Tonto Apache
Encyclopedia
The Tonto Apache is one of the groups of Western Apache
people. The term is also used for their dialect, one of the three dialects of the Western Apache language (a Southern Athabaskan language
). The Chiricahua
living to the south called them Ben-et-dine or binii?e'dine' (“brainless people”, “people without minds”, i.e. "wild", "crazy", "Those who 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.
Grenville Goodwin
in The Social Organization of the Western Apache (1942) divided the Tonto into two groups: the Northern Tonto and Southern Tonto. Many Western Apache reject such a classification. They prefer groupings based on bands and clans.
The Dilzhe’e Apache refer to themselves (autonym
) as Dilzhę́’é, as do the San Carlos Apache. The Western Apache from Bylas use the word Dilzhę́’é to refer to both the San Carlos and Tonto Apache groups. The White Mountain Apache use the term Dilzhę́’é to refer to the Bylas, San Carlos, and Tonto Apache.
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.
of central and western Arizona. The Tonto Apache territory stretched from the San Francisco Peaks
, East Verde River
and Oak Creek Canyon
along the Verde River
into the Mazatzal Mountains
and to the Salt River
in the SW and the Tonto Basin
in the SE, extending eastwards towards the Little Colorado River
in the U.S. state
of Arizona
. The Dilzhę́’é Apache (Tonto Apache) lived usually east of the Verde River
(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
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
, Sierra Ancha
and Pinaleno Mountains
with Southern Tonto Apache and bands of the San Carlos Apache. Therefore they formed bilingual mixed-tribal band
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
(Ndee biyati' / Nnee biyati) and the Yavapai spoke the Yavapai language
, a branch of Upland Yuman. Living together in common rancherias, whether they considered themselves to be Apaches or Yavapais, depended on their “Mother tongue” as the origin of the matrilineal society, directed by the mother. 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. 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
(who belonged to the Upland Yuma Peoples) as Yuma Apache or Mohave Apache.
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 (Nda Yutahá- 'Navajo White Man' or 'Navajo who live like white men'), and the peoples engaged more in open conflict. From their sheepraising, 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 Diné.
Typically hunter-gatherers, the Tonto Apache hunted (antelope, deer, birds, bush rats, etc.) and collected (agave, berries, wild plants, seeds). The women also cultivated watermelon
s, pumpkin
s, 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
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.
, on the Verde River
near Camp Verde, 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 180 miles (289.7 km) to the San Carlos Reservation
. 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 40 acres (161,874 m²) as the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, and in the following decade added 248 acres (1,003,621 m²) 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 665 acres (2.7 km²), 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
. The Yavapai-Apache Nation
is the amalgamation of two historically distinct tribes, 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 Wipukepa or Northeastern Yavapai were using country to the north, the west and the south. They overlapped in the Upper Verded.
is located within Maricopa County, Arizona
, approximately 20 miles from Phoenix. The 40 square miles (103.6 km²) reservation was authorized by President Theodore Roosevelt
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 and Tonto Apache 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 Kwevikopaya or Southeastern Yavapai on Fort McDowell Reservation call themselves Abaja (″The People”). Some anthropologists and linguists believe that the name Apache
for the various Southern Athabascan peoples derives from the autonym
of the Yavapai. The population of Fort McDowell consists of two distinct American Indian peoples, the Kwevikopaya Yavapai and the Dilzhe'e Apache or Tonto Apache. Historically they have intermarried, formed mixed bilingual bands, and were allies against enemy tribes and white settlers.
, 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
(originally named Te-go-suk (“Place of the Yellow Water”), in northwestern Gila County
, 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 advent of European Americans. During the first reservation era, they were moved to the large Rio Verde Reserve, near Camp Verde, which was established in 1871 for the Tonto and Wipukepa or Northeastern Yavapai. The Reserve was dissolved in 1875 and the peoples forced to relocate to the San Carlos Reservation
. Some Tonto Apache gradually returned to Payson after 20 years of exile 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. They have formed the Yavapai-Apache Nation of today.
and Fort Apache Indian Reservation
.
