Jicarilla Apache
Jicarilla Apache (Spanish: [xikaˈɾiʝa], Jicarilla language: Jicarilla Dindéi), one of several loosely organized autonomous bands of the Eastern Apache, refers to the members of the Jicarilla Apache Nation currently living in New Mexico and speaking a Southern Athabaskan language. The term jicarilla comes from Mexican Spanish meaning "little basket",[4] referring to the small sealed baskets they used as drinking vessels. To neighboring Apache bands, such as the Mescalero and Lipan, they were known as Kinya-Inde ("People who live in fixed houses").
The Jicarilla called themselves also Haisndayin translated as "people who came from below".[5] because they believed themselves to be the sole descendants of the first people to emerge from the underworld, the abode of Ancestral Man and Ancestral Woman, who produced the first people. The Jicarilla believed Hascin, their chief deity, was responsible for the creation of Ancestral Man and Ancestral Woman and also for the creation of the animals and the sun and moon.[6]
The Jicarilla Apache lived in a
The mid-1800s until the mid-1900s were particularly difficult, as tribal bands were displaced, treaties made and broken, subject to significant loss of life due to
Tribal members transitioned from a seminomadic lifestyle and are now supported by their
.History
Early history
The Jicarilla Apaches are one of the Athabaskan linguistic groups that migrated out of Canada, by 1525 CE, and possibly several hundred or more years earlier,[7] and lived in what they considered their land bounded by four sacred rivers in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado: the Rio Grande, Pecos River, Arkansas River, and Canadian River containing sacred mountain peaks and ranges and ranged out into the plains of northwestern Texas and the western portions of Oklahoma and Kansas.[8][9] They were found to be in the Chama Valley, New Mexico, and points east by the 1600s. Prior to that time, and the arrival of the Spanish, the Jicarilla lived a relatively peaceful existence.[10]
In the 1600s, the Jicarillas were seminomadic, practicing seasonal
The
By the 1800s, they were planting along the rivers, especially along the upper Arkansas River and its tributaries, a variety of crops, sometimes using irrigation to aid in growing squash, beans, pumpkins, melons, peas, wheat, and corn. They found farming in the mountains safer than on the open plains. They primarily hunted buffalo into the 17th century, and thereafter hunted antelope, deer, mountain sheep, elk, and buffalo. From the wild, women gathered berries, agave, honey, onions, potatoes, nuts, and seeds.[11][12]
Sacred land and creation story
From the Jicarilla
Traditional Jicarilla stories of White Shell Woman, Killer of the Enemies, Child of the Water and others feature places and nearby people special to them, such as the
Of the connection to Taos, in 1865 Father Antonio José Martínez, a New Mexican priest, commented that the Jicarilla had a long history living between the mountains and the villages and making pottery as an important source of income. Clay for the pottery came from the Taos and Picuris Pueblo areas.[18]
Pressures for Jicarilla Apache land
Due to increase in other populations,
When the
Ollero and Llanero bands
The geography of the Jicarilla tribal territory consists of two fundamental environments which helped shape the basic social organization of the Tribe into two bands: the Llaneros, or plains people, and the Olleros, or mountain valley people.[21][22][23]
Beginning in the 19th century, after being pushed out of the plains, the Jicarilla split into two bands:
- The Olleros, the Puebloan peoples[25]
- The Llaneros, the plains people clan, a.k.a. Eastern Jicarilla, lived as tipis, called kozhan by the Jicarilla, followed and hunted buffalo on the plains east of the Rio Grande centering along the headwaters of the Canadian River. During the winter they lived in the mountains between the Canadian River and the Rio Grande, camped and traded near Picuris Pueblo, New Mexico, Pecos, New Mexico and Taos, New Mexico (8 local groups). Their autonym, or name for themselves, is Gulgahén for "Plains People"; the Spanish picked it up as Llaneros - "Plains Dwellers".[21][23][26]
Battle of Cieneguilla
The Battle of Cieneguilla (pronounced sienna-GEE-ya; English: small swamp) was an engagement of a group of Jicarilla Apaches, their Ute allies, and the American 1st Cavalry Regiment on March 30, 1854 [27] near what is now Pilar, New Mexico.[28]
Background
By the mid-1800s tensions between the
Leo E. Oliva, author of Fort Union and the Frontier Army in the Southwest, notes that: "The three cultural groups in the Southwest had different concepts of family life, personal values, social relations, religion, uses and ownership of land and other property, how best to obtain the provisions of life, and warfare."[29]
Fort Union was established by Colonel
Battle and aftermath
