Mescalero

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Mescalero girls at a rodeo

The Mescalero or Mescalero Apache are a tribal group of the Apaches in the southwest of the United States and (formerly) in the northeast of Mexico and culturally - together with the Chiricahua , Lipan , Jicarilla and Kiowa Apache (Plains Apache) - belong to the Eastern Apache (English. Eastern Apache ). Sometimes they are (Engl., Along with the west living Chiricahua Apache as Central Central Apache ), respectively.

Their language, the Mescalero or Ndé Bizaa ' , a dialect variant of the Mescalero-Chiricahua , belongs - together with the Navajo (Diné bizaad) and the Western Apache (Ndee biyati' / Nnee biyati ') - to the western branch of the South Apache languages the Athapaskan language from the Na-Dené language family .

Today most of the Mescalero live in the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico.

Surname

The individual groups of the Mescalero-Apache called themselves Shis-Inday ("people of the mountain forests") or Mashgalénde ("people close to the mountains" - "people who live near the mountains"). The Navajo , who lived to the north-west and also spoke Athapaskan, were related, but lived in open hostility, called the Mescalero Naashgali Dine'i ( Naashgal? Dine '? ). Like other Apache, they often called themselves simply Inday or Indee ("The People"). From neighboring Apache they were, however Nadahende ( "Mescal people" or "people who Mescal eat") because as mescal agave (also called plans Century - "century plant") designated Agave parryi the staple food for the Mescalero showed. The roasted vegetable heart was preferred. There were times (especially in winter) when the Mescalero and other Apache survived only thanks to the mescal agave that was collected and kept in stock, which was then used as the only food for weeks in order not to starve. The leaves of the agave also provided fibers for braiding; the tips of the leaves were used to make needles. The plant was also used for beverages and medicine. Consequently, they have been called Mescaleros by the Spaniards since 1550 .

Other names for the Mescalero Apache: Apaches de Cuartelejo, Apaches del Rio Grande, Apachi, Faraones (Selcotisanendé), Mezcaleros (Zetozendé or Sejen-ne), Natagés (Zetozendé or Yntajen-ne), Natahene, Querechos, Sierra Blanca Apaches, Teyas , Tularosa Apaches, Vaqueros .

The hostile powerful Comanche were referred to by the various Apache as Idahi ( Kiowa Apache (Plains Apache) and Lipan Apache ) or Indá (Mescalero Apache and Jicarilla Apache ), which both simply mean "enemies". The Comanche, on the other hand, referred to the Mescalero and Lipan Apache in particular as Esikwita ("gray buttocks, gray shit") - this expresses the contempt and hatred of the Comanche towards the Apache. The name most likely stems from the Lipan Apache's habit of smearing a gray paste on their skin and hair (they called themselves Hleh-pai Ndé or Lépai-Ndé - “The light gray people”). In general, the Comanche referred to the Apache, who mostly lived in mountains, deserts and semi-deserts, as Tá'ashi / Tasi ("turned up"), as these (with the exception of the Kiowa Apache and some eastern bands of the Mescalero, Jicarilla and Lipan) compared to below the Plains tribes usual low-shaft moccasins until reaching below the knee boots wore that had a raised front tip to protect against stones and thorns.

The Arapaho simply referred to the Apache as Coo3o '/ Cootho' ("enemies") or since they mostly tied their hair - in contrast to the Plains tribes - with a headband or a bandana and did not wear pigtail hairstyles - as Teebe'eisi3i '/ Teebe'eisithi ' ("they have their hair cut straight, hanging straight down") - the Mescalero often wore a kind of turban .

