Native History: Geronimo Is Last Native Warrior to Surrender - Indian Country Media Network Geronimo spent his life resisting colonization of his homeland in the Southwest. Native History: Geronimo Is Last Native Warrior to Surrender Alysa Landry • September 4, 2013 This Date in Native History: On September 4, 1886, the great Apache warrior Geronimo surrendered in Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, after fighting for his homeland for almost 30 years. He was the last American Indian warrior to formally surrender to the United States. Born in June 1829 near the Gila River in Arizona, Geronimo was a mild-mannered youth, said Mark Megehee, museum specialist at the Fort Sill Museum in Oklahoma. His birth name was Goyalkla or “One Who Yawns.” At age 17, Geronimo married Alope, with whom he had three children. His life changed in 1858 when a company of Mexican soldiers led by Colonel Jose Maria Carrasco attacked the Apaches and murdered Geronimo’s wife, mother and children.

“Carrasco said he struck and meant to rub out every man, woman and child of the Apaches, but the warriors by and large escaped while their families were the ones that were slaughtered,” said Megehee, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma. “That changed the personality of Geronimo. His friends noticed he was no longer mild and pleasant to deal with. He was unexpectedly violent and had a temper. He became very grieving, but he was going to settle the score.” In his own words, translated in 1909 and published in the 1996 book Geronimo: His Own Story, Geronimo described the incident. “I found that my aged mother, my young wife, and my three small children were among the slain,” he said. “There were no lights in camp, so without being noticed I silently turned away and stood by the river. How long I stood there I do not know, but when I saw the warriors arranging for a council I took my place.” Only 80 warriors remained, so the chief directed survivors to return home to Arizona, Geronimo said.

He had “no purpose left” because he “had lost all.” “I was never again contented in our quiet home,” he wrote. “I had vowed vengeance upon the Mexican troopers who had wronged me, and whenever I came near (my father’s) grave or saw anything to remind me of former happy days my heart would ache for revenge upon Mexico.” Geronimo went on to lead a band of Apache warriors throughout southern Arizona and New Mexico, successfully keeping white settlers off Apache lands for decades and becoming a “symbol of the untamed freedom of the American West.” “He was not just a tough guy, but he had leadership abilities,” Megehee said. “He looked out for men, women and children in a way that all their needs were met. Geronimo did more with less. In today’s vocabulary, he multiplied his force by stealth, by firepower and by mobility.” By 1886, however, Geronimo was tired. After leading 39 Apaches across the Southwest, running as much as 80 miles per day to stay ahead of 5,000 white soldiers, Geronimo surrendered to General Nelson A. Miles on September 4.

Miles, in his memoirs, described Geronimo as “one of the brightest, most resolute, determined-looking men I have ever encountered.” After his trial, Geronimo was put to work as a prisoner of war, doing heavy labor for the South Pacific Railroad. This was in violation of the agreement he made with the U.S. when he surrendered. He spent the rest of his life as a prisoner of war and a scout for the U.S. Army, though he gained popularity as an attraction at the St. Louis World's Fair and Wild West shows. He also was one of six Indians to march in the 1905 inaugural parade for President Theodore Roosevelt. He died at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1909, still on the federal payroll as a scout. Geronimo - Native American History - HISTORY.com Google When Geronimo died, he had been a legend for more than a generation. But his courage and determination did more than provide a battle cry for paratroopers of another day. It helped sustain the spirits of his people, the Chiricahua Apaches, in the last desperate days of the Indian wars. Geronimo was born in the upper Gila River country of Arizona .

He came to maturity in the final years of Mexican rule of the region. His antagonism toward the Mexicans was as deep-rooted as it was understandable. In one fateful encounter, Mexican soldiers killed his mother, his wife, and his three small children. This tragic event steeled the young man for a long life of frequent conflict. In 1848, soon after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , in which Mexico ceded extensive lands in the Southwest to the United States, the Anglo-Americans made it clear they intended to restrict the old patterns of raiding and territorial use by the different Apache bands. The Anglo-American mines, ranches, and communities disrupted established Apache lifeways. The intruders set limits on where the Apaches could live and how. The Apaches, of course, had other ideas. The initial reservation established for the Chiricahua Apaches in 1872 included at least a portion of their homeland.