Northern Tonto
Southern Tonto
Western Apache
Western Apache refers to the Apache peoples living today primarily in east central Arizona. Most live within reservations. The White Mountain Apache of the Fort Apache, San Carlos, Yavapai-Apache, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Indian reservations are home to the majority of...
people. The term is also used for their dialect, one of the three dialects of the Western Apache language (a Southern Athabaskan language
Southern Athabaskan languages
Southern Athabaskan is a subfamily of Athabaskan languages spoken primarily in the North American Southwest with two outliers in Oklahoma and Texas...
). The Chiricahua
Chiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
living to the south called them Ben-et-dine or binii?e'dine' (“brainless people”, “people without minds”, i.e. "wild", "crazy", "Those who you don’t understand"). The neighboring Western Apache ethnonym
Ethnonym
An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...
for them was Koun'nde ("wild rough People"), from which the Spanish derived their use of Tonto ("loose", "foolish") for the group.
Grenville Goodwin
Greenville Goodwin
Grenville Goodwin, born Greenville Goodwin , is best known for his participant-observer ethnology work among the Western Apache in the 1930s in the American Southwest. Largely self-taught as an anthropologist, he lived among the Apache for nearly a decade, and learned their stories and rituals...
in The Social Organization of the Western Apache (1942) divided the Tonto into two groups: the Northern Tonto and Southern Tonto. Many Western Apache reject such a classification. They prefer groupings based on bands and clans.
Ethnonym
The name Dilzhę́’é is a Western Apache name that may mean 'people with high-pitched voices', but the etymology is unclear.The Dilzhe’e Apache refer to themselves (autonym
Autonym
Autonym may refer to*Autonym, the name used by a people to refer to themselves or their language, synonymous with endonym*Autonym, the true name of an author disclosed by resolving a pseudonym...
) as Dilzhę́’é, as do the San Carlos Apache. The Western Apache from Bylas use the word Dilzhę́’é to refer to both the San Carlos and Tonto Apache groups. The White Mountain Apache use the term Dilzhę́’é to refer to the Bylas, San Carlos, and Tonto Apache.
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
The Tonto Apache lived alongside the Wipukepa (“People from the Foot of the Red Rock”) and Kewevkapaya, two of the four subgroups of the YavapaiYavapai people
Yavapai are an indigenous people in Arizona. Historically, the Yavapai were divided into four geographical bands that considered themselves separate peoples: the Tolkapaya, or Western Yavapai, the Yavapé, or Northwestern Yavapai, the Kwevkapaya, or Southeastern Yavapai, and Wipukpa, or Northeastern...
of central and western Arizona. The Tonto Apache territory stretched from the San Francisco Peaks
San Francisco Peaks
The San Francisco Peaks are a volcanic mountain range located in north central Arizona, just north of Flagstaff.The highest summit in the range, Humphreys Peak, is the highest point in the state of Arizona at in elevation. The San Francisco Peaks are the remains of an eroded stratovolcano...
, East Verde River
East Verde River
East Verde River is located in the Mogollon Rim area of the state of Arizona. The closest town, Payson, is 10 miles away. The East Verde River is a right tributary of the Verde River.- Fish species :* Rainbow Trout* Brown Trout* Smallmouth Bass* Sunfish...
and Oak Creek Canyon
Oak Creek Canyon
Oak Creek Canyon is a river gorge located along the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona located between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona. The canyon is often described as a smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon because of its scenic beauty...
along the Verde River
Verde River
The Verde River is the north and northwestern watershed of the Salt River–Verde River Watershed that co-join and enter the Gila River at Phoenix, Arizona, located in the U.S. state of Arizona...
