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Associate Professor of History

Neither Savage Warriors nor Environmental Icons: A New History of the Apache Peoples

This presentation focuses on an event and a person, both of which are critical to Apache history. In 1852 the U.S. ratified its only treaty with the Apache Nations. Sandwiched between the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the U.S. War with Mexico in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, the Apache Treaty epitomized Native military power as well as Indigenous diplomacy and transnational political acumen. That combination of power, diplomacy and political genius emerges again in the post-World War Two figure of Wendell Chino, Chairman of the Mescalero nation for 40 years, and president of the National Congress of American Indians, the most influential Native rights organization in the 20th century. Connecting the Treaty and Chino is part of my larger interest in several long term projects supported by this Career Enhancement Award: a digital database of Apache archival sources and a comprehensive history of Nde Peoples and Apache Nations.