Groups of the Mescalero

  • Natahéndé / Nadahéndé or Natagés (pronounced 'Na-ta-hay' - "Mescal people") lived between the Rio Grande and Pecos River in central New Mexico with local groups in the southern and western Llano Estacado (Staked Plains) in eastern New Mexico as well as in the southern Texas Panhandle )
  • Guhlkahéndé / Guułgahénde or Cuelcajenne , often called Llañeros ("People on the Plains", lived mostly east of the mountains and the Pecos River, on the High Plains from the Texas Panhandle to the Pecos Valley, between Amarillo , Tucumcari , Lubbock and the Llano Estacado, along the Sandia Mountains and Tijeras Mountains west to Santa Fe , from Nogal Canyon north to Las Vegas , from the Organ Mountains east to El Paso , in Oklahoma they were related to the otherwise hostile Comanche by marriage )
  • Dzithinahndé / Tsilnihéndé or Chilpaines ("people of the mountain peaks", lived in the mountains west and south of the Pecos River to northern Chihuahua and Coahuila in northern Mexico)
  • Ch'laandé / Tslahahéndé ("Antelope Band People") lived in the mountains and the northern Chihuahua Desert in central and southern New Mexico between the Pecos River and Rio Grande including the Tularosa Basin (Tularosa Basin) between the Sacramento Mountains and Otero Mountains in the east, the San Andres Mountains and Oscura Mountains in the west, the Chupadera Mesa in the north and the Franklin Mountains and Hueco Mountains in the south, the Hueco Tanks and the famous White Sands National Monument are located on their former territory)
  • Nit'ahéndé / Niit'ahénde or Sierra Blanca Mescaleros , and Sacramento Mountains Mescaleros ( "People Who Live Against the Mountains - people's lives in the mountains", "Earth Crevice People - people of the earth column " lived in the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico and the Guadalupe Mountains in southwest Texas and migrated eastwards to the Pecos River, their most important local group in the 19th century lived in the Sierra Blanca (also: White Mountains) , another important local group lived in the Capitan Mountains in the north the Sacramento Mountains)
  • Tsehitcihéndé or Guadalupe Mountains Mescaleros ("People of Hook Nose - people with hump noses (eagle noses) ", referred to several local groups in the Guadalupe Mountains, the adjacent southern plains in southwest Texas and in the north of Coahuila and Chihuahua, the Guadalupe Mountains and Carlsbad -Caverns National Parks are located on their former territory)
  • Tsebekinéndé or Limpia Mescaleros ("Rock House People" or "Stone House People") had their center around Corralitos near Nuevo Casas Grandes in the north-west of Chihuahua, but roamed in the north as far as the Sacramento Mountains and in the south as far as Chihuahua City ("The City of mules “) and on both sides of the Rio Grande between El Paso and Presidio del Norte, but were also to be found in the Guadelupe and Davis Mountains (also: Limpia Mountains) , overlapping areas divided around Corralitos, Nuevo Casas Grandes and Agua Nuevas with the Carrizaleños local group of the Nednhi Band of the Chiricahua Apache , both groups were often referred to indiscriminately by Spaniards, Mexicans and Americans as Agua Nuevas ("New Waters") or Norteños ("the Northern ones ")
  • Tahuundé / Tá'huú'ndé ("Mountains-extending-into-the-river-People - people of the mountains that extend into the river", lived on both sides of the Pecos River in southern New Mexico and migrated to southwest Texas)
  • Chisos Apaches , also Chinati Apaches or Rio Grande Apaches (a band of the Southern Mescalero with several local groups in the Davis Mountains (also: Limpia Mountains), Chisos Mountains and Chinati Mountains in the Big Bend area in southwest Texas and in the adjacent Sierra del Carmen (also: Sierra Maderas del Carmen) in Coahuila and the Sierra Alamos in Chihuahua north of the Bolsón de Mapimí , today's Big Bend National Park and the Mexican nature parks Maderas del Carmen and Cañon de Santa Elena are located on their former territory)
  • Tuintsundé / Túntsande ("people of the great water", originally the Tú sis Ndé / Konitsaii Ndé band of the Lipan Apache as well as other former bands of the Lipanes de Abajo , had them together with bands in the south of central Texas and in the north of Coahuila the southern Mescalero camped, hunted and undertook joint raids, joined the Mescalero after heavy losses and now formed a Mescalero band from around 1850)
  • Tuetinini / Tú'é'dinénde ("People without water" or "Tough, tough people of the desert", originally the Twid Ndé band of the Lipan Apache , merged with bands of the Southern Mescalero after hard fighting and heavy losses)

residential area

Originally, the various groups of the Mescalero moved from the Rio Grande in the west eastward to the Pecos River Vally including the Llano Estacado (English Staked Plains ) in west and southwest Texas , from Santa Fe in the northwest and the Texas Panhandle in the northeast on both sides of the Rio Grande and along the Río Conchos Valley in the north of the later Mexican provinces of Chihuahua and Coahuila . The scenic diversity of this territory is documented by the up to 4000 meter high mountains of the Sacramento and San Andres Mountains with irrigated and protected valleys in New Mexico, surrounded by arid semi-deserts and plateaus of the Chihuahua Desert (including the White Sands National Monument ) in the south, the deep canyons and canyons and mountains of the Trans-Pecos (including Big Bend National Park ) in southwest Texas, as well as the vast plains of the adjacent Southern Plains in western Texas.

Since every Mescalero group had the right to use the resources of wild animals and plants of the neighboring groups in times of need, the different Mescaleros felt at home in every area of ​​their tribal area. It was therefore not uncommon for individual groups to travel huge distances for hunting, war and raiding. They called their homeland Indeislun Nakah ('People, forming a group, when they are there', 'place where people get together').

When many groups of the Plains Mescalero were expelled by the hostile Comanche from the Southern Plains along the Colorado River and Concho River of north and central Texas between 1700 and 1750, they moved to their relatives in the mountains and canyons of New Mexico, West Texas and Coahuila and Chihuahua in Mexico back. Some groups of the Southern Mescaleros, together with fleeing Lipan Apache , moved further south to the Bolsón de Mapimí , and roamed between the Río Nazas in the south of Chihuahua, northwards along the Río Conchos to the Rio Grande in the north.

Within their wide tribal area were four mountain peaks sacred to the Mescalero - the Guadalupe Peak (also El Capitan Peak or Signal Peak , 2667 m, highest mountain of the Guadalupe Mountains ), Salinas Peak (2733 m, highest mountain of the San Andres Mountains), Capitan Peak ( Part of the Capitan Mountains) and San Augustin Peak (2143 m, second highest peak of the San Augustin Mountains) - which geographically border the heartland, but for the Mescalero get their special meaning through their relation to their cosmology.

Today the Mescalero live mainly from the timber industry and casino operations in the 1940 km² Mescalero Apache Reservation near Ruidoso northwest of the city of Alamogordo in southern New Mexico . At the time of first contact with the Spaniards, the main group inhabited the Sierra Blanca Mountains north of their current reserve.

Way of life

Mescalero tipis .