The Chiricahuas were unhappy with the prospect of any reservation life, but their dismay turned to anger when they were evicted from this reserve and forcibly gathered with other Apache groups on the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona in the mid-1870s. Geronimo bitterly resented the move, and he especially disliked San Carlos. For the next decade he and his followers repeatedly broke out from what they saw as imprisonment. Once clear of San Carlos, they were difficult to locate and bring back, for they knew well the country of southern Arizona and northern Mexico. Time after time, Geronimo sought a more unfettered existence, despite the best efforts of the U.S. Army. Geronimo’s repeated escapes embarrassed and provoked politicians, army officers, and the non-Indian populace of the Southwest. His very name brought terror to the people who continually heard of his evading capture and occasionally killing Anglo-Americans and Mexicans. Territorial newspaper headlines blared his name, time and again. His final surrender to Gen. Nelson Miles in Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, just north of the Mexican border, on September 4, 1886, truly marked the end of a chapter in Apache and western American history.

It meant exile for himself and almost four hundred of his fellows. They were sent by train to incarceration at Fort Pickens, Florida ; Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama ; and finally, in 1894, Fort Sill, near Lawton, Oklahoma . Geronimo spent more than fourteen years at Fort Sill, although he was allowed sporadically to appear at world’s fairs and other gatherings. He was a celebrity in defeat but still a captive when he died and was buried at Fort Sill in the new state of Oklahoma. Angie Debo, Geronimo: The Man, His Time, His Place (1976). PETER IVERSON The Reader’s Companion to American History. Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, Editors. Copyright © 1991 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Tags Geronimo Geronimo Goyathlay ("one who yawns") Quotes from Geronimo "I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I was living peaceably when people began to speak bad of me. Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad.

I can go everywhere with a good feeling. The soldiers never explained to the government when an Indian was wronged, but reported the misdeeds of the Indians. We took an oath not to do any wrong to each other or to scheme against each other. I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say. When a child, my mother taught me to kneel and pray to Usen for strength, health, wisdom and protection. Sometimes we prayed in silence, sometimes each one prayed aloud; sometimes an aged person prayed for all of us... and to Usen. I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures." Geronimo {jur-ahn'-i-moh}, or Goyathlay ("one who yawns"), was born in 1829 in what is today western New Mexico, but was then still Mexican territory.

He was a Bedonkohe Apache (grandson of Mahko) by birth and a Net'na during his youth and early manhood. His wife, Juh, Geronimo's cousin Ishton, and Asa Daklugie were members of the Nednhi band of the Chiricahua Apache. He was reportedly given the name Geronimo by Mexican soldiers, although few agree as to why. As leader of the Apaches at Arispe in Sonora, he performed such daring feats that the Mexicans singled him out with the sobriquet Geronimo (Spanish for "Jerome"). Some attributed his numerous raiding successes to powers conferred by supernatural beings, including a reputed invulnerability to bullets. Geronimo's war career was linked with that of his brother-in-law, Juh, a Chiricahua chief. Although he was not a hereditary leader, Geronimo appeared so to outsiders because he often acted as spokesman for Juh, who had a speech impediment. Geronimo was the leader of the last American Indian fighting force formally to capitulate to the United States. Because he fought against such daunting odds and held out the longest, he became the most famous Apache of all.

To the pioneers and settlers of Arizona and New Mexico, he was a bloody-handed murderer and this image endured until the second half of this century. To the Apaches, Geronimo embodied the very essence of the Apache values, agressiveness, courage in the face of difficulty. These qualities inspired fear in the settlers of Arizona and New Mexico. The Chiricahuas were mostly migratory following the seasons, hunting and farming. When food was scarce, it was the custom to raid neighboring tribes. Raids and vengeance were an honorable way of life among the tribes of this region. By the time American settlers began arriving in the area, the Spanish had become entrenched in the area. They were always looking for Indian slaves and Christian converts. One of the most pivotal moments in Geronimo's life was in 1858 when he returned home from a trading excursion into Mexico. He found his wife, his mother and his three young children murdered by Spanish troops from Mexico. This reportedly caused him to have such a hatred of the whites that he vowed to kill as many as he could. From that day on he took every opportunity he could to terrorize Mexican settlements and soon after this incident he received his power, which came to him in visions.

