Chiricahua Apaches and the assimilation movement, 1865-1886: a historical examination

Ragsdale, John W.

article

Chiricahua Apaches and the assimilation movement, 1865-1886: a historical examination

American Indian law review • 30 (2) • Published In 2005 • Pages: 291-363

By: Ragsdale, John W..

Abstract
This work is divided into two articles, the first of which traces the history of the Chiricahua people and their intersection with the American Indian law and the policy of assimilation. This section examines the impact of assimilation on the tribe's native Southwestern homeland, and deals specifically with the early attempts at reservation, confinement and economic transformation. It also discusses the manipulation of law and property, resistance, escape and the massive military response, and concludes with the surrender of the insurgents, the removal of the tribe and the imprisonment in Florida. The second article deals with the harsh, repressive measures employed in the attempts at reeducating and remolding the captive people, their precipitous decline in health and spirit and their revival in Oklahoma. It also focuses on the return of the majority to the Southwest, the legal efforts to exact at least a modicum of monetary compensation, the revitalization of tribal government and sovereignty and the lives of some of the particular people who played on this singular stage of American life, history, law and morality (pp. 299-300).

History

Acculturation and culture contact

External relations

Public welfare

Acquisition and relinquishment of property

HRAF PubDate

2012