During the summer the Mescalero lived in the mountains and often changed their camp in search of game (especially antelopes, peccaries, other small game, as well as birds) and wild plants. In winter they moved from the mountains into the valleys and the warmer desert regions in the south of their tribal area, which was particularly rich in mescal. The eastern groups of the Mescalero - the Texas Panhandle, the western areas of the Llano Estacado (= Staked Plains) and the Trans Pecos area in southwest Texas - lived next to the gathering of wild plants, the hunt for game, and especially from the bison hunt . The annual bison hunt on the southern plains was an integral part of the seasonal migrations of the western and southern groups in the mountain and desert regions . Here, especially between 1700 and 1830, there were violent battles with the Comanches , who claimed this terrain as part of the Comancheria . Before the introduction of the horse, the Apache used dogs as pack animals.

The western and southern groups of the Mescalero, who lived in the mountains, desert-like plateaus of Mexico and in the dry valleys, used the Wickiup ( gowah , kowa ) as a dwelling in winter and often only a windbreak consisting of individual branches (Spanish ramada ) in summer. . The eastern bison-hunting Mescalero, mostly Guhlkahéndé and Nadahéndé, also adopted some elements of the Plains Indian culture , for example the tipi , the war and victory dance, and the increased use of the horse. Wickiups and tipis were often mixed up in a rancheria of the Mescalero, depending on the preferences and family background of the residents.

Socio-political organization

Like other groups of the Apaches, the Mescalero were not organized centrally. The highest organizational unit was the group (English band ), which was usually divided into smaller local groups (English local bands ). The local group in turn consisted of several matrilocal large families (so-called gotah ). In a gang , each member was related to most, if not all, of the others. The gotah in turn consisted of several kowa (wickiups or tipis) of individual families forming a rancheria .

Local groups came together especially in winter or to organize a hunt, collecting, processing and preserving berries and wild plants as well as for cultural and religious occasions. Campaigns were mostly undertaken by local groups or even the whole gang, which could often include between 100 and 200 warriors. In contrast to military campaigns, raids were only organized by one or more gotah (extended family) and usually consisted of only 10 to 30 warriors.

Since the deserts, semi-deserts and mountains could not long feed large populations, the political organization of the western Mescalero was more limited to the gotah and the local group, and the gang more a cultural and geographical unit. The Mescalero, who lived east on the plains, kept large herds of horses and had a large supply of food (bison, antelopes), which also had to be processed and preserved. While hunting the plains required more people to do it, it also fed more people. Since the plains were open and wide and there were no valleys or mountain ranges to hide families and herds of horses or supplies, the eastern Mescalero mostly had to organize themselves into larger local groups in order to be protected against their many Indian and white enemies.

Differentiation between raids and raids

Studio portrait of a Mescalero Apache boy painted with the tribal colors, holding a quiver , wearing the typical high Apache boots and a long shirt, loincloth ( breechcloth or breechclout ), headscarf, scarf and earrings. A basket, pot, woven blanket and painted background serve as props.

Campaigns (called by the Apache to take death from an enemy ) were undertaken to seek revenge and retaliation for killed Mescalero. The aim was to kill as many enemies as possible and take prisoners. Adult male prisoners were handed over to the grieving Mescalero women in the camp for torture and killing. Children up to the age of five or six were mostly adopted by families who, in turn, had lost relatives. Captive women often became slaves and had to do the menial work in the rancheria . Scalps were used extremely rarely, if at all, and then mostly only one. Mutilation of killed enemies, as often claimed by Spaniards, Mexicans and Americans, was alien to all Apache at first, as they were extremely afraid of touching the dead. Only when the mutual violence increased more and more did the Apache begin to mutilate the dead enemies with lances, arrows and knives.

In contrast, raids were (Engl. Raid , on Apache to search out enemy property called) organized to trade goods, horses, sheep, goats, food (corn, wheat, beans) and other needed items that were important to the survival gain, . Mostly respected older women (so-called women chiefs ) were responsible for calling on the warriors to undertake the raids in order to get through the harsh winter. The main aim was to steal as many goods and herds as possible without being noticed by the enemy and without losses. Large herds of cattle were often stolen from these small war parties and driven back north to the Apacheria without a break . The number of warriors involved in the raids (mostly 10 to 30) seems small and therefore the complaints and reports about the terror of the Apache against Indians and whites are exaggerated. However, every year several hundred Apache warriors, organized in small groups, ventured out of the plains and mountains of the Apacheria, from the Colorado River in the west to San Antonio and the Texas Gulf Coast in the east, from Santa Fe in the north to deep into New Spain / Mexico in the south, several hundred raids. If warriors were killed in these raids, in retaliation a war campaign was undertaken as a reaction as soon as possible, so that raiding or war troops of the Apache (and later the Comanche, Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache) were always on the way across the entire Spanish-Mexican northern border. A particularly feared part of the Camino Real between Santa Fe and Chihuahua was the Jornada del Muerto ("day trip of a dead man"), a 90 mile long shortcut across the desert, on which many people were robbed, killed or abducted by the Mescalero.

history

First contacts in New Spain (16th and 17th centuries)

The first contacts with Spanish conquistadors were peaceful, but the settlement of the Indian land by colonists changed this behavior. The Spaniards tolerated some of their compatriots taking slaves among the Mescalero . The Mescalero, for their part, practiced guerrilla warfare . They attacked the Spanish settlements in lightning-fast actions, only to retreat just as quickly to their mountain hiding places or to the vastness of the plains.

