Apaches: A History and Culture Portrait

by James L. Haley

A History and Culture Portrait, James L. Haley’s dramatic saga of the Apaches’ doomed guerrilla war against the whites, marks a radical departure from the method followed by previous histories of white-Native conflict. Arguing that "you cannot understand the history unless you understand the culture," Haley first discusses the lifeway of the Apaches—their mythology and folklore, religious customs, everyday life, and social mores. Haley then explores the tumultuous decades of trade and treaties and of betrayal and bloodshed that preceded the Apaches’ final military defeat in 1886. He emphasizes figures that played a decisive role in the Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, and Geronimo, on the one hand, and Royal Whitman, George Crook, and John Clum on the other. With a new preface that places the book in the context of contemporary scholarship, Apaches is a well-rounded overview of Apache history and culture.

Genres: History, Native American

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an interesting combination of ethnography and history. Interspersed in the narrative are short 'stories'/tales about Coyote and other figures in Apache mythology. The latter part of the work is more history of Apaches in the Southwest. Much of the problems occurring between indigenous peoples and colonizers are caused by the colonizers. In the history of the US it has been mainly war profiteers who have caused problems and that is US history in general not just dealing with first peoples. It seemed whenever either the Indian Bureau or the War Department put in place an individual that cared about the Native Americans and keeping the peace the "Indian Ring" worked to get them replaced so they could profit from supplying the military in wars they instigated against the Native Americans. This work shows this small example in the centuries of US history.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stopped reading on page 46. Why? I got to the first group of pictures and under one of them it says, "An Apache Princess". Yes, I rolled my eyes, took my bookmark out and tossed it to the side. All done. On to the next book.

[Carlos Rodriquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Read - Take-Away - Written History is not always accurate. Native American's (My Ancestors) were 'Screwed!"

[Robin]

Currently reading this book