Geronimo was never a chief, but a medicine man, a seer and a spiritual and intellectual leader both in and out of battle. The Apache chiefs depended on his wisdom. When the Chiricahua were forcibly removed (1876) to arid land at San Carlos, in eastern Arizona, Geronimo fled with a band of followers into Mexico. He was soon arrested and returned to the new reservation. For the remainder of the 1870s, he and Juh led a quiet life on the reservation, but with the slaying of an Apache prophet in 1881, they returned to full-time activities from a secret camp in the Sierra Madre Mountains. In 1875 all Apaches west of the Rio Grande were ordered to the San Carlos Reservation. Geronimo escaped from the reservation three times and although he surrendered, he always managed to avoid capture. In 1876, the U.S. Army tried to move the Chiricahuas onto a reservation, but Geronimo fled to Mexico eluding the troops for over a decade. Sensationalized press reports exaggerated Geronimo's activities, making him the most feared and infamous Apache.

The last few months of the campaign required over 5,000 soldiers, one-quarter of the entire Army, and 500 scouts, and perhaps up to 3,000 Mexican soldiers to track down Geronimo and his band. In May 1882, Apache scouts working for the U.S. army surprised Geronimo in his mountain sanctuary, and he agreed to return with his people to the reservation. After a year of farming, the sudden arrest and imprisonment of the Apache warrior Ka-ya-ten-nae, together with rumors of impending trials and hangings, prompted Geronimo to flee on May 17, 1885, with 35 warriors and 109 women, children and youths. In January 1886, Apache scouts penetrated Juh's seemingly impregnable hideout. This action induced Geronimo to surrender (Mar. 25, 1886) to Gen. George CROOK. Geronimo later fled but finally surrendered to Gen. Nelson MILES on Sept. 4, 1886.

The government breached its agreement and transported Geronimo and nearly 450 Apache men, women, and children to Florida for confinement in Forts Marion and Pickens. In 1894 they were removed to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Geronimo became a rancher, appeared (1904) at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, sold Geronimo souvenirs, and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade. Geronimo's final surrender in 1886 was the last significant Indian guerrilla action in the United States. At the end, his group consisted of only 16 warriors, 12 women, and 6 children. Upon their surrender, Geronimo and over 300 of his fellow Chiricahuas were shipped to Fort Marion, Florida. One year later many of them were relocated to the Mt. Vernon barracks in Alabama, where about one quarter died from tuberculosis and other diseases. Geronimo died on Feb. 17, 1909, a prisoner of war, unable to return to his homeland.

He was buried in the Apache cemetery at: Fort Sill, Oklahoma "Women of the Apache Nation: Voices of Truth (University of Nevada, 1991) "Survival of the Spirit: Chiricahua Apahces in Captivity" (University of Nevada Press, 1993) by H. Henrietta Stockel Geronimo's Wife, Taz-ayz-Slath, and Child "Geronimo is said to have had magical powers. He could see into the future, walk without creating footprints and even hold off the dawn to protect his own. This Apache Indian warrior and his band of 37 followers defied federal authority for more than 25 years.

"GERONIMO AND THE APACHE RESISTANCE" weaves dramatic scenery, memoirs, letters, photographs and other original documents into a portrayal of the life of the people of the southwest in the 19th century." Pictures and Home Pages About Geronimo Geronimo - The Last Apache Holdout Geronimo - The Last Apache Holdout Geronimo was born of the Bedonkohe Apache tribe in No-doyohn Canon, Arizona , June, 1829, near present day Clifton , Arizona. The fourth in a family of four boys and four girls, he was called Goyathlay (One Who Yawns.) In 1846, when he was seventeen, he was admitted to the Council of the Warriors, which allowed him to marry. Soon, he received permission; married a woman named Alope, and the couple had three children. In the mid 1850s, the tribe, who was at peace with the Mexican towns and neighboring Indian tribes, traveled into Old Mexico where they could trade. Camping outside a Mexican town they called Kas-ki-yeh, they stayed for several days.

Leaving a few warriors to guard the camp, the rest of the men went into town to trade. When they were returning from town, they were met by several women and children who told them that Mexican troops had attacked their camp. They returned to camp to find their guard warriors killed, and their horses, supplies and arms, gone. Even worse, many of the women and children had been killed as well. Of those that lay dead were Goyathlayï¿½s wife, mother, and three children and as a result, he hated all Mexicans for the rest of his life. It was the slaughter of his family that turned him from a peaceful Indian into a bold warrior. Soon, he joined a fierce band of Apache known as Chiricahua and with them, took part in numerous raids in northern Mexico and across the border into U.S. territory which are now known as the states of New Mexico and Arizona. Geronimo in 1887, photo by Ben Wittick. This image available for photographic prints & downloads HERE! It was those Mexican adversaries that gave him the nickname of "Geronimo", the Spanish version of the name "Jerome".

