Early history The Jicarilla Apaches are one of the
Athabaskan linguistic groups that migrated out of
Canada by 1525 CE, possibly several hundred or more years earlier. They eventually settled on what they considered their land, bounded by four sacred rivers in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado–the
Rio Grande,
Pecos River,
Arkansas River, and
Canadian River–and containing sacred mountain peaks and ranges. The Jicarilla also ranged out into the plains of northwestern
Texas and the western portions of
Oklahoma and
Kansas. By the 1600s, they inhabited the Chama Valley in present-day New Mexico and the western part of present-day Oklahoma. Before contact with the Spanish, the Apache people lived in relative peace. The Jicarilla people of the 1600s were seminomadic, engaging in seasonal
agriculture they learned from the
Pueblo people and Spaniards of New Spain, along the rivers within their territory. The
Apache have historical connections to the
Dismal River culture of the western Plains. This culture is often associated with the Paloma and Quartelejo (also known as Cuartelejo) Apaches. Jicarilla Apache pottery has also been found at several Dismal River complex sites. Over time, some of the people from the Dismal River culture joined the
Kiowa Apache in the
Black Hills of present-day
South Dakota. Due to pressure from the west by the Comanche and from the east by the
Pawnee and
French, the Kiowa and the remaining people of Dismal River culture migrated south, where they eventually joined the
Lipan Apache and Jicarilla Apache nations. Traditional Jicarilla stories, such as White Shell Woman, Killer of the Enemies, Child of the Water, and others, feature people and places that are special to them. These places include the
Rio Grande Gorge,
Picuris Pueblo, the spring and marsh near
El Prado,
Hopewell Lake, and particularly the
Taos Pueblo and the four sacred rivers. Additionally, the Jicarilla created
shrines in locations that held spiritual significance, some of which were shared with the Taos Pueblo in the Taos area. In 1865, Father
Antonio José Martínez, a priest from New Mexico, documented a connection between the Jicarilla people and Taos. He wrote that the Jicarilla had a long history of living between the mountains and the villages, with pottery making being an important source of income. The clay used for the pottery came from the Taos and Picuris Pueblo areas.
Pressures for Jicarilla Apache land The Apaches' traditional culture, economy, and lifestyle became strained by the arrival and growth of other populations,
Manifest Destiny, and the
Indian Wars. Many people died due to
famine, the
Indian Wars, including the
Battle of Cieneguilla, and diseases not indigenous to the American
continent, to which they had no resistance. When the
Comanche, who had obtained guns from the French, and their close allies and kin, the
Ute, were expanding onto the plains, they pillaged the various eastern
Apache peoples (Jicarilla,
Mescalero, and
Lipan) who occupied the southern plains in a bid for control. As they were pushed off the plains, the Jicarilla moved to the mountains and near the pueblos and Spanish
missions, where they sought alliance with the
Puebloan peoples and the Spanish settlers. In 1779, a combined force of Jicarilla, Ute, Pueblo, and Spanish soldiers defeated the Comanche, who, after another seven years and several more military campaigns, finally sued for peace. After that, the Jicarilla reestablished themselves in their old tribal territory in southern Colorado.
Ollero and Llanero bands The geography of the Jicarilla tribal territory consists of two fundamental environments that helped shape the tribe's basic social organization into two bands: the
Llaneros, or plains people, and the
Olleros, or mountain valley people. Beginning in the 19th century, after being pushed out of the plains, the Jicarilla split into two bands: • The
Olleros, the
mountain people -
pottery making clan, a.k.a.
Northern Jicarilla, lived west of the Rio Grande along the
Chama River of New Mexico and Colorado, settled down as farmers, became potters and lived partly in
Pueblo-like villages. They began subsidizing their livelihood through sales of
micaceous clay pottery and
basketry and learned to farm from their
Pueblo neighbors. Ollero is Spanish for "potters." Their name for themselves is
Saidindê for "Sand People," "Mountain People," or "Mountain Dwellers." The Spanish rendering is
Hoyeros meaning "mountain-valley people." The
Capote Band of Utes (
Kapota,
Kahpota) lived east of the
Great Divide south of the
Conejos River and east of the
Rio Grande, west towards the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in the
San Luis Valley, along the headwaters of the Rio Grande and the
Animas River, centering in the vicinity of present-day
Chama and
Tierra Amarilla of
Rio Arriba County. They formed an alliance with the Olleros, similar to the Muache alliance with the Llanero, against the Southern Plains Tribes such as the Comanche, Southern Arapaho, Southern Cheyenne, and Kiowa, their former allies. They maintained trade relations with
Puebloan peoples. • The
Llaneros, the plains people clan, a.k.a.