into the Mazatzal Mountains
Mazatzal Mountains
The Mazatzal Mountains are a mountain range in south central Arizona, about 30–45 miles northeast of Phoenix and the Phoenix metropolitan area. The origin of the name remains obscure but one possibility is that it is from the Aztec language meaning "place of the deer"...
and to the Salt River
Salt River (Arizona)
The Salt River is a stream in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the largest tributary of the Gila River. The river is about long. Its drainage basin is about large. The longest of the Salt River's many tributaries is the Verde River...
in the SW and the Tonto Basin
Tonto Basin
The Tonto Basin, also known as Pleasant Valley, covers the main drainage 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 Arizona....
in the SE, extending eastwards towards the Little Colorado River
Little Colorado River
The Little Colorado River is a river in the U.S. state of Arizona, providing the principal drainage from the Painted Desert region. Together with its major tributary, the Puerco River, it drains an area of about in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. The Dilzhę́’é Apache (Tonto Apache) lived usually east of the Verde River
Verde River
The Verde River is the north and northwestern watershed of the Salt River–Verde River Watershed that co-join and enter the Gila River at Phoenix, Arizona, located in the U.S. state of Arizona...
(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
Fossil Creek is a perennial river in central Arizona, located near the community of Strawberry. The headwaters of the creek begin at Fossil Springs, a rare and powerful spring in Arizona, which produces upwards of one million gallons of water per hour....
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
Superstition Mountains
The Superstition Mountains , popularly referred to as "The Superstitions", are a range of mountains in Arizona located to the east of the Phoenix metropolitan area...
, Sierra Ancha
Sierra Ancha
The Sierra Ancha 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 to the east, and Pleasant Valley to the north...
and Pinaleno Mountains
Pinaleno Mountains
The Pinaleño Mountains, or the Pinal Mountains, are a remote mountain range in southeastern Arizona. They have over of vertical relief, more than any other range in the state. The mountains are surrounded by the Sonoran-Chihuahuan Desert. Subalpine forests cover the higher elevations...
with Southern Tonto Apache and bands of the San Carlos Apache. Therefore they formed bilingual mixed-tribal band
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
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
Western Apache language
The Western Apache language is a Southern Athabaskan language spoken by over 12,000 of the Western Apache peoples living primarily in east central Arizona...
(Ndee biyati' / Nnee biyati) and the Yavapai spoke the Yavapai language
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...
, a branch of Upland Yuman. Living together in common rancherias, whether they considered themselves to be Apaches or Yavapais, depended on their “Mother tongue” as the origin of the matrilineal society, directed by the mother. 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
Tohono O'odham
The Tohono O'odham are a group of Native American people who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southeastern Arizona and northwest Mexico...
and the Akimel O'odham. 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
Hualapai
The Hualapai or Walapai are a tribe of Native Americans who live in the mountains of northwestern Arizona, United States. The name is derived from "hwa:l," the Hualapai word for ponderosa pine, "Hualapai" meaning "people of the ponderosa pine"...
(who belonged to the Upland Yuma Peoples) as Yuma Apache or Mohave Apache.
The Western Apache groups, adjacent Tonto Apache bands and Chiricahua
Chiricahua
Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...
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
Dine
-People named Dine:* Jim Dine , an American pop artist* S. S. Van Dine, an art critic and author* Tom Dine, an American government worker-Other meanings:* Beit ed-Dine, a town in Lebanon* Diné, name for the Navajo Nation in the Navajo language...
(in Apache Yúdahá - 'Live Far Up' - 'Those who live up north') and the Enemy Navajo (Nda Yutahá- 'Navajo White Man' or 'Navajo who live like white men'), and the peoples engaged more in open conflict. From their sheepraising, 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 Diné.
Typically hunter-gatherers, the Tonto Apache hunted (antelope, deer, birds, bush rats, etc.) and collected (agave, berries, wild plants, seeds). The women also cultivated watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
s, pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
s, corn
Corn
Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...
, later grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
, 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
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
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
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, Chihuahua, Sinaloa
Sinaloa
Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
and Durango
Durango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
in the far south.