In ever increasing numbers, Geronimo fought against both Mexicans and white settlers as they began to colonize much of the Apache homelands. However, by the early 1870s, Lieutenant Colonel George F. Crook , commander of the Department of Arizona, had succeeded in establishing relative peace in the territory. The management of his successors, however, was disastrous. In 1876 the U.S. government attempted to move the Chiricahua from their traditional home to the San Carlos Reservation, a barren wasteland in east-central Arizona, described as "Hell's Forty Acres." Deprived of traditional tribal rights, short on rations and homesick, they revolted. Spurred by Geronimo, hundreds of Apache left the reservation and fled to Mexico, soon resuming their war against the whites. Geronimo and his followers began ten years of intermittent raids against white settlements, alternating with periods of peaceful farming on the San Carlos reservation. In 1882, General George Crook was recalled to Arizona to conduct a campaign against the Apache.

Geronimo surrendered in January 1884, but, spurred by rumors of impending trials and hangings, took flight from the San Carlos Reservation on May 17, 1885, accompanied by 35 warriors, and 109 other men, women and children. During this final campaign, at least 5,000 white soldiers and 500 Indian auxiliaries were employed at various times in the capture of Geronimo's small band. Five months and 1,645 miles later, Geronimo was tracked to his camp in Mexico's Sonora Mountains. Jimmy "Santiago" McKinn in Geronimo's Camp, with group of Chiricahua Apache boys, 1886, photo by C.S. Fly This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE! Exhausted, and hopelessly out numbered, Geronimo surrendered on March 27, 1886 at Caï¿½on de Los Embudos in Sonora, Mexico. His band consisted of a handful of warriors, women, and children.

Also found was a young white boy named Jimmy "Santiago" McKinn , that the Indians had kidnapped some six months earlier in September. The "rescued" boy had become so assimilated to the Apache lifestyle, he cried when he was forced to return to his parents. Also traveling with General Crook was the photographer, C.S. Fly of Tombstone fame. After the bands capture, he was able to take some of the most famous photographs in U.S. history . The soldiers gathered the group and began the trek to Fort Bowie , Arizona . However, near the border, Geronimo, fearing that they would be murdered once they crossed into U.S. territory, bolted with Chief Naiche , 11 warriors, and a few women and boys, who were able to escape back into the Sierra Madra. As a result, Brigadier General Nelson A. Miles replaced Crook as commander on April 2, 1886. At a conference on September 3, 1886, at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona, General Miles induced Geronimo to surrender once again, promising him that, after an indefinite exile in Florida, he and his followers would be permitted to return to Arizona.

The promise was never kept. Geronimo and his fellow prisoners were shipped by box-car to Florida for imprisonment and put to hard labor. It was May 1887 before he saw his family. Several years later, in 1894, he was moved to Fort Sill in Oklahoma Territory where he attempted to "fit in.ï¿½ He farmed and joined the Dutch Reformed Church, which expelled him because of his inability to resist gambling. As years passed, stories of Geronimo's warrior ferocity made him into a legend that fascinated non-Indians and Indians alike. As a result, he appeared at numerous fairs, selling souvenirs and photographs of himself. In 1905 he was quite the sensation when he appeared in President Theodore Roosevelt's inaugural parade. Geronimo dictated his memoirs, published in 1906 as Geronimo's Story of His Life. Never having seen his homeland of Arizona again, Geronimo died of pneumonia on February 17, 1909 and was buried in the Apache cemetery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Geronimo - The Wild West Geronimo Geronimo Apache Indian (Goyathlay --1829-1909) To other members of the Chiricahua (chair-i-cow-ah) Apache, Geronimo seemed to reflect all things they embraced as a people - courage, diligence and aggressiveness - qualities that for years kept them relatively safe from the increasing white encroachment in Arizona and New Mexico. The Chircahuas were nomadic, following game and farming in the warmer months. But when times were tough and food was scarce raids on other tribes was the way of life, and considered honorable. Geronimo was born Goyathlay (One Who Yawns) in Arizona, grandson of a chief of the Nedni Apache, but his father married a Bedonkohe Apache and joined her tribe, thereby forfeiting his hereditary right as leader. Therefore, contrary to popular ideas, Geronimo was never a chief. He was a dutiful follower of many great chiefs though, including Cochise and Coloradas. While many Europeans were trickling into the area, the Spanish were already firmly in place for years.