In March 1854 Lobo Blanco, a Jicarilla chief, led a band of 30 warriors to raid the horse herd of a contractor for Fort Union; a detachment of 2nd U.S. Dragoons, led by Lieutenant David Bell, pursued the raiders, engaging a fight on the Canadian River and killing many of them, including the chief, who was repeatedly wounded and finally killed by crushing him under a boulder (March 4).[30]
In late March, Maj. George A. Blake, commanding officer at Burgwin Cantonment, sent a detachment of 1st U.S. Dragoon of 60 men (company I and part of company F) to patrol along the Santa Fe trail, and on March 30, 1854, a combined force of about 250 Apaches and
Lieutenant Colonel
A large unit under Maj. James H. Carleton fought again the Jicarillas near Fisher's Peak, in the Raton Mountains, killing several Jicarillas, and Francisco Chacon replied by trying an ambush against the soldiers with 150 warriors, but the Jicarillas were bypassed: five warriors were killed and six wounded, and seventeen among women and children were scattered and probably died of cold and hunger during the flight.[34] In May, Francisco Chacon sent word to Santa Fe for peace and surrendered at Abiquiu.[34]
Jicarilla reservation
Following westward expansion of the United States and the resulting impacts to their livelihoods, attempts began in the mid-1850s to relocate the Jicarilla Apache, who became increasingly hostile to these pressures. In addition, relations with the Spanish also became hostile when the Spanish captured and sold Apache tribal members into slavery. After years of warfare, broken treaties, relocation and being the only southwestern tribe without a reservation, the two Jicarilla Llanero and Ollero bands united in 1873 and sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to appeal for a reservation. Eventually United States President Grover Cleveland created the Jicarilla Apache Reservation through a United States executive order signed on February 11, 1887.[36]
Although they had finally obtained a reservation, it was spiritually disheartening to realize that they would no longer roam on their traditional holy lands and have access to the sacred places.[9] Once settled, they occupied separate areas of the Reservation. The animosities stemming from this period have persisted into the twentieth century, with the Olleros usually identified as progressives and the Llaneros as conservatives.[37]
The land on the reservation, except that held by non-tribal members, was not suitable for agriculture. As a means of survival, timber from the reservation was sold. In 1907 additional land was secured for the reservation, for a total of 742,315 acres (3,004 km2), that was suitable for sheep ranching which became profitable in the 1920s. Until that time, many people suffered from malnutrition and up to 90% of the tribe members had tuberculosis in 1914; By the 1920s it seemed likely that the Jicarilla Apache nation may become extinct due to trachoma, tuberculosis, and other diseases. After several difficult ranching periods, many of the previous sheep herders relocated to the tribal headquarters in Dulce, New Mexico. The Jicarilla suffered due to lack of economic opportunities for decades.[9][38][39]
Oil and gas development began on the reservation after World War II resulting in up to $1 million annually, some of which was set aside for a tribal
As a means of repayment for lost tribal lands, the Jicarilla received a settlement in 1971 for $9.15 million.[38] The Jicarilla Apache made a claim for compensation to the U.S. Government when the Indian Claims Commission was created.[41] A two-volume technical report was submitted to the Commission on Spanish and Mexican grants, both unconfirmed and confirmed as part of the case.[42] The tribe was awarded $9,150,000 in the Commission's final judgment of April 20, 1971.[43]
In 2019, the census showed that there were 3,353 people living on the reservation.[44] A site for New Mexico states that there are about "2,755 tribal members, most of whom live in the town of Dulce."[1]
Tribal government
The Jicarilla Apache are a
Veronica E. Velarde Tiller, author of Culture and Customs of the Apache Indians writes: "All the powers of the tribal governments reflected the traditional values of the Apache people. The protection, preservation, and conservation of the bounty of 'Mother Earth', and all its inhabitants is sacred value shared by all Indian people, and the Apaches were most eager to have this concept incorporated into their tribal constitution."[48]
An important value of sharing was integrated into the constitution, whereby the Apache Indians declare that the resources of the reservation are "held for the benefit of the entire tribe".[48] Further, all land on the reservation is held by the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, one of only two reservations in the United States where land is not owned by individuals but by the tribal nation as a whole.[48] Tribal members are individuals that are at least 3/8 Jicarilla Apache.[49]
The government is made up of the following branches:[50]
- executive, with a president and vice-president serving four-year terms
- legislative, with eight members serving staggering four-year terms
- judicial, tribal court and appellate court judges assigned by the president.