In the late 1680s the Mescalero posed a serious threat to the Spanish settlements. The Spaniards only dared armed to their fields, smaller settlements were abandoned, several pueblos were looted so often that they had to be abandoned. Whole herds of cattle, fields and haciendas as well as ranchos were stolen and burned down, so that the Spaniards asked Mexico City for replacements for cattle and for new settlers. The Mescalero had meanwhile developed into skillful and daring horse thieves, as they needed them for their raids and war expeditions against the Spaniards and the Texan Indians, such as the Caddo and Wichita, and they had also developed a special predilection for horse meat. The stealing of horses and the resulting shortage of horses in the presidios and settlements was particularly bad, as it prevented the Mescalero from being successfully pursued. They extended their raids further and further south, as far as the present-day Mexican states of Durango , Tamaulipas , Zacatecas and Sinaloa , in order to rob the settlements promising richer prey. Chihuahua and Coahuila suffered particularly badly from the constant attacks of the Mescalero. In this way they managed to largely withstand Spanish influence for over a hundred years.

Spanish-Indian alliances and wars against the Mescalero (18th century)

In July 1786 the Mescalero attacks reached a preliminary climax in a raid by several hundred warriors deep into New Spain near Mexico City and Guadalajara in Jalisco , destroying the settlements of Sabana Grand and Grunidora with unprecedented cruelty. The Spaniards were forced to take action against the various Apache groups, as well as the other raping Indians, and decided to pit the tribes against each other and incite them against each other.

In 1786 the Spaniards defeated several powerful Western Comanche gangs together with Ute, Pueblo and Jicarilla and forced them to join with the Diné in an alliance against the Western Apaches , Chiricahua and Mescalero. The eastern Comanche gangs, knowing the alliance of their western relatives, formed an alliance with the Spaniards and their allies in San Antonio with their allies (Wichita, Tonkawa, Caddo, etc.) in order to fight the Mescalero and especially the Lipan. Armed with Spanish logistics, Spanish weapons, Spanish maps, and access to Spanish markets and gifts, the Comanche relentlessly hunted down every Apache they could find. In addition, each Comanche was paid premiums for a pair of cut off Apache ears or scalps . For a scalp of an Apache warrior (aged 14 and over) you received 100 pesos, for a woman 50 pesos and for that of a child 25 pesos (later the premiums were increased again). The premiums (Chihuahua and Sonora paid several thousand pesos in premiums for Apache trophies to the Comanche alone in one year) were, in addition to the Presidio line south of the Apacheria and the Indian auxiliary troops, a recognized weapon in the fight against the Apache by the Spaniards and Mexican. Leading to the Upper Pima counting Tohono O'Odham and Akimel O'Odham , Opata , Comanche and Tarahumara were known for their reliable services in the fight against Apache and were often only after a scalp, paid a pair of ears or hands of Apache.

In bitter fighting between 1787 and 1789, with the active support of Tarahumara and Comanche, the Spaniards drove the southernmost groups of the Mescalero from the Mapimi (desert) (also called Bolsón de Mapimi ) north into the plains of Texas, directly into the arms of the Comanche waiting there who, according to Spanish sources, killed more than 300 Mescalero. After this heavy defeat, the remnants of the southern Mescalero were forced into an alliance against their tribal and close allies, the Lipan.

In 1790, with the help of Mescalero and Tonkawa scouts and the Comanche, the Spaniards succeeded in destroying the Lipan in the Uvalde Canyon. This ended the former power and importance of the Lipan on the southern plains of Texas. In addition, the Lipan and the Mescalero were weakened by several smallpox epidemics and besieged on all sides by their Spanish and Indian enemies.

Short, uncertain peace

The Lipan now had to finally vacate the Edwards Plateau (now the area of ​​the Penateka Comanche), no longer had direct access to their former bison hunting grounds and were either condemned to starvation or robbery in order to survive. The resulting Mescalero groups were no longer able to hunt on the plains due to the alliance with the Comanche and their vulnerability due to their now permanent settlements like the Lipan. Because of this, and by promising to deliver them food and not to deliver them to their enemies allied with the Spaniards, the southern Mescalero and the Lipan behaved peacefully for several years, largely ended their raids and concluded peace treaties.

Resumption of the raids (from 1810)

Relative peace lasted until 1810 when the Mexicans took control of the area during the War of Independence against Spain (1810-1821). They had financial problems and stopped delivering groceries. The Mescalero soon resumed their old way of life and again attacked the settlements on the Rio Grande and deep in Mexico. Soon they had restored their supremacy in the Bolsón de Mapimi as well as in their Mexican settlements. Since Mexico did not have the financial and human resources like the viceroyalty of New Spain, the presidios had to defend the northern border and the hinterland against the invading Apache with fewer and poorly equipped soldiers. In addition, the Comanche were no longer ready to provide auxiliary troops against the Apache, since they had definitely noticed the weakness of the Mexicans, and now undertook brutal raids on their part. The Rio Conchos formed a virtual line east of which the Comanche, some Mescalero and the Lipan robbed. West of the Rio Conchos, Mescalero, Chiricahua and Western Apache robbed.

As early as the 1830s, Mexicans reported that Mescalero (probably Guhlkahéndé) sometimes got together with Comanche and Kiowa to undertake joint raids in Mexico. In 1846, Kiowa and southern Comanche gangs held a major meeting to broker a lasting peace between Mescalero and Comanche. The Lipan, for their part, had established largely peaceful contacts with the Comanche since 1811. Thus the Comanche, undisturbed by the constant raids of the Mescalero and Lipan, were able to go south on their infamous Comanche War Trail (also Comanche Plunder Trail), which led through the middle of the Apacheria, and bring their booty home safely to the north . The peace made the enormous knowledge of the Mescalero about northern Mexico available to the Comanche, which had been taken over in many raids, and thus even led to joint raids and war expeditions, with the Apache often serving as "scouts".