Eastern Jicarilla, lived as
nomads in
tipis, called
kozhan by the Jicarilla. They hunted buffalo on the plains east of the Rio Grande, centering along the headwaters of the Canadian River. During the winter, they lived in the mountains between the Canadian River and the Rio Grande. They camped and traded near
Picuris Pueblo, New Mexico,
Pecos, New Mexico, and
Taos, New Mexico. Their name for themselves is
Gulgahén for "Plains People"; the Spanish picked it up as
Llaneros - "Plains Dwellers".
Battle of Cieneguilla The
Battle of Cieneguilla (pronounced sienna-GEE-ya; English: small swamp) was an engagement of a group of Jicarilla Apaches, their
Ute allies, and the
American 1st Cavalry Regiment on March 30, 1854, near what is now
Pilar, New Mexico.
Background By the mid-1800s, tensions between the
Spanish, multiple
Native American nations, and
westward expanding United States settlers erupted as all sought and laid claim to land in the southwest. Diseases to which Native Americans had no
immunity "decimated" their tribes, creating greater pressure for their lands to be taken from them. As tensions among Native Americans grew and with numerous attempts to relocate them from their traditional hunting and gathering land and sacred homelands, the Jicarilla became increasingly hostile in their efforts to protect their lands. The United States military developed a
defense system of
forts and troops to restrict attacks on westward travelers. Fort Union was established, in part, to provide protection from the Jicarillas. The disruption and "mutual incomprehensions" of one another's culture led to warfare among the Spanish, Native American nations, and Americans. Leo E. Oliva, author of
Fort Union and the Frontier Army in the Southwest, notes that: "The three cultural groups in the Southwest had different concepts of family life, personal values, social relations, religion, uses and ownership of land and other property, how best to obtain the provisions of life, and warfare." In late March, Major George A. Blake, commanding officer at Burgwin Cantonment, sent a detachment of 1st U.S. Dragoon of 60 men (company I and part of company F) to patrol along the Santa Fe trail. On March 30, 1854, a combined force of about 250 Apaches and
Utes fought the U.S.
dragoons, led by Lieutenant
John Wynn Davidson, near
Pilar, New Mexico, then known as Cieneguilla. The battle lasted for two or four hours, according to surviving soldier James A. Bennett (aka James Bronson). The Jicarilla, led by their principal chief,
Francisco Chacon, and
Flechas Rayadas, fought with
flintlock rifles and
arrows, killing 22 and a wounding another 36 of 60 dragoon soldiers, who then retreated to
Ranchos de Taos lighter by 22 horses and most of the troops' supplies. Lieutenant Colonel
Philip St. George Cooke of the
2nd Dragoons Regiment quickly organized an expedition to pursue the Jicarilla with the help of 32 Pueblo Indian and Mexican scouts under Captain James H. Quinn, with
Kit Carson as the principal guide. After a winter pursuit through the mountains, Cooke caught up with the Jicarilla. Jicarilla leader, Flechas Rayadas, offered an agreement for peace in exchange for the horses and guns that the Jicarilla acquired from the Battle, but the offer was not accepted. On April 8, Cooke's forces fought tribal members at their camp in the canyon of
Ojo Caliente. The Jicarilla dispersed in small groups to evade further pursuit, but many died from the harsh cold weather. After finally securing a reservation, it was spiritually disheartening for them to accept that they would no longer roam on their traditional holy lands and have access to their sacred places. The land on the reservation, except that held by non-tribal members, was not suitable for
agriculture. As a means of survival, the tribe sold timber from the reservation. In 1907, additional land was secured for the reservation, totaling , suitable for sheep ranching, which became profitable in the 1920s. Until that time, many people suffered from
malnutrition, and up to 90% of the tribe members had
tuberculosis in 1914. By the 1920s, it seemed likely that the Jicarilla Apache nation may become extinct due to
trachoma, tuberculosis, and other diseases. After several difficult ranching periods, many of the previous
sheep herders relocated to the tribal headquarters in
Dulce, New Mexico. The Jicarilla suffered due to a lack of economic opportunities for decades. Oil and gas development began on the reservation after World War II, generating up to $1 million annually. Some of this revenue was set aside for a tribal
scholarship fund and to develop the Stone Lake Lodge facility. As a means of repayment for lost tribal lands, the Jicarilla received a settlement in 1971 for $9.15 million. A two-volume technical report was submitted to the Commission on Spanish and Mexican grants, both unconfirmed and confirmed as part of the case. The tribe was awarded $9,150,000 in the commission's final judgment on April 20, 1971. In 2019, the census showed that there were 3,353 people living on the reservation. The New Mexico Tourism Department reports that there are approximately "2,755 tribal members, most of whom live in the town of Dulce." ==Tribal government==