Its capital is Dulce, which comprises over 95 percent of the reservation's population, near the extreme north end. Most tribal offices are located in Dulce.
Reservation
The Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation, at 36°33′16″N 107°04′26″W / 36.55444°N 107.07389°W, is located within two northern New Mexico counties:
from the Colorado border south to
The reservation has a land area of 1,364.046 sq mi (3,532.864 km²) and had a population of 2,755 as of the
The southern half of the reservation is open plains and the northern portion resides in the treed Rocky Mountains.[53] Mammals and birds migratory paths cross the reservation seasonally, including mountain lion, black bear, elk, Canada geese and turkey. Rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout are stocked in seven lakes on the reservation, but annual conditions such as low precipitation result in high pH-levels. From 1995 to 2000 the lake levels were severely low due to drought; As a result, most of the fish were killed off during those years. The reservation sits on the San Juan Basin, which is rich in fossil fuels. The basin is the largest producer of oil along the Rocky Mountains and the second largest producer of natural gas in the United States.[54][55]
Culture
The Jicarilla are traditionally
As of 2000, about 70% of the tribe practice an organized religion, many of whom are Christians. Jicarilla is spoken by about one half of the tribal members, most by older men and women.[2]
Ceremonial practices consist of:
- Puberty feast, called "keesta" in Jicarilla, is a rite of passage ceremony for girls or young women.[57]
Annual events include:[51]
- Little Beaver Celebration with a pow-wow, rodeo, draft horse pulland a five-mile race mid-July.
- Stone Lake Fiesta with ceremonial dances, rodeo and footraces each September 14 and 15.
Economy
The Jicarilla Apache Nation's economy is based upon mining, forestry, gaming, tourism, retail and agriculture,[58] including:
- Oil and gas wells, owned and operated by the tribe.solar farm is being constructed on tribal lands.[60]
- Timber.[2]
- Cattle and sheep ranching.[2][61]
- Reservation government employees, which include about 50% of tribal members.[58]
- Dulce business employees.[2]
- Traditional arts, including basketry and pottery.[2]
- Tribe-owned Apache Nugget Casino north of Cuba, New Mexico and the Best Western Jicarilla Inn and Casino in Dulce.[62]
- The tribe also owns and operates radio station KCIE (90.5 FM) in Dulce, NM.[63]
Although the mid twentieth century brought additional economic opportunities,[58] high unemployment and a low standard of living prevails for tribal members. From the Tiller's Guide to Indian Country: Economic Profiles of American Reservations, 2005 edition:[64]
- Unemployment rate– 14.2%
- Labor force– 1,1051
The Jicarilla people live in houses with a lifestyle similar to other Americans. The cost of food at local grocery stores is higher than found near larger U.S. cities. They have access to all
Education
Children attend a public school on the reservation. Until the 1960s few children graduated high school; the Bureau of Indian Affairs educational programs and the Chester A. Faris scholarship programs from oil and gas revenues since the 1960s provide opportunities for higher education. In the 1970s some tribal members obtained graduate degrees. Educational assistance offices were created by Apache tribes in the 1980s to help students navigate their educational career.[64]
Portions of the reservation in Rio Arriba County are zoned to Dulce Independent Schools, Chama Valley Independent Schools, and Jemez Mountain Public Schools.[65] Portions of the reservation in Sandoval County are zoned to Cuba Independent Schools.[66]
Notable people
- Francisco Chacon, 19th century chief, leader of the Jicarilla uprising in 1854
- Flechas Rayadas, 19th century chief, involved in the Jicarilla uprising of 1854
- Lobo Blanco, 19th century chief killed in 1854
- Viola Cordova (born 1937), philosopher
- Tammie Allen (born 1964), potter
See also
- Jicarilla language
- Battle of Cieneguilla
- Dulce Base
- KCIE (FM)
- List of Indian reservations in the United States
- Mescalero
- Morris Edward Opler, ethnographer who wrote about the Jicarilla
- A Gunfight, 1971 film financed by the Jicarilla Apache tribe
Notes
References
- ^ a b "Jicarilla Apache Nation". www.newmexico.org. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g Pritzker, 15.