The whites were a problem, but it was Mexican soldiers who raided and killed Geronimo's family - his mother, wife and three children. Prior to this event, Geronimo had been considered more a holy man than a warrior, but as a result of his loss he often spoke of his hatred for whites and coveted a vengeance that would bring him to kill as many as he could. Geronimo's "white name" came as a result of his fearless and resourceful as a warrior. While leading a charge against Mexicans they began to shout "Geronimo!" seeking help from their patron saint, Jerome, or Geronimo in Spanish. Emerging conqueror over the Mexicans, the warriors bestowed the name of Geronimo on their fearless leader. To this day the name remains a battle cry. The army tried to place all the Chiricahua on reservation in 1876, but Geronimo fled to Mexico and escaped capture for a decade. While the press is accused of "making news" these days, so it was then. The press had Geronimo everywhere and doing everything, often at the same time. The media image of Geronimo made him the most high-profile and feared of all the Apache.

It wasn't all myth however. His name was associated with terror in the Southwest and ultimately it took more than 5,000 soldiers and 500 scouts to track down Geronimo and his followers. He finally surrendered after hearing his people were being sent East. He was the very last renegade Indian to surrender to white authority. Geronimo was sent to a reservation in Florida for two years, where many died of malaria or tuberculosis. Geronimo longed to return to his beloved Arizona, but that was not to be so. He was to make another stop in Alabama before finally being placed on a reservation in Oklahoma, which at least bore a climate more similar to that of the Southwest. It was here, at Fort Sill, that he spent the last 14 years of his life. In his old age, Geronimo learned a little English and how to write his name. He became very enterprising in his ability to market himself and his legacy, selling buttons from his coat for a quarter apiece, his hat for five dollars or bows and arrows that he made. For 50 cents, he would sign his name. If asked he would show off his battle wounds with pride.

He also made personal appearances at places like Oklahoma fairs, the Exposition in Omaha in 1898, the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901, the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 and Teddy Roosevelt's inaugural parade in 1905. Despite making the rounds as an "attraction," Geronimo was never allowed to return to Arizona. As an old man, he remained a crack shot, and he enjoyed good health well into his 80s. Geronimo also drank, sometimes to excess and this ultimately was his demise. On a cold night in February of 1909, drunk, he fell off his horse and lay undiscovered on the cold ground. This brought on pneumonia and he died a few days later. Copyright © 1999-2016 thewildwest.org. Apache Chief Geronimo Apache Chief Geronimo 1829-1909 Geronimo, Chief of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, was born in present-day Clifton, Arizona.

After his wife, children, and mother were killed by Mexicans in 1858, he participated in a number of raids against Mexican and American settlers, but eventually settled on a reservation. In 1876 the U.S. government attempted to move the Chiricahua from their traditional home to the San Carlos Reservation; Geronimo then began ten years of intermittent raids against white settlements, alternating with periods of peaceful farming on the San Carlos reservation. In March 1886, the American general George Crook captured Geronimo and forced a treaty under which the Chiricahua would be relocated in Florida; two days later Geronimo escaped and continued his raids. General Nelson Miles then took over the pursuit of Geronimo, who was chased into Mexico and captured the following September. The Native Americans were sent to Florida, Alabama, and finally to Fort Sill, Oklahoma Territory, where they settled as farmers. Geronimo eventually adopted Christianity. He took part in the inaugural procession of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905. Geronimo dictated his memoirs, published in 1906 as Geronimo's Story of His Life.

He died at Fort Sill on February 17, 1909." "Geronimo," Microsoftï¿½ï¿½ Encartaï¿½ï¿½ Online Encyclopedia 2003 ï¿½ï¿½ 1997-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. ******************** For more information please read Chief Geronimo (Goyathlay) ("one who yawns") His own Story ******************** For those who contend that the good name of a great American Indian Chief was not besmirched by it being used as a code name for bin Laden, the following is the headlines of a column that appeared in the New York Times. It shoots that notion in the foot. The Death of Osama bin Laden Fairwell to Geronimo By THOMAS L.

