12 Research Essay Topics on Apache Native Americans

If you have to write a research essay on the Apache Native Americans, it is important to substantiate all of the information you present with evidence. It is for this reason that you will find twelve superb facts on Apache Native Americans below which can be used in your research essay writing.

Remember that these should be used to support claims you make within the body of your writing:

1. The Apache Native Americans were not immune to the conflicts between settlers and the U.S. Federal rules. These rules and the migration forced many native tribes out of their ancestral lands and onto reservations, a proposition which resulted in backlash at the start by many of the natives. Massacres broke out in response to westward expansion at Sand Creek in 1864 and again at Wounded Knee in 1890 between the United States Army and the Apache Native Americans.
2. The Apache reside in the Southwest deserts, primarily in Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico. Some Apache tribes were captured during the 1800’s and sent to live in Oklahoma, while others remained in New Mexico and Arizona.
3. The Na’ishan are called the Plains Apache and they reside in what is today Oklahoma. This tribe is referred to as the Kiowa-Apaches because many of their customs are similar to the Kiowa allies more so than to the other native Apache tribes. They are still living there today. Today there are 30,000 Apache Native Americans living in the United States.
4. There are 13 Apache tribes living in the United States. Five of the tribes are in Arizona, another five are in New Mexico, and the remaining three are in Oklahoma. Each of the tribes in Arizona and New Mexico has their own reservation. These are lands which are under complete control of the tribes. In Oklahoma, the tribes remain on trust land.
5. Every tribe has many of the same laws, services, and government functions the same as a small country. While living under their own laws, police forces, government, and services, they are nonetheless considered U.S. citizens and required to obey American laws.
6. Historically every Apache band was led by a chief, who was selected for the position by the tribal council. All of the important decisions which had to be made for the band were done so by way of the council. In such situations, each of the members of the council had to agree before any action could be made. In this sense the chief functions more as a chairman for the tribe rather than as a president and his job as to mediate between all members of the council. Today, these tribal councils are still used for the Apache tribes.
7. Today the Apache Native Americans speak a native Apache tongue close to that of Navajo but they also speak English. The Apache language is one with many different vowel sounds and tones, which can be difficult for non-native speakers to pronounce.
8. Apache Native American children will enjoy schooling, chores, and playing the same as other children. Historically, they would complete more chores and enjoy more play time on par with colonial children but today many children enjoy fishing and hunting with their fathers. Today the children enjoy archery games, learn how to ride horses, and have toys and dolls.
9. The Apache women were tasked with taking care of the home which included taking care of their children and cooking, but extended to include the construction of new houses for the family whenever the tribe had to change their location. The girls learned how to ride horses and shoot the same as the boys, and in some cases the women of the tribe were able to defend the villages when an attack took place. Nonetheless, it was rare for Apache women to serve as warriors. The men were the warriors, the hunters, and the political leaders who could be appointed chief of the tribe. Both men and women were involved in traditional medicine, story-telling, art, and music.
10. The Apache Native Americans resided in wickiups, which were small dwellings about the size of camping tents, which were constructed out of wood frames covered in brush matting and a buffalo tarp. These could be set up in as little as two hours if there existed enough brush in the new location. The reason for this is that the Apache beliefs require the homes to be burned down and rebuilt in cases where a family member dies. For this reason the structure remains simple and the construction quick. Those Apache residing in the Plains, or Oklahoma, used the tipis as their housing where were also covered in buffalo hide but were easier to heat and offered more space. Today the people reside in modern homes with very few tribal members residing in modernized wickiups. Those who still follow the Apache beliefs remain in the wickiups because they can be burned down while an apartment cannot.
11. The Apache women would historically dress in dresses made of buckskin while the men would wear breechcloths and leather war shirts. After Mexican influence in the 1800’s the men began to wear white cotton pants and tunics while the women wore skirts and dresses in calico. The tribes would wear moccasins or moccasin boots for their feet. The dresses for ladies and warrior shirts for men were decorated with fringe and beads, many of which were symbolic. The Plains Apache tribes living in Oklahoma took after the Kiowas and wore the feather war bonnets.
12. For ceremonies, special masks and head dresses made of wood were worn. The women wore their long hair down or in a bun, secured with a hair ornament called the nah-leens. The men would keep their hair at shoulder length, save for those in the Plains area. Both men and women would wear choker-style necklaces and shell jewelry and would paint their faces on religious, special, or festive occasions.

These facts will definitely help you in writing a research essay. The story of Apache is very interesting, so you don’t need to worry that you’ll not have enough information for your paper. But if you want even more check out our 20 topics for a research essay on Apache Native Americans or look through out tips on how to write a research essay. Combining all this, you will write an excellent paper in college and university!

References:

Curtis, Edward S. The North American Indian, Vol. 1. Quality Classics, 2013.
Goodwin, Grenville. The social organization of the Western Apache. University of Arizona Press, 1942.
Jacobs, Sue-Ellen. Two-spirit people: Native American gender identity, sexuality, and spirituality. University of Illinois Press, 1997.
Kroeber, Alfred Louis. Cultural and natural areas of native North America. Vol. 38. Univ of California Press, 1947.
Lockwood, Frank C. The Apache Indians. U of Nebraska Press, 1938.
Merriwether, D. Andrew, Francisco Rothhammer, and Robert E. Ferrell. “Distribution of the four founding lineage haplotypes in Native Americans suggests a single wave of migration for the New World.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 98.4 (1995): 411-430.
Nabokov, Peter. Native American testimony: an anthology of Indian and White relations; first encounter to dispossession. Crowell, 1978.