- ^ a b Kessel and Wooster, 95.
- ^ a b Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 414. .
- ^ Official Website of the Jicarilla Apache Nation - ABOUT THE JICARILLA APACHE NATION janofficial.com/
- ^ Morris Edward Opler, 1938, Myths and Tales of the Jicarilla Apache Indians: Memoirs of the American Folklore Society Vol. 31, 406 p. (Reprinted by Kraus Reprint Co., New York, 1969). (E99.J5 O6 1938a)
- ^ Carlisle, pp. 3, 45-46.
- ^ Carlisle, pages 4-5.
- ^ a b c Velarde Tiller, 28.
- ^ a b Pritzker, 12.
- ^ a b c Pritzker, 14.
- ^ a b Greenwald, 97.
- ^ Cassells, pp. 236.
- ^ a b Gibbon, p. 213.
- ^ Greenwald, 95-97.
- ^ Velarde Tiller, 26-28.
- ^ Eiselt, 57-59.
- ^ Eiselt, 59-60.
- ^ Carlisle, pp. 190-1, 260.
- ^ Jicarilla
- ^ a b c Griffin-Pierce, 380.
- ^ a b Goddard, 8.
- ^ a b c Hook, Pegler, 116.
- ^ "This Land is Your Land, This is Mine: The Socioeconomic Implications of Land Use Among the Jicarilla Apache and Arden Communities" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2017..
- ^ "The Northern Utes of Utah". Archived from the original on 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
- ^ Goddard, 349-350.
- ^ Rajtar.
- ^ A losing battle Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine - The Albuquerque Tribune
- ^ a b c d e f g Oliva.
- ISBN 0806129786
- ^ Davidson, 72.
- ^ Gorenfeld, Will.
- ^ Brooks, Reeve, Bennett.
- ^ a b c d Haley, James L.
- ^ Carter, 134-139.
- ^ Pritzker, 12-13.
- ^ Jicarilla - Sociopolitical organization
- ^ a b c Pritzker, 13.
- ^ a b Griffin-Pierce, 381.
- ^ Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe, 455 U.S. 130 (1982)
- ^ Indian Claims Commission. Jicarilla Apache Tribe of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, Vol. 25, Docket 22-A, p.248-49.
- ^ Howard F. Cline, Spanish and Mexican Land Grants and the Jicarilla Apache in New Mexico, 1689-1848: A Technical Report including a list of grants, confirmed and unconfirmed and summary of data. 2 volumes, 340 pp. Maps, Bibliography. Docket 22-A, Indian Claims Commission.
- ^ Indian Claims Commission. Jicarilla Apache Tribe of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, Vol. 25, Docket 22-A, p.248-49
- ^ "Census profile: Jicarilla Apache Nation Reservation". Census Reporter. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
- ^ Pritzker, 14-15.
- ^ Velarde Tiller, 124.
- ^ Warren, Tiller, 16.
- ^ a b c Velarde Tiller, 122.
- ^ Velarde Tiller, 143.
- ^ Warren, Tiller, 16-18.
- ^ a b King, PT232.
- ^ Jicarilla Reservation, New Mexico Archived 2020-02-11 at archive.today. United States Census Bureau.
- ^ Martin, 224.
- ^ Warren, Tiller, 7-8.
- ^ Martin, 223-4.
- ^ Velarde Tiller, 51.
- ^ Velarde Tiller, 28-30
- ^ a b c Warren, Tiller, 11.
- ^ Warren, Tiller, 10-11.
- ^ "PNM and Albuquerque, NM, break ground on 50 MW solar field on tribal lands". Utility Dive.
- ^ Warren, Tiller, 12.
- ^ "New Mexico Indian Casinos." 500 Nations. (retrieved 23 Dec 2009)
- ^ "KCIE Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ a b c d Velarde Tiller, 82.
- U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-12.
- General
- Brooks, Clinton E.; Reeve, Frank D.; Bennett, James A. (1996). Forts and Forays: James A. Bennett, A Dragoon in New Mexico, 1850—1856. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-1690-5.
- Cassells, E. Steve. (1997). The Archeology of Colorado, Revised Edition. Boulder, Colorado: Johnson Books. ISBN 1-55566-193-9.
