engagement during the 1872 Tonto Basin Campaign under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Crook. It was part of the Yavapai ...
, also called ''Skeleton Cave Massacre'', 130 troopers from the 5th Cavalry Regiment
The 5th Cavalry Regiment ("Black Knights") is a historical unit of the United States Army that began its service on August 3, 1861, when an act of Congress enacted "that the two regiments of dragoons, the regiment of mounted riflemen, and the t ...
led by Captain William H. Brown and 30 Indian Scouts, killed 76 men, women and children, 15 more were dying, only 18 women and 6 children survived and were taken into captivity)
* Skiitlanoyah (''Skitianoyah'', in Yavapai ''Skitlavisyah'', Kwevkepaya-Tonto-Apache leader, his mixed band of about 80 people resided north of Delshay's band between the middle East Verde River and the upper Tonto Creek north to the Mogollon Rim
The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topographical and geological feature cutting across the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border ...
)
* Piyahgonte (''Pi-yah-gon-te'', Yavapai-Tonto-Apache leader in the 1860s and 1870s, with his band of about 75 people he was living along both sides of the upper East Verde River north to the Mogollon Rim
The Mogollon Rim ( or or ) is a topographical and geological feature cutting across the northern half of the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately , starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border ...
, he was believed to be responsible for the most of the depredations around Prescott)
* Natatotel (''Natokel'' or ''Notokel'', Kwevkepaya-Tonto-Apache leader, killed † June 1873)
Tonto-Apache leader
* Chuntz (''Chunz'', Tonto Apache leader, fled after the San Carlos outbreak in 1873 along with Delshay, Cochinay, and Chan-deisi into the wilderness, was tracked down and killed in July 1874 in the Santa Catalina Mountains by Apache scouts under Tonto Apache (or White Mountain?) leader Desalin, his head with six of his last supporters were brought into San Carlos on 25. July 1874 and displayed for several days on the parade ground)
* Chan-deisi (‘Broken Nose’, also known as ''She-shet'', called by George Crook ''John Daisy'', Tonto Apache leader, was a discharged scout who belonged to Cochinay's band, fled after the murder of Lt. Jacob Almy at San Carlos in 1873 along with Chuntz, Cochinay, and Delshay into the wilderness, killed on 12. June 1874 by Indian scouts, decapitated and his head was brought into Camp Apache)
* Cochinay (‘Yellow Thunder’, Tonto Apache leader, fled after the murder of Lt. Jacob Almy at San Carlos in 1873 along with Chuntz, Delshay, and Chan-deisi into the wilderness, was caught and killed by Indian scouts in the latter part of May 1874, decapitated and his head was brought into San Carlos on 26. May 1874)
* Naqui-Naquis (Tonto Apache leader, killed † June 1873)
* Ba-coon (''Bacon'' or ''Bocan'' – “Big Mouth”, also called ''Eskimo-tzin'', ''Esqinosquin'' or ''Esquimosquin'', Tonto Apache leader and later Apache Scout, †1874)
See also
* Western Apache
The Western Apache live primarily in east central Arizona, in the United States. Most live within reservations. The Fort Apache Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDo ...
* Yavapai-Apache Nation
* Southern Athabaskan languages
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 ...
References
Further reading
* Goodwin, Grenville (1971). ''Western Apache Raiding and Warfare'', Basso, Keith H. (Ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
* Donald E. Worcester (1992).''The Apaches – Eagles of the Southwest'', University of Oklahoma Press, (engl.)
* Nikolaus Baumhauer (1993). ''Die Apachen: Entstehung der Rivalität'', Verlag für Amerikanistik,
* James L. Haley (1981). ''Apaches: A History and Culture Portrait'', University of Oklahoma Press, Norman,
* Ian. W. Record (1971). ''Big Sycamore Stands Alone: The Western Apaches, Aravaipa, and the Struggle for Place'', University of Oklahoma Press, Norman,
* de Reuse, Willem J. (2006). ''A practical grammar of the San Carlos Apache language''. LINCOM Studies in Native American Linguistics 51. .
* Goodwin, Grenville (1942). ''The Social Organization of the Western Apache''. Goodwin, Janice T. (Ed.). The University of Chicago publications in anthropology: Ethnological series. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. eprinted 1969 by Tucson: University of Arizona Press
External links
Tonto Apache Tribe
Arizona Intertribal Council
Mazatzal Hotel & Casino - Tonto Apache Tribe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonto Apache
Apache tribes
Western Apache
Federally recognized tribes in the United States
Native American tribes in Arizona