In the 1840s (especially during the Mexican-American War ) these looting were so serious for northern Mexico that entire regions had to be abandoned, thousands of people were killed or abducted and thousands of head of cattle were stolen. Individual provinces signed peace treaties with individual groups of the Apache and allowed them to sell their looted property on their territory while they in turn fought other Apache. So it could be that a Mescalero gang lived in peace with Coahuila, plundered Chihuahua and was able to sell the stolen goods in Coahuila. Some Hacienderos had specially marked cattle that the Apache were allowed to "steal". Or they increased their livestock so that there was always enough left after a robbery to continue the herd.

In the 1850s, the looting of Mexico by Apache, Comanche, Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache reached its climax, never before were so many warriors en route, nor had such long distances been covered.

Confrontation with the USA (from 1853)

After the United States took over New Mexico (1853), there were attempts in the 1850s to end or at least limit the attacks by the Apache. In contracts between the two parties, lasting peace and renewed supplies of food were agreed, but these were never officially ratified. When the supplies failed, new raids took place and the US government was forced to build Fort Davis and Fort Stanton in southern New Mexico and Texas to protect the white settlers.

Internment in reservations

After a successful military action by US troops in 1855, the Mescalero gangs living in New Mexico requested peace and signed a treaty in which they agreed to move to a reservation at Fort Stanton. The experiment was short-lived when revenge-seeking Mexicans attacked the peaceful Mescalero who lived there. When General James Carleton, with Kit Carson's help, finally subjugated the starved Mescalero in a nine-month-long punitive expedition in 1862 , he had around 500 tribesmen brought to the Bosque Redondo reservation near Fort Sumner . From then on, many Mescalero warriors also served the US Army as scouts in order to track down and fight Apache who were still roaming free and fighting.

The Mescalero, who live in the 65 km² Bosque Redondo reserve, had to share the space with around 9,000 Diné . All residents suffered great hardship; Drought destroyed their crops, and there were diseases, almost inedible, alkali- containing water, barren and treeless land. The unworthy conditions led to violent disputes between Mescalero and Diné, so that many people died.

After two years, the Mescalero, who were used to freedom of movement, could no longer stand it in the narrow reserve and fled back to their old country. They stayed there for five years, negotiating with the government to get a new reservation. In 1873 they were given a new reservation on their former tribal area between the Pecos River in the east and the Sacramento Mountains in the west, which was changed several times at the request of the neighboring whites. In the first few years the conditions there were hardly better than in Bosque Redondo. Smallpox continued to rage, food was scarce and there was trouble with white settlers.

The desperation, impotence and boredom as well as the longing for their old life led to more than 80 Mescalero warriors under their chief Caballero from the reservation with their families the Chihenne chief Victorio in his fight (1878-1880) against the Joined armies from the United States and Mexico, and served them as reliable leaders in their old residential areas on the plains of western and southwestern Texas.

Last fights

The rest either fled south to their old homeland in Mexico and joined the Mescalero and the remaining Lipan who lived there to raid settlements in New Mexico and Texas. Some went to the Western Apaches in Arizona . Many groups of the Mescalero also fled east and northeast on the Plains of Texas to the Comanche , their former mortal enemies, and undertook several raids with them together with the Kiowa . Especially the Guhlkahéndé, who lived in the Texas Panhandle and on the High Plains under the leadership of their chief Nautzili ("buffalo"), some of whom were related to the Comanche through marriage, and the Shä-äⁿ ("northern people") of the Lipan fought together with these against the Americans.

After the death of Victorio (1880) and the destruction of the military power of the Comanche and Kiowa (1875), the Guhlkahéndé under Nautzili gave up their fight in the following year (1876) and moved to the Mescalero reservation in New Mexico. The last of the Indians to roam freely on the Southern Plains who posed a military threat were small groups of the Mescalero and Lipan. From their bases in northern Mexico, they undertook last desperate raids across the border into New Mexico and Texas and carried out the last recorded raid by hostile Indians in Texas in 1881. In 1883, desperate small groups of Mescalero, along with scattered Comanche raids, carried out raids on Rio Pecos and Rio Penasco.

End of freedom

When all the Mescalero finally surrendered and arrived on the reservation, they should be "civilized", ie Americanized. They had to cut their hair short, were no longer allowed to perform dances, had to wear white clothes and instead of their ceremonies celebrated the American national holiday on July 4th, Christmas and Thanksgiving . Farm work was welcomed.

Todays situation

Reserves of the Mescalero and neighboring tribes in the American Southwest

Today's Mescalero Apache Reservation is located in south-central New Mexico, is approx. 1864 km² and is located at an altitude of approx. 1600 m to 3650 m above sea level. The high mountains are part of the Sacramento Mountains , with the highest mountain - the Sierra Blanca Peak (3,652 m) - which is sacred to the Mescalero Apache. The Mescalero Apache Tribe today officially consists of three separate groups, which represent the following formerly independent tribes: the Mescalero Apache , the Chiricahua Apache and the Lipan Apache . The Twid Ndé ( Tú'é'diné Ndé - 'No Water People', 'Tough People of the Desert') of the Lipan Apache had already allied themselves with the Mescalero before the reservation time and merged with the Mescalero around 1850 as Tuetinini . Chief Magoosh's local group of the Tu'tssn Ndé ( Tú sis Ndé , Kúne tsá - 'Big Water People', 'Great Water People') also sought refuge with the Mescalero around 1850, in 1904 Chief Venego fled with his local group from Zaragoza, Mexico, both groups merged with the Mescalero to form the Tuintsunde . In 1913 (August 1912 the POW status was revoked) 187 Fort Sill Apache Chiricahua ( Chokonen , Chihenne , Bedonkohe and Nednhi ) moved to the Mescalero reservation in New Mexico to the Mescalero Apache. While the Mescalero had previously entered into some mixed marriages with Chihenne and Lipan, they initially had a tense relationship with the Chokonen, Bedonkohe and Nednhi. In the course of time, however, as a result of living together in a small space, more and more friendly and familiar contacts between the various groups developed and strong and close relationships developed among each other. Finally, in 1964, all Apache in the reserve, regardless of their origin, were recognized as Mescalero. The tribe operates the Ski Apache ski resort as well as the neighboring hotel and casino for tourist traffic , the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino . They also built a cultural center and museum near their administrative center in Mescalero, New Mexico. The tribe also has a larger museum in Dog Canyon south of Alamogordo, New Mexico. In 2000 there were 3156 tribal members according to the census, today approx. 3979.

