Chiricahua
Chiricahua (/ˌtʃɪrɪˈkɑːwə/ CHIRR-i-KAH-wə) is a band of Apache Native Americans.
Location of Apache tribes in the late 18th century (Ch – Chiricahua, WA – Western Apache, M – Mescalero, J – Jicarilla, L – Lipan, Pl – Plains Apache, N – Navajo, a separate people speaking a related language) | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 4,079 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States, ( Oklahoma, New Mexico) | |
| Fort Sill | 1,662 |
| New Mexico | 149 |
| Mexico ( Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila) | |
| Languages | |
| Chiricahua Apache language, English, Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Native American Church, traditional tribal religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Plains Apache, Jicarilla Apache, Lipan Apache, Mescalero Apache, Western Apache, Navajo | |
Based in the Southern Plains and Southwestern United States, the Chiricahua (Tsokanende) are related to other Apache groups: Ndendahe (Mogollon, Carrizaleño), Tchihende (Mimbreño), Sehende (Mescalero), Lipan, Salinero, Plains, and Western Apache. Chiricahua historically shared a common area, language, customs, and intertwined family relations with their fellow Apaches. At the time of European contact, they had a territory of 15 million acres (61,000 km2) in Southwestern New Mexico and Southeastern Arizona in the United States and in Northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico.
Today Chiricahua live in Northern Mexico and in the United States where they are enrolled in three federally recognized tribes: the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, located near Apache, Oklahoma, with a small reservation outside Deming, New Mexico; the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation near Ruidoso, New Mexico; and the San Carlos Apache Tribe in southeastern Arizona.