Yavapai-Apache Nation Indian Reservation
After being relocated to the Camp Verde ReservationYavapai-Apache Nation
The Yavapai-Apache Nation is a Native American tribe in the Verde Valley, Arizona. Tribal members share two culturally distinct backgrounds and speak two indigenous languages, the Yavapai language and the Western Apache language...
, on the Verde River
Verde River
The Verde River is the north and northwestern watershed of the Salt River–Verde River Watershed that co-join and enter the Gila River at Phoenix, Arizona, located in the U.S. state of Arizona...
near Camp Verde, 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 180 miles (289.7 km) to the San Carlos Reservation
San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1871 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe. It was referred to by some as "Hell's Forty Acres," due to a myriad of dismal health and environmental conditions.-Formation:President U.S....
. 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 40 acres (161,874 m²) as the Camp Verde Indian Reservation, and in the following decade added 248 acres (1,003,621 m²) 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
Yavapai-Apache Nation
The Yavapai-Apache Nation is a Native American tribe in the Verde Valley, Arizona. Tribal members share two culturally distinct backgrounds and speak two indigenous languages, the Yavapai language and the Western Apache language...
.
Today, the reservation spans 665 acres (2.7 km²), 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
Montezuma Castle National Monument, located near Camp Verde, Arizona, in the Southwestern United States, features well-preserved cliff-dwellings. They were built and used by the Pre-Columbian Sinagua people, northern cousins of the Hohokam, around 700 AD. Several Hopi clans trace their roots to...
. The Yavapai-Apache Nation
Yavapai-Apache Nation
The Yavapai-Apache Nation is a Native American tribe in the Verde Valley, Arizona. Tribal members share two culturally distinct backgrounds and speak two indigenous languages, the Yavapai language and the Western Apache language...
is the amalgamation of two historically distinct tribes, 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 Wipukepa or Northeastern Yavapai were using country to the north, the west and the south. They overlapped in the Upper Verded.
Fort McDowell Reservation
The Fort McDowell Yavapai NationFort McDowell Yavapai Nation
The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, 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 Phoenix, currently encompassing only out of the much larger area...
is located within Maricopa County, Arizona
Maricopa County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*73.0% White*5.0% Black*2.1% Native American*3.5% Asian*0.2% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.5% Two or more races*12.7% Other races*29.6% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, approximately 20 miles from Phoenix. The 40 square miles (103.6 km²) reservation was authorized by President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
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 and Tonto Apache 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 Kwevikopaya or Southeastern Yavapai on Fort McDowell Reservation call themselves Abaja (″The People”). Some anthropologists and linguists believe that the name Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
for the various Southern Athabascan peoples derives from the autonym
Autonym
Autonym may refer to*Autonym, the name used by a people to refer to themselves or their language, synonymous with endonym*Autonym, the true name of an author disclosed by resolving a pseudonym...
of the Yavapai. The population of Fort McDowell consists of two distinct American Indian peoples, the Kwevikopaya Yavapai and the Dilzhe'e Apache or Tonto Apache. Historically they have intermarried, formed mixed bilingual bands, and were allies against enemy tribes and white settlers.
Tonto Apache Reservation
The Tonto Apache Reservation, located south of Payson, ArizonaPayson, Arizona
- History :Payson considers its founding year as 1882, at which time it was known as Green Valley or Union Park. On March 3, 1884, the town officially established a post office. Postmaster Frank C. Hise recommended that the town be named after a man named Levi Joseph Payson. Senator Payson was very...
, 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
Payson, Arizona
- History :Payson considers its founding year as 1882, at which time it was known as Green Valley or Union Park. On March 3, 1884, the town officially established a post office. Postmaster Frank C. Hise recommended that the town be named after a man named Levi Joseph Payson. Senator Payson was very...