Today, most of the Mescalero Apache earn their living doing wage labor near the reserve. The income of the tribe results from tourism , hunting and fishing licenses , the timber industry and cattle breeding. Besides the production of weighing boards (Engl. Cradle board ) and pearl jewelry there in the Mescalero no traditional crafts more. Recently tourism has become the most successful source of income. Ski Apache , the ski area on their land, offers internationally first-class winter sports conditions on the three-thousand-meter Sierra Blanca .

The biggest festival of the Mescalero Apache is celebrated on the weekend of Independence Day , July 4th. The central event of this festival is the Sunrise Ceremony , the ritual of a girl growing up in which the Ga'an , masked mountain spirits, perform dances with imaginative headdresses. The mythology says that these spirits have come to the Mescalero in creation and have taught them to live in harmony with the earth.

Demographics

The part of Apacheria that the Mescalero inhabited was never densely populated. It is estimated that before the Americans invaded the Southwest, there were around 2,500 to 3,000 Mescalero, remembering that 25% were men and the rest were women (35%) and children (40%), so that this could provide about 625 to 750 warriors.

The Western Apache with about 4500 to 5000 members (with about 1125 to 1250 warriors) were the largest and most populous group among the Apaches. The Chiricahua Apache counted approx. 3000 tribe members (with approx. 750 warriors), the Jicarilla Apache 800 to 1200 tribal members (with approx. 200 to 300 warriors), the Lipan Apache approx. 1500 (with approx. 375 warriors).

The 2000 census counted 3156 residents of the Mescalero reserve , made up of members of the Mescalero, Chiricahua and Lipan. Today there are approximately 3979 tribal members.

