 | |
| Total population | |
| 2,263 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States (Oklahoma) | |
| Languages | |
| English, formerlyPlains Apache language | |
| Religion | |
| Indigenous religion,Native American Church,Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| fellowApache,Navajo, andTsuutʼina[1] |
ThePlains Apache are a smallSouthern Athabaskan tribe who live on theSouthern Plains ofNorth America, in close association with the linguistically unrelatedKiowa Tribe. Today, they are headquartered in SouthwesternOklahoma and arefederally recognized as theApache Tribe of Oklahoma.[3] They mostly live inComanche andCaddo County, Oklahoma.[1]
Their autonym isNá'ishą, or "takers" based on their skill at stealing horses,[1] orNaishadena, meaning "our people."[4] This is also writtenNa-i-shan Dine.[5]
They were also calledKáłt'inde orγát dìndé meaning "cedar people"[1] orBek'áhe meaning "whetstone people".[1]
The Plains Apache are also known as the Kiowa Apache.[1] To their Kiowa allies, who speak an unrelated language, the Plains Apache are known as Semat.[6]
Today the tribe is headquartered inAnadarko, Oklahoma. Their tribal jurisdictional area covers parts ofCaddo,Comanche,Cotton,Greer,Jackson,Kiowa,Tillman andHarmon Counties in Oklahoma.
In 2011, the tribe had 2,263 total citizens, of whom 1,814 lived in-state. Tribal enrollment is based on 1/8blood quantum,[7] meaning a person must be able to prove they have at least 1/8 Native American ancestry to be considered eligible for tribal enrollment.
As of 2025, the current administration is:[2][8]
In addition to the Apache Business Committee outlined above, the tribe also operates the following tribal departments:[9]
The Apache Tribe of Oklahoma owns and operates the Apache Golden Eagle Casino inApache, Oklahoma.[10] The Golden Eagle Casino was previously closed in 2013 due to a tribal dispute, along with the Silver Buffalo Casino in Anadarko, Oklahoma.[11] Only the Golden Eagle Casino reopened once the dispute was settled. The casino is under the jurisdiction of the Apache Gaming Commission, headed by Gaming Commissioner Ryan Adudell.[12] There is also a smokeshop and a gas station on the reservation.[7]
The tribe issues their own tribal license plates through the Tax Commission.[13][14][15]
Theiroral history states that the Plains Apache broke away from theTsuutʼina,[1] an Athabascan people who moved onto theGreat Plains inAlberta, Canada. They have lived on the Great Plains since the 16th century.[2] They migrated south, where theLakota gave them territory south of theBlack Hills in what becameSouth Dakota andWyoming.[1]
The Apache are associated with theDismal River culture (ca. 1650–1750) of the western Plains,[16] generally attributed to the Paloma andCuartelejo Apaches.Jicarilla Apache pottery has also been found in some of the Dismal River complex sites.[17] Some of the people from the Dismal River culture joined the Plains Apache in the Black Hills.
Due to pressure from theComanche from the west andPawnee andFrench from the east, the Kiowa and remaining people of Dismal River culture migrated south where they later joined theLipan Apache andJicarilla Apache nations.[17]
In the early 18th century, the Plains Apache lived around the upperMissouri River and maintained close connections to the Kiowa. They were ethnically different and spoke different languages. They communicated with their allies using the sophisticatedPlains Indian Sign Language.
The Plains Apache continued migrating south along the easternRocky Mountains and hunting bison.[1] They allied with thePawnee,Arapaho, and Kiowa.[1]
Even before contact with Europeans, their numbers were never large, and their 1780 population was estimated at 400.[5]
The Plains Apache and Kiowa had migrated into the Southern Plains sometime around 1800.[3] The Treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867 established anIndian Reservation for the Kiowa, Plains Apache, and Comanche in Western Oklahoma. They were forced to move south of the Washita River to the Red River and Western Oklahoma with the Comanche and the Kiowa. The 1890 Census showed 1,598 Comanche at the Fort Sill reservation, which they shared with 1,140 Kiowa and 326 Plains Apache.[18]
Some groups of Plains Apache refused to settle on reservations and were involved in Kiowa and Comanche uprisings, most notably theFirst Battle of Adobe Walls which was the largest battle of the Indian Wars. It would be the last battle in which the Natives repelled the U.S. Army in the Southern Plains.
The Kiowa-Comanche-Apache (KCA) Reservation was broken up into individual allotments under the1889 Springer Amendment to theIndian Appropriations Act.
The so-called "surplus" lands of the KCA Reservation were opened up to white settlement in 1901.[19] The U.S. federal government took more KCA lands in 1906.[19] Despite tribal opposition to the land sessions, the U.S. courts upheld allotment. Most Plains Apache families chose land north of theWichita Mountains.[19]
In 1966, the tribe organized a business committee and regained federal recognition.[3] In 1972, the Kiowa, Comanche, and Plains Apache legally separated.[1]
The Plains Apache social organization is split into numerous extended families (kustcrae), who camped together (for hunting and gathering) as local groups (gonka). The next level was the division or band, a grouping of several gonkas (who would come together, for mutual protection, especially in times of war).
In pre-reservation times there were at least four local groups or gonkas who frequently joined together for warring neighboring tribes and settlements.
Historically, the tribe was led by an elder council, chiefs,medicine men, and warriors.[1] Women controlled and maintained family belongings, includingtipis.[1] Skilled artists joined women's societies.[1]
The Plains Apache language is a member of theSouthern Athabaskan language family, a division of theNa-Dene languages. ThePlains Apache language, also referred to as Plains Apache, was the most divergent member of the subfamily. While three people spoke the language in 2006,[20] the last fluent speaker died in 2008.
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