Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

[Editor's Note: Thanks to Ruben for previewing my article, correcting spellings and adding some explanations.]

On Friday afternoon, April 11, Ruben Leyva, who researches his Apache family roots in southwest New Mexico, presented his findings at a presentation at the Silver City Public Library to about  60 or more people.

Leyva is working on a Ph.D. in Apache History at the University of New Mexico in Native American Studies. He opened his presentation on Friday by saying: "It is my honor to be here and have people interested in my family."

His project focuses on the Gila Apache, today's modern Chiricahua. He works with the Chihene N'de Nation, which is seeking to become an American-recognized tribe.

"You hear about the ancestral Pueblo Mimbres and Mogollon cultures, but there is a newer indigenous group (to the Gila), the Gila Apache. The Spaniard stated the Gila Apache called themselves Sigilande (probably Tsegii’a’n’de), meaning "The People Among the Rock Canyons." Leyva agrees the name is not easy to pronounce. It is said something like, "Set + hee + ah + n + deh” or “Set + hee + n + deh" for short. Leyva said, "I am not a spokesperson for the group, but my father and elders persuaded me to share my family's story as part of my PhD studies. I want to talk to you like we are old friends."

He said he often runs into people with pieces of history that fit into his family.

His presentation, "The Apache Are Coming (for a Gift)," featured a group of Gila Apache that he called the Ndéndaaí (pronounced N-de-n-daa-heh). Ndéndaaí, the Enemy People Band, are sometimes known as the Southern Chiricahua.

In 1879, Apaches like Geronimo, Juh (Whoa), and other Leyva relatives agreed to peace with U.S. Army and its Apache Scouts at Fort Bowie, Arizona. The Ndéndaaí, who wanted a reservation of their own as a gift from the U.S., did not receive it, but there was song and dance among this group and the Apache Scouts and Ndéndaaí women. Leyva's great-grandfather Haské Nii (Eskáni – 'The Fierce One') led the singing and fun. The women were full of life, bringing the scouts to the fire in the center of the gathering to dance. The shy scouts returned to the sideline after promising gifts.

The following day, the Apache Scouts and Ndéndaaí shopped for calico together at the commissary with the Ndéndaaí women. The scouts played the hoop and pole game with Ndéndaaí men. Another of Leyva's great-grandfather's Apache Elías (Nat-gohł báá-áye – 'He Who Has Returned from Among the Enemy') wagered a white mule against Black Rope's blanket. Later, the Ndéndaaí were relocated to the San Carlos Apache Reservation.

This information is well documented in Grenville Goodwin's article "Experiences of an Indian Scout," detailing his conversation with White Mountain Apache 'Black Rope' who was a scout present at Fort Bowie.

Leyva spoke about his great-grandmother, Ishno'n (She Who Moves with Breath/Spirit'), a Warm Spring Apache, who was a prisoner of war and sent to Florida, then to Alabama, and to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. She died in 1909 while visiting one of her sons at the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

He said the Gila Apache briefly had a small reservation in the Mule Creek, Buckhorn area, but the U.S. government wanted only large reservations, and they established three in the area, which still exist—Mescalero (in New Mexico) and San Carlos and White Mountain (in Arizona). The land held for the Gila Apache reservation was restored to public lands in 1882.

He noted that some Apache believed that those who did not want to stay on reservations were "troublemakers." The U.S. wanted them to comply and live on the reservations.

Some of the more well-known names in Apache culture came from this group of so-called troublemakers, Geronimo, Victorio, Juh and Mangas, who was the son of Mangas Coloradas.

Leyva opened the presentation to questions.

The first person asked how many people were in a band. Leyva replied that it was usually three to five, and as many as seven family groups formed a local group. There were multiple local groups in a band.

Dave Berry said, in his research, there have always been Apache families here in the area, with the major groups in Chihuahua, Mexico, and Santa Fe. He noted that for many years the area (around Silver City) including the two major cities, in the Apache homeland the Spanish called Apachería. He said Europeans had no control of the area, and they called the area "no man's land." And the Apache called the settlers pirates.

Leyva noted that he is no expert. He is learning all the time about his family.

As he continued his presentation, he said that many of the Apache were well educated, having been educated in the Spanish presidio and mission schools where they learned about Catholicism from the priests. Some of them served as intermediaries between the Spanish and the Apache. Leyva used an ancestor of his, Juan José Compa, as an example. He said the values in his family were dedicated to education.

Many of his articles are posted under Editorials in www.grantcountybeat.com . Do a search for Apache and many of his articles will come up.