Chiefs, famous people

Gorgonia , influential Mescalero shaman

Southern Mescalero

  • Gómez (enemy chief of the Southern Mescalero, his group (English: band) consisted of five local groups with about 400 warriors, the group lived in the Big Bend area and in Trans-Pecos on both sides of the Rio Grande with bases in the Guadalupe Mountains and Davis Mountains (also: Limpia Mountains) , when Trias Governor offered 1000 Pesos for his scalp, Gómez offered the same amount for every Mexican or American scalp, his segundos (or 'war chiefs') were Cigarito, Chinonero, Simón Porode and Simón Manuel, approx. 1840s to late 1860s)
    • Cigarito (hostile but more conciliatory chief of a local group in the Davis Mountains and in the desert plains of the Trans-Pecos, segundo from Gómez, the leading chief of the Southern Mescalero, 1840s to 1860s)
    • Chinonero (hostile but more conciliatory chief of a local group in the Davis Mountains and in the desert plains of the Trans-Pecos, segundo from Gómez, the leading chief of the Southern Mescalero, 1840s to 1860s)
    • Simón Porode (chief of a local group in West Texas, segundo von Gómez, the leading chief of the Southern Mescalero, contacted the Garrison in San Elizario in 1850 together with Simón Manuel to possibly start peace talks, but was overruled by Gómez, 1840s to 1860s)
    • Simón Manuel (chief of a local group in West Texas, segundo von Gómez, the leading chief of the Southern Mescalero, contacted the Garrison in San Elizario in 1850 together with Simón Porode to possibly start peace talks, but was overruled by Gómez, 1840s to 1860s)
  • Marco (also Marcus , enemy chief of the Southern Mescalero, his group - probably Tsehitcihéndé or Niit'ahéndé - comprised about 200 warriors, lived in the Big Bend area on both sides of the Rio Grande from the Guadalupe Mountains to the east of the Davis Mountains in the outskirts of the Southern Plains, was accused of frequent raids and raids along the San Antonio Road to Texas and near El Paso, wanted to join the Sierra Blanca Mescalero, which was already receiving rations, but was turned away because his group was considered to be Texas Mescalero, 1840s to 1860s)
  • Espejo ('looking-glass' - 'mirror', enemy chief of the Southern Mescalero, his group - probably Tsebekinéndé - with several local groups among the segundos (or 'war chiefs') Nicolás and Antonio wandered between the Limpia Canyon, Horsehead Crossing along the Pecos and east of the Davis Mountains in the desert plains of Trans-Pecos in West Texas , 1840s to late 1860s)
    • Nicolás (chief of a Tsebekinéndé local group in the Davis Mountains and eastward to the outskirts of the Southern Plains, segundo of the Southern Mescalero chief Espejo, 1840s to 1860s)
    • Antonio (chief of a Tsebekinéndé local group in the Davis Mountains and eastward to the outskirts of the Southern Plains, segundo of Southern Mescalero chief Espejo, 1840s to 1860s)
  • Mateo (chief of a local Tsebekinéndé group (often referred to by Spaniards and Americans as Aguas Nuevas or Norteños ), lived with the local group of Verancia in the Dog Canyon area in the Sacramento Mountains and probably followed the old Apache way of hunting and robbery as they were considered "troublesome", 1840s to 1860s)
  • Verancia (chief of a Tsebekinéndé local group, lived with the local group of Mateo in the Dog Canyon area in the Sacramento Mountains and probably followed the old Apache way of life of hunting and robbery as they were considered "troublesome", 1840s to 1860s )
  • Alsate (also Arzate , Arzatti , last chief of the Chisos Apaches (also Chinati or Rio Grande Apaches ), a group of the Southern Mescalero in the Davis Mountains, Chisos Mountains and Chinati Mountains in the Big Bend area, the Sierra del Carmen in Coahuila and the Sierra Alamos in Chihuahua north of the Bolsón de Mapimí , along with his entire group, was captured by treason and, along with his segundos (or 'war chiefs') Colorado and Zorillo, in Ojinaga, across from Presidio del Norte, Texas, was shot dead, all of his Group was sold into slavery in Mexico, ca.1817–1882)
    • Colorado (Chief of a local group of the Chisos Apaches in the border area of ​​Coahuila, Chihuahua and West Texas, segundo von Alsate, the leading chief of the Chisos Mescalero, was captured by treason and together with Alsate and Zorillo in Ojinaga, across from Presidio del Norte, Texas, shot dead, late 1860s to † 1882)
    • Zorillo (chief of a local group of the Chisos Apaches in the border area of ​​Coahuila, Chihuahua and West Texas, segundo von Alsate, the leading chief of the Chisos Mescalero, was captured by treason and together with Alsate and Colorado in Ojinaga, across from Presidio del Norte, Texas, shot dead, late 1860s to † 1882)
  • San Juan (chief of a group of the Southern Mescalero - probably the Nit'ahéndé or Tsehitcihéndé - his group lived along the Rio Bonito, Rio Hondo and inhabited the Capitan Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains - in this area Fort Stanton later became a protection from raids the Mescalero and Comanche - his allies included groups of the Eastern Mescalero, the Lipan Apache and some groups of the Comanche, after Santana and Cadete had died, San Juan and Nautzili took over the leadership of the Mescaleros in the reservation, his son Peso was the last traditional chief of the Mescalero)
  • Peso (approx. 1849-1929, was born in the Guadalupe Mountains near today's Carsbad as the son of Chief San Juan and his wife Nagoo-nah-go , his group - probably Nit'ahéndé or Tsehitcihéndé - allied with Nautzili's group from Guhlkahéndé on the Southern Plains as well as with groups of the Comanche, sometimes joining Chief Magoosh's Tu'sis Nde of the Lipan Apache in southeast Texas and northeast Mexico, Peso himself was an excellent tracker and served as an Apache scout in the late 1880s in the last wars against the Bedonkohe-Apache Geronimo, together with his brother Sans Peur ('Without Fear') and Magoosh he was one of the three most important chiefs in the reservation - Magoosh for the Lipan Apache in Elk Springs, Sans Peur for Mescalero Apache in Tule Canyon and Peso represented Mescalero Apache for the Rinconada and Three Rivers)
  • Sans Peur ('Without Fear' - 'Ohne Furcht', brother of Chief Peso and son of Chief San Juan , his group - probably Nit'ahéndé or Tsehitcihéndé - were close allies of the Eastern Mescalero group of the Guhlkahéndé on the southern plains as well as the Tu'sis Nde group of the Lipan Apache in southeast Texas and northeast Mexico as well as some groups of the Comanche, together with his brothers Peso and Crook Neck as well as chiefs like Shanta Boy and Big Mouth, he served as an Apache Scout in the last fighting against Geronimo , the war chief of the Nednhi group of the Chiricahua Apache and Bedonkohe shamans, together with his brother Peso and Magoosh he was one of the three most important chiefs in the reservation - Magoosh for the Lipan Apache in Elk Springs, Peso represented Mescalero Apache for the Rinconada and Three Rivers and Sans Peur the Mescalero Apache in Tule Canyon)

Northern Mescalero

  • Barranquito (also Palanquito , most influential chief of the Sierra Blanca Mescalero group, who roamed between the Sierra Blanca (also: White Mountains) eastwards to the Pecos River, probably the most important chief of the Mescalero in the early 19th century; when he died in 1857, his three sons Santana, Cadete and Roman followed him, but never again achieved this overwhelming influence)
  • Santana (also Santa Ana , son and successor of Barranquito, was chief of a local group of the Sierra Blanca Mescalero group with great authority and prestige since around 1830, since the death of Barranquito, Santana seems to have had the greatest influence among the groups of the Northern Mescaleros but he avoided the public and was little known among the Americans and Mexicans, in his later years he became known as a staunch friend of the Americans, † 1876 from pneumonia or smallpox)
  • Cadete (also Cadette - 'Volunteer' - 'The one who volunteers, offers', in Apache: Gian-na-tah - 'Always Ready' - 'Always and always ready', also known as Zhee-es-not- son , Zhee Ah Nat Tsa , son and successor of Barranquito, after Santana the most influential chief of several local groups of the Sierra Blanca Mescalero group, was more diplomatic than Santana, submitted to the leadership of his brother Santana, had the most contact with the whites among the chiefs of the Northern Mescaleros, after all Mescalero had left the Bosque Redondo reserve on November 3, 1863, he fled with his group to the Llano Estacado , in Mexico his and other Mescalero groups stole large herds of cattle and horses, which they either directly or via the Comancheros exchanged and sold to the Comanche , was murdered during a peace mission in 1872)
  • Ramón Grande (son and successor of Barranquito, chief of a local group of the Sierra Blanca Mescalero group, had less influence than his brothers Santana and Cadete, submitted to the leadership of his brother Santana, died in 1885 during an epidemic)
  • Josecito (also José Cito , after Barranquito and Santana the most influential chief of some local group of the Sierra Blanca Mescalero group, signed a contract in April, 1852 together with a smaller local group leader of the Sierra Blanca Mescalero named Lobo and the Jicarilla-Apache chief Chacon with Calhoun)
  • Muchacho Negro ('Black Boy' - 'black (dark-skinned) boy', chief of a local group, joined the Chihenne chief Victorio with his warriors, approx. 1860–1930)
  • Kutbhalla (war chief, married a daughter of Chihenne chief Mangas Coloradas )
  • Estrella ('star')