(originally named Te-go-suk (“Place of the Yellow Water”), in northwestern Gila County
Gila County, Arizona
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*76.8% White*0.4% Black*14.8% Native American*0.5% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*2.0% Two or more races*5.4% Other races*17.9% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
, approximately 95 miles northeast of Phoenix and 100 miles southeast of Flagstaff
Flagstaff, Arizona
Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...
.
The Tonto Apache are the direct descendants of the Dilzhe'e Apache who lived in the Payson vicinity long before the advent of European Americans. During the first reservation era, they were moved to the large Rio Verde Reserve, near Camp Verde, which was established in 1871 for the Tonto and Wipukepa or Northeastern Yavapai. The Reserve was dissolved in 1875 and the peoples forced to relocate to the San Carlos Reservation
San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1871 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe. It was referred to by some as "Hell's Forty Acres," due to a myriad of dismal health and environmental conditions.-Formation:President U.S....
. Some Tonto Apache gradually returned to Payson after 20 years of exile 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. They have formed 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 ReservationSan Carlos Apache Indian Reservation
The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1871 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe. It was referred to by some as "Hell's Forty Acres," due to a myriad of dismal health and environmental conditions.-Formation:President U.S....
and Fort Apache Indian Reservation
Fort Apache Indian Reservation
The Fort Apache Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in Arizona, United States, encompassing parts of Navajo, Gila, and Apache counties. It is home to the federally recognized White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, a Western Apache tribe. It has a land area of 2,627.608...
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Socio-political organization
Like the other Western Apache groups, the Tonto Apache were not centrally organized. The smallest social unit was the matrilocal and matrilineal 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
- Bald Mountain band (Dasziné Dasdaayé Indee - ‘Porcupine Sitting Above People’)
- Fossil Creek band (Tú Dotłʼizh Indee - ‘Blue Water People’, formed bilingual mixed bands living together with the Matkitwawipa band of the Wipukepa-Yavapai)
- Mormon Lake band (Dotl`izhi Ha´it`Indee - ‘Turqoise Road Coming Up People’)
- Oak Creek band (Tsé Hichii Indee - ‘Horizontal Red Rock People’, formed bilingual mixed bands living together with the Wipukepa band of the Wipukepa-Yavapai)
Southern Tonto
- Mazatzal band (Tsé Nołtłʼizhn - ‘Rocks in a Line of Greenness People’, formed bilingual mixed bands living together with the Hakayopa and Hichapulvapa bands of the Wikedjasapa, a subgroup of the Kwevkepaya -Yavapai)
- Dil Zhęʼé semi-band (‘People with high-pitched voices’, first and most important semi-band under which name the other five remaining semi-bands were known)
- second semi-band
- third semi-band
- fourth semi-band
- fifth semi-band
- sixth semi-band
Chiefs of the Tonto Apache
- Delshay (Delshe, Delchea, Delacha - ‘Big Rump’, Kwevkepaya-Tonto Apache leader, about 200 band members, not to be confused with Wah-poo-eta, * about 1835; killed † 29. July 1874)
- Wah-poo-eta (Wapotehe - ‘Big Rump’, in Apache Delacha or Delshe, Kwevkepaya-Tonto-Apache leader, about 750 band members, mostly Kwevkepaya and some Southern Tonto of the Mazatzal band, lived in the southern Mazatzal Mountains, 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)
- Chuntz (Chunz, Tonto Apache leader, killed † 25. July 1874)
- Chan-deisi (‘Broken Nose’, called by George CrookGeorge CrookGeorge R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
John Daisy, Tonto Apache leader) - Cochinay (‘Yellow Thunder’, Tonto Apache leader, killed † 26. May 1874)
- Eschetlepan (Chalipun, Cha-Thle-Pah, Choltepun, called by the US Army Charlie Pan, Kwevkepaya-Tonto Apache leader, was himself a Southern Tonto 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)
- Ashcavotil (Ascavotil, in Apache Escavotil, Kwevkepaya-Pinaleno Apache leader, lived in the Pinaleno Mountains)
- Oshkolte (Hascalté, Has-Kay-Ah-Yol-Tel, Tonto Apache-Kwevkepaya leader, to his band belonged 70 warriors, 20 women and 20 children, made up mostly of Southern Tonto Apache and some Kwevkepaya, close ally of Ashcavotil and Wah-poo-eta, lived east of the Four PeaksFour PeaksFour Peaks , at in altitude, is a prominent landmark on the eastern skyline of Phoenix, part of the Mazatzal Mountains. It is located in the Tonto National Forest east-northeast of Phoenix, in the Four Peaks Wilderness...
