Outline Essay
Geronimo lived from 1829-1909. He was 80 years old when he died. He was a very famous war chief of the Chiricahua Apache tribe. He lost his mother, wife and children in a Mexican raid. This event caused him great bitterness. He served under two great Apache leaders, Cochise and Mangas Coloradas. After serving under Cochise and Coloradas, Geronimo led warring parties into Mexico. He also raided non-Indian settlements that were in his land. Geronimo did not surrender until 1887. He was sent to Fort Marion, Florida. To get there he was sent on a train with 340 other Apache prisoners. Nearly a third died on the trip to the fort due to the extreme heat. Geronimo was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1894. He died there of natural causes without ever seeing his homeland again. Geronimo became the most feared of the Apache warriors.
The Europeans considered the Apache to be the most hostile tribe in the southwest. The Apache mainly lived by raiding and warfare. When they did raid they only did it to get material goods such as livestock. Their objective was to obtain a food supply without being seen. There were usually no more than 15 men in a raiding party. If confronted, the Apache warriors were likely to make a quick escape, rather than be caught in a in a bloody battle. However, if forced to fight, the Apache were well prepared for combat. The Apache were trained to fight at an early age. War parties served a different purpose than raids. They were organized to avenge Apache causalities that were previously suffered in battle. A war party could be up to 200 men, recruited from a number of different local groups. Apache children were taught to fight at an early age to be expert warriors. Both boys and girls were taught to be swift and strong. Although girls were also brought up to be obedient wives and mothers, they were also known to accompany men in raiding parties. Wars or battles were only started by the death of a fellow Indian from a former battle or raid.
When the Europeans arrived, many Indians in the southwest wore clothing from either animal skins or cotton woven on a type of loom. On their feet they wore either sandals or moccasins. Some form of jewelry was worn by all tribes. They also had distinctive hairstyles from various tribes as part of their attire. Corn, beans, and squash were the most important cultivated foods of the southwestern Indians. Cotton, gourds, and tobacco were also grown by these Indians. They felt a strong bond with the earth. They did not plant or harvest or gather wild plants without the appropriate prayers and offerings. Water was crucial factor in southwestern agriculture since so much land was arid. This caused many worries about droughts as well as flooding. In some cases, the solutions was to plant in the flood areas and then wait for it to flood to water them. Another solution was to build irrigation ditches. These brought water from rivers to the dry land. Pit cooking was a common method of cooing. A pit was dug and lined with stones. Then a fire was started over the stones. When the fire became red hot the wood and ashes were removed and replaced with food.
The southwestern Indians are outstanding artists. They have a tradition that goes back many centuries, all the way back to the prehistoric rock paintings found on canyon walls. Southwestern potters were generally women. They have been making pottery for centuries. Pottery was made with clay that was found at clay beds, in the forms of slabs and chunks. Basket weaving is one of the most ancient crafts in the southwest. Early weavers used different grasses, roots, and stems to produce bowls and jars. At first, the Navajo only wove blankets for clothing. Now their colorful designs are used for both wall hangings and rugs and are in great demand by collectors around the world. The designs that the Navajo women put on their rug are passed down from mother to daughter. The earliest shapes were stripes, zigzags, and diamonds. The Navajo also got some of their ideas from silver jewelry that they got from Mexican traders. The Zuni learned silver smithing from the Navajo. They began adding turquoise to their silver jewelry. This stone became widely used during this century.
Trade has been going on for thousands of years among the Indians of the southwest. Indians traded items that they made, grew, gathered, or accumulated from earlier trades. In prehistoric times, such items included the blue-green stone turquoise, today frequently found in ruins in the form of pendants. Turquoise was used in many ceremonies. It was mined in the Southwest and apparently traded as far south as Mexico. The Pueblo were especially adept at trading. They traded among their many villages, as well as with other Indians. After the Spanish came, the newcomers fit into the trade network, in a way of life that benefitted everyone. For instance, the Havasupai mined red ocher from deposits in their area. This produced a red paint that was in demand. The Hopi, who didn’t know the locations of these deposits, traded their textiles and pottery to the Havasupai for red ocher, as well as tanned buckskin. The tanned buckskin came from the Hualapai Indians, who had deer on their land. Then the Hopi traded the red ocher to the Spaniards who had settled in New Mexico. It was used by Spanish women of Santa Fe as both rouge for their cheeks and as a protection against the sun. The Havasupai also traded their red ocher and tanned buckskins to the Navajo for blankets, jewelry and horses.
