article

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

American Indian law review30 (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).
Subjects
History
Acculturation and culture contact
External relations
Public welfare
Acquisition and relinquishment of property
Warfare
Aftermath of combat
Community heads
Peacemaking
culture
Chiricahua Apache
HRAF PubDate
2012
Region
North America
Sub Region
Southwest and Basin
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
Analyst
John Beierle; 2011
Field Date
no date (secondary material)
Coverage Date
1800-1921
Coverage Place
Southwest United States; northern Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico
Notes
John W. Ragsdale, Jr.
Includes bibliographical references
LCCN
74643419
LCSH
Apache Indians