For hundreds of years, Native American tribes flourished on the North American continent, from the most remote regions of Canada to the jungles of Central and South America. In the area now known as the United States, many separate tribes of Native Americans roamed the plains, inhabited the woods, or lived in the deserts, relying only on themselves and their environments for survival. Tribes such as the Iroquois lived in the Eastern woods, other tribes roamed the Great Plains in search of bison, and still others, such as the Chumash of California, lived in California. The Anasazi carved great cities in the South West, and much later the Apaches maintained a comfortable existence raiding and trading with other tribes. Each tribe has a separate culture and history, including different languages, methods of substainance, and beliefs. Culture consists of several aspects, such as language, religion, mores, laws, and economy. The economy of the Apache people has been, and remains to this day, a unique and fascinating study in survival and ingenuity against all odds.

        Historically, the Apache have been known for a unique economy. Early Apache hunted the buffalo, following their prey around the southwest and plains.¹ They also subsisted on other wild game, seed and fruit gathering, and the sale and trade of livestock. Although farming was practiced in a limited degree among the Apache tribes, males did not participate. Those who were a member of the warrior class felt it to be below their worth and dignity to work the soil. Although not a widespread endeavor, what farming was undertaken was done in the most part by the women, as was the gathering of natural fruits and seeds.² The western Apache were less nomadic and aggressive than their eastern brethren. The Jicarilla, a western Apache tribe, relied solely on farming. For the most part, the warriors of the tribe would hunt.³ During the late 1500s, the Spanish disrupted Apache trade connections. The Apaches participated in trade with the Spanish for a time, trading two times a year with furs and skins. The last trip to Janos, a Spanish trading post, took place in 1858.⁴

        In 1598, when New Mexico became a Spanish colony, hostilities between the Apache and Spanish settlers increased. The Spanish interference caused more of a reliance on their other food sources, eventually leading to raiding. The Apache would also raid other tribes such as the Comanche or Spanish settlers for what supplies and food they could not get on their own. These raids became a major part of Apache survival. Not only would the Apache warriors raid the harvest of other tribes, they would also take their livestock and sell the animals. This sale of livestock, which consisted mainly of cattle, became the main source of income for many Apaches. Not all owned cattle, so those that did shared their income in a remarkable display of benevolence. A tribal fund was usually created, allowing the proceeds from cattle sale to benefit all less fortunate tribe members to survive.⁵ This system, in fact, may have contributed, in ideology, to the welfare system of the United States.

        The coming of the white man turned out to be disastrous to the Apache. Before the white man, an influx of Comanches drove the Apache south of the buffalo hunting grounds, causing them to lose their main food source and rely more heavily on raiding, trading, and farming. This was the effectual beginnings of the Apache raiding economy, which began in the early 1700s. Before this time raiding was occasionally practiced, but it became essential with the ending of buffalo hunting. The Apaches assaulted and raided many American settlements in the west, prompting the new nation to do something to protect the settlers. With the Indian wars of 1848 and the victory of the U.S. Military over the Chief Geronimo of the Apaches, the raiding economy ceased to exist.⁶

        The United States Cavalry hunted down Geronimo in 1886 and confined a large group of Apaches in Florida, eventually destined for reservations in the West. Reservation life caused a great change in the lifestyle of the Apaches. No longer could they live through raiding, but had to commit fully to farming and livestock trading. The tribal funds were maintained, as in days of old, to protect the less fortunate tribe members against poverty.⁷ As the funds ran dry, the Apaches began to approach poverty. Before the Apaches could take a step forward into incorporating the best of white man’s civilization, they had to overcome taboos against change. Poverty, widespread unemployment, and lack of government money to reservations ran rampant among the Apaches.⁸

        These poor conditions existed unopposed until the year 1953. The Tribal Council voted in that year to solve their economic problems on the Fort Apache reservation by utilizing their own natural resources.⁹ They created the White Mountain Enterprises, with which they embarked on the tourist trade. With this company, the Apaches began to run tour expeditions, hiking tours, horseback tours, and sold supplies such as animal lures and big game hunting supplies.^{10, 11}

        Today, there are about 15,000 Apaches in the United States, many of whom live on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Farming, Cattle herding, and tourism are the most important economic concerns, but problems still exist. In the 1990 Census, 35.3% of Apaches on the Fort Apache reservation remained unemployed, and 49.9% were considered to be in poverty.¹² Prosperity has come to the Apaches, but not to all.

        Over time, the Apaches have had many different systems of economy. Hunting, trading, and raiding each functioned as the main Apache system of economy over different periods of time, each ever changing as factors outside the tribe’s control forced modification of their system. After 55 years, the Apache tourist company, White Mountain Enterprises, has not been as effective as originally hoped, resulting in astronomically high rates of unemployment and poverty on Apache reservations. What lurks over the horizon for the Apache Nation? Will it be the economic salvation of Indian gaming, or will it be another century of poverty and unemployment? For now, the skies look bright with the prospect of revenue-generating gambling, but only time will tell the economic fate of the Apache nation.
 
 

References:

1) “Apache,” Microsoft Encarta 1997

2) Burlinson, Irene, Yesterday and Today in the Life of the Apaches Philadelphia, Dorrance & Company, 1973 pg 35

3) “Apache,” Microsoft Encarta 1997

4) Cooke, David C, Apache Warrior W.W. Norton & Company, 1963 pg. 4

5) Burlinson, pg. 68

6) “Apache,” Microsoft Encarta 1993

7) “Apache,” Microsoft Encarta 1997

8) Burlinson, pg. 75

9) Ibid

10) Internet- Apache Trail Tours http://www.arizonaguide.com/apachetrail

11) Internet- Bottle Menu http://home.att.net/~indian-1/main-a.htm

12) Internet-1990 United States Census Results http://www.acu.edu/missions/indians/indsocia.htm

      Other: “Apache.” The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, 1995

      Internet-Inde (Apache) Literature http://www.indians.org/welker/apache.htm
 

Bibliography:

Burlinson, Irene. Yesterday and Today in the Life of the Apaches. Philadelphia, Dorrance & Company, 1973

Cooke, David C. Apache Warrior W.W. Norton & Company Inc 1963

“Apache,” Microsoft Encarta, 1993. Funk & Wagnall’s Corp.

“Apache” Microsoft Encarta 1997. Sandra L Cadwalader, Microsoft Corperation.

“Apache” The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia University Press, 1995

Internet- Inde (Apache) Literature http://www.indians.org/welker/apache.htm

Internet- Apache Trail Tours http://home.att.net/~indian-1/main-a.htm

Internet-1990 Census Results http://www.acu.edu/missions/indians/indsocia.htm