in the Mazatzal Mountains towards the Salt River, killed † March 1873) - Nanni-chaddi (Tonto Apache-Kwevkepaya leader, *?; killed † 28. December 1872 in the Battle of Salt River CanyonBattle of Salt River CanyonThe Battle of Salt River Canyon, or the Battle of Skeleton Cave, 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 War from 1871 to 1875.-Battle:...
, also called Skeleton Cave Massacre, 130 troopers from the 5th Cavalry Regiment led by CaptainCaptain (OF-2)The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
William H. BrownWilliam H. BrownWilliam H. Brown was a United States Navy sailor during the American Civil War and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor.-Biography:...
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)
- Piyahgonte (Tonto Apache leader in the 1860s and 1870s)
- Natatotel (Natokel, Tonto Apache leader, killed † June 1873)
- Naqui-Naquis (Tonto Apache leader, killed † June 1873)
- Ba-coon (Bacon, also called Eskimo-tzin, Esqinosquin, Tonto Apache leader)
See also
- Western ApacheWestern ApacheWestern Apache refers to the Apache peoples living today primarily in east central Arizona. Most live within reservations. The White Mountain Apache of the Fort Apache, San Carlos, Yavapai-Apache, Tonto Apache, and the Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache Indian reservations are home to the majority of...
- Yavapai-Apache NationYavapai-Apache NationThe Yavapai-Apache Nation is a Native American tribe in the Verde Valley, Arizona. Tribal members share two culturally distinct backgrounds and speak two indigenous languages, the Yavapai language and the Western Apache language...
- Southern Athabaskan languagesSouthern Athabaskan languagesSouthern Athabaskan is a subfamily of Athabaskan languages spoken primarily in the North American Southwest with two outliers in Oklahoma and Texas...
Further reading
- Goodwin, Grenville. (1971). Western Apache Raiding and Warfare, Basso, Keith H. (Ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0-8165-0297-8
- Donald E. Worcester: The Apaches - Eagles of the Southwest, University of Oklahoma Press, 1992, ISBN 0-8061-1495-9 (engl.)
- Nikolaus Baumhauer: Die Apachen: - Entstehung der Rivalität, Verlag für Amerikanistik, 1993, ISBN 3-924696-88-8
- James L. Haley (1981): Apaches: A History and Culture Portrait, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, ISBN 0-8061-2978-6
- Ian. W. Record (1971): Big Sycamore Stands Alone: The Western Apaches, Aravaipa, and the Struggle for Place, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, ISBN 978-0-8061-3972-2
- de Reuse, Willem J. (2006). A practical grammar of the San Carlos Apache language. LINCOM Studies in Native American Linguistics 51. LINCOM. ISBN 3-89586-861-2.
- Goodwin, GrenvilleGreenville GoodwinGrenville Goodwin, born Greenville Goodwin , is best known for his participant-observer ethnology work among the Western Apache in the 1930s in the American Southwest. Largely self-taught as an anthropologist, he lived among the Apache for nearly a decade, and learned their stories and rituals...
. (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. [reprinted 1969 by Tucson: University of Arizona Press].
External links
- Yavapai-Apache Nation website
- Yavapai-Apache Nation (Inter Tribal Council of Arizona)
- Mazatzal Hotel & Casino - Tonto Apache Tribe
- Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation website