The Chiricahua “great mountain” Apache were called such for their former mountain home in Southeast Arizona. They, however, called themselves Aiaha.

The most warlike of the Arizona Indians, their raids extended into New Mexico, southern Arizona, and northern Sonora, Mexico. Some of their most noted leaders included Cochise, Victorio, Loco, Chato, Naiche, Bonito, Mangas Coloradas, and Geronimo.

The nomadic Chiricahua lived primarily in wickiups, frame huts covered with matting, bark, and brush. When they moved on, they burned them. They were hunters and gatherers, surviving on berries, nuts, fruits, and game. They ate horse and mule flesh as delicacies. During the summer, they also limitedly cultivated corn and melon.

The Chiricahua formed clans, and chiefs were chosen for their ability and courage. However, there is evidence that chiefship was sometimes hereditary, as in the case of Cochise and his sons, Taza and Naiche.

In 1872, the Chiricahua were visited by a special commissioner, who agreed with Cochise, their chief, to cease hostilities and use his influence with the other Apache. By Fall, more than 1,000 of the tribe were settled on the newly established Chiricahua Reservation in southeast Arizona. Cochise died in 1874 and was succeeded as chief by his son Taza, who remained friendly to the Government. Still, the killing of some settlers who had sold whisky to the Indians caused an intertribal broil, which, in connection with the proximity of the Chiricahua to the international boundary, resulted in the abolishment of the reservation against their will. The Camp Apache agency was established in 1872, and in the year following, 1,675 Indians were placed there. But, in 1875, this agency was discontinued, and the Indians, much to their discontent, were transferred to San Carlos, where their enemies, the Yavapai, had also been removed.

The members of Geronimo’s band were the last to resist U.S. government control of the Southwest. They finally surrendered in 1886 and were exiled to Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma. The tribe was then released to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico, where most of the tribe lives today.

Geronimo’s last stronghold was the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona, part of which is now inside the Chiricahua National Monument.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2025.

Also See:

Index of Tribes

Indian Wars

Native American Photo Galleries

Native Americans – First Owners of America

See Sources.