FRIEDMAN, Op-Ed Columnist Published May 3, 2011, New York Times ******************** Harlyn Geronimo On Behalf of Descendants of the Historic Apache Leader Chief Geronimo This following statement is being submitted to the official record of the United States Senate Commission on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing on "Stolen Identities: The Impact of Racist Stereotypes on Indigenous People,ï¿½ taking place Thursday, May 5, 2011, at 2:15pm in Dirksen-628. Statement from Harlyn Geronimo on behalf of himself and other surviving lineal descendants of the Historic Apache Leader Geronimo Whether it was intended only to name the military operation to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden or to give Osama Bin Laden himself the code name Geronimo, either was an outrageous insult and mistake. And it is clear from the military records released that the name Geronimo was used at times by military personnel involved for both the military operation and for Osama Bin Laden himself. Obviously to equate Geronimo with Osama Bin Laden is an unpardonable slander of Native America and its most famous leader in history.

And to call the operation to kill or capture Osama Bin Laden by the name Geronimo is such a subversion of history that it also defames a great human spirit and Native American leader. For Geronimo himself was the focus of precisely such an operation by the U.S. military, an operation that assured Geronimo a lasting place in American and human history. The Encyclopedia Britannica (1967, Volume 10, page 362) has described the real Operation Geronimo in the following words: "During this last campaign, which lasted 18 months, no fewer than 5,000 troops and 500 Indian auxiliaries had been employed in the apprehension of a band of Apaches comprising only 35 men, 8 boys and 101 women, who operated in two countries without bases of supply. Army and civilian losses totaled 95; Mexican losses were heavy, but unknown; Geronimoï¿½s losses were 13 killed, but none from direct U.S. Army action." Geronimo was not killed and was not captured.

After the Chiricahua Band of Apaches were taken from reservations in Arizona Territory and New Mexico to Ft. Marion, Florida, Geronimo and his warriors saw no chance of reuniting with their people except by surrender with the promise that they would be reunited with their tribe. General Miles promised: "There is plenty of timber, water, and grass in the land to which I will send you. You will live with your tribe and with your family. If you agree to this treaty you shall see your family within five days." None of the promises were kept. Nearly half the Chiricahua band, the band of Cochise, died in Florida and later in Alabama within several years before being moved to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Geronimo was held a prisoner of war for the remaining 23 years of his life, though he was a major attraction at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904 and was second only to President Elect Theodore Roosevelt in the applause received along the Inaugural Parade route of 1905. But Geronimo died a prisoner of war at Ft. Sill in February 1909.

His bodily remains, if none were removed as has been alleged, are to this day in the Ft. Sill Apache Prisoner of War Cemetery despite his repeated requests to return to the headwaters of the Gila River in the Gila National Forest and within what was the first forest wilderness area designated in the U.S., in western New Mexico. As the son of a grandson of Geronimo, who as a U.S. soldier fought at Omaha Beach on D Day and across West Europe to the Rhine in World War II, and having myself served two tours of duty in Vietnam during that war, I must respectfully request from the President, our Commander-in-Chief, or his Secretary at the Department of Defense, a full explanation of how this disgraceful use of my great grandfatherï¿½s name occurred, a full apology for the grievous insult after all that Native Americans have suffered and the expungement from all the records of the U.S. government this use of the name Geronimo. Leaving only for history the fact this insult to Native Americans occurred in all its pity.

******************** The following is some of the commentary about the United States military using Geronimo as a code name for Osama Bin Laden Haudenosaunee, Onondaga Nation, New York Press Release, May 3, 2011 "We've ID'd Geronimo" - 1O2 years after his death Geronimo is still being killed by U.S. Forces. This is a sad commentary on the attitude of leaders of the U.S. military forces that continue to personify the original peoples of North America as enemies and savages. The use of the name Geronimo as a code name for Osama Bin Laden is reprehensible. Think of the outcry if they had used any other ethnic groupï¿½s hero. Geronimo bravely and heroically defended his homeland and his people, eventually surrendering and living out the rest of his days peacefully, if in captivity, passing away at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1909. To compare him to Osama Bin Laden is illogical and insulting. The name Geronimo is arguably the most recognized Native American name in the world, and this comparison only serves to perpetuate negative stereotypes about our peoples. The U.S.

military leadership should have known better. It all brings to mind the August 13, 2010 statement by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg advising then Governor Paterson to ï¿½get yourself a cowboy hat and a shotgunï¿½ to deal with Indian affairs. This