- Carlisle, Jeffrey D. (May 2001). "Spanish Relations with the Apache Nations east of the Rio Grande". University of North Texas.
- Carter, Harvey Lewis. (1990) "Dear Old Kit": The Historical Christopher Carson, University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-2253-6.
- Davidson, Homer K. (1974). Black Jack Davidson, A Cavalry Commander on the Western Frontier: The Life of General John W. Davidson. A. H. Clark Co. Page 72. ISBN 0-87062-109-2.
- Eiselt, B. Sunday. (2009) The Jicarilla Apaches and the Archaeology of the Taos Region. Between the Mountains – Beyond the Mountains. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico Vol. 35, Albuquerque.
- Gibbon, Guy E.; Ames, Kenneth M. (1998) Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia. ISBN 0-8153-0725-X.
- Goddard, Pliny E. (1911). Jicarilla Apache texts. Anthropological papers of the American Museum of Natural History (Vol. 8). New York: The American Museum of Natural History.
- Gorenfeld, Will. (Feb, 2008). "The Battle of Cieneguilla." Wild West magazine.
- Greenwald, Emily. (2002). Reconfiguring the reservation: The Nez Perces, Jicarilla Apache and the Dawes Act. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-2408-8.
- ISBN 0-8263-1908-4.
- Hook, Jason; Pegler, Martin. (2001). To Love and Die in the West: the American Indian Wars, 1860-90. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-57958-370-9.
- Kessel, William B.; Wooster, Robert. (ed.) (2005). Encyclopedia of Native American Wars and Warfare. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-3337-4.
- King, Lesley S. (2011). Frommer's New Mexico Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing. ISBN 978-0-470-87617-6.
- Martin, Craig. (ed.) (2002). Fly Fishing in Northern New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-2761-1.
- Oliva, Leo E. (1993).Fort Union and the Frontier Army in the Southwest: Fort Union, New Mexico Military Operations Before the Civil War. National Park Service Online Books.
- Pritzker, Barry M. (2000). A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1.
- Rajtar, Steve. (1999) Indian War Sites: A Guidebook to Battlefields, Monuments, and Memorials. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.
- Velarde Tiller, Veronica E. (2011) Culture and Customs of the Apache Indians. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood of ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-0-313-36452-5.
- Warren, Nancy Hunter; Velarde Tiller, Veronica E. (2006). The Jicarilla Apache: A Portrait. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-3776-7.
Further reading
- Opler, Morris. (1941). A Jicarilla expedition and scalp dance. (Narrated by Alasco Tisnado).
- Opler, Morris. (1942). Myths and tales of the Jicarilla Apache Indians.
- Opler, Morris. (1947). Mythology and folk belief in the maintenance of Jicarilla Apache tribal endogamy.
- Phone, Wilma; & Torivio, Patricia. (1981). Jicarilla mizaa medaóołkai dáłáéé. Albuquerque: Native American Materials Development Center.
- Phone, Wilhelmina; Olson, Maureen; & Martinez, Matilda. (2007). Dictionary of Jicarilla Apache: Abáachi Mizaa Iłkee' Siijai. Axelrod, Melissa; Gómez de García, Jule; Lachler, Jordan; & ISBN 0-8263-4078-4.
- Tuttle, Siri G.; & Sandoval, Merton. (2002). Jicarilla Apache. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 32, 105-112.
- Wilson, Alan, & Vigil Martine, Rita. (1996). Apache (Jicarilla). Guilford, CT: Audio-Forum. ISBN 0-88432-903-8. (Includes book and cassette recording).
External links
- Jicarilla Apache Nation website
- Jicarilla Apache Culture (Jicarilla Apache Cultural Affairs Office)
- Jicarilla Apache: Tinde
- Myths of the Jicarilla Apache (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center)
- The Jicarilla Genesis (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center)
- An Apache Medicine Dance (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center)
- Jicarilla Texts (Internet Sacred Text Archive)
- Jicarilla Apache Nation (New Mexico Magazine)
- Jicarilla Apache Nation History Archived 2014-06-07 at the Wayback Machine (Apache Nugget Corporation)
- Jicarilla Apache Pottery/Walking Spirit Pottery (Sample of Micaceous Clay Pottery)
- Jicarilla Apache Oil and Gas Administration (Jicarilla Natural Resources)
- Jicarilla Apache Game and Fish (Jicarilla Hunting and Wildlife)