Eastern Mescalero / Plains Mescalero

  • Nautzili (also Natzili , Nautzile , Nodzilla - 'Bison', chief of the Guhlkahéndé and later a splinter group of the Southern Lipan in northern Mexico, was a close ally of the Southern Mescalero group of chief San Juan , the Tu'sis Nde group of the Lipan Apache under Chief Magoosh and some groups of the Comanche on the Southern Plains, surrendered in 1876 and moved to the Mescalero Reservation, in 1879 he had gained leadership over the largest number of Mescalero groups in the reservation (including the Lipan) and successfully many warriors discouraged from joining Chihenne chief Victorio in his war)

Winnetou

Karl May's fictional character Winnetou is a fantasy figure , there was never such a chief of the Mescalero. When the writer devised his protagonist in the 1870s, the newspapers were full of reports about the bloodthirsty Apaches. Karl May, who has never been to the west of the USA, has demonstrably drawn his knowledge of the country and its people from contemporary travel reports and reference works, including the Pierer , a well-known conversation dictionary of the time. The Pierer of 1888 writes:

“Apaches (pron. Apatsches), predatory, wild Indian people from the Athabascan tribe in Arizona (1880: 4578 heads), New Mexico (1605) and the Indian Territory (337), divided into various main tribes and many small bands. Mostly nomads, they carry tent huts with them and live from hunting, robbery and plundering; Subjugated by Crook from 1871 to 1875. "

It can be assumed that Karl May, who stood up against the spirit of the times for the cause of the Indians, consciously chose a member of the so negatively described tribe for his “ noble savage ”.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jessica Dawn Palmer: The Apache Peoples: A History of All Bands and Tribes Through the 1880s. Mcfarland & Co, 2013, ISBN 978-0-7864-4551-6 .
  2. ^ Languages ​​of the World
  3. ↑ Navajo Clans
  4. ↑ Anthropological Report on the Cuelcahen Nde Lipan Apaches of Texas ( Memento of the original from April 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.utexas.edu
  5. ↑ by the Spaniards the Pecos River was also called Rio Salado ('Salty River') or Rio del Natagee ('River of the Natagee / Natahéndé')
  6. ↑ The Apache culture impact on Fort Davis: 1519-1884
  7. ↑ David L. Carmichael, Jane Hubert, Brian Reeves: Sacred Sites, Sacred Places. Routledge Chapman & Hall, 1994, ISBN 0-415-09603-0 .
  8. ↑ Homepage of the Ski Apache Resort
  9. ↑ Homepage of the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino
  10. ^ Mescalero Apache Cultural Center & Museum
  11. ^ US Department of the Interior: Indian Affairs - Mescalero Agency
  12. ↑ James L. Haley: Apaches: A History and Culture Portrait. University of Oklahoma Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8061-2978-6 .
  13. ^ Mescalero Apache History in the Southwest
  14. ↑ chinati is derived from the Apache word ch'íná'itíh (gate or mountain pass)
  15. ↑ http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/pdf/137/13709207.pdf  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Documtentos de la genealogía y la vida de Alsate, Jefe de los Apaches de los Chisos@1@ 2Template: dead link / redalyc.uaemex.mx  
  16. ^ Dan L. Thrapp: Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography. Volume 1: AF. University of Nebraska Press, 1991, ISBN 0-8032-9418-2 , pp. 18-19.
  17. ↑ William Chebahtah, Nancy McGown Minor: Chevato: The Story of the Apache Warrior Who Captured Herman Lehmann. University of Nebraska Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8032-1097-4 .

literature

  • William C. Sturtevant (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC
  • Tom Bahti: Southwestern Indian Tribes. KC Publications, Las Vegas 1995.
  • Alvin M. Josephy Jr.: 500 Nations. Frederking & Thaler, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-89405-356-9 .
  • Alvin M. Josephy Jr.: The world of the Indians. Frederking & Thaler, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-89405-331-3 .
  • John Gattuso (Ed.): Indian Reservations USA APA Guides, RV Reise- und Verkehrsverlag, 1992.
  • Siegfried Augustin : The history of the Indians. Nymphenburger, Munich 1995.
  • HW Basehart: Mescalero Apache Substinence and Socio-Political Organization.
  • HW Basehart: Mescalero Band Organization and Leadership.
  • CL Sonnichsen: The Mescalero Apaches. 2nd Edition. University of Oklahoma Press, 1973, ISBN 0-8061-1615-3 .

Web links

Commons : Mescalero  - collection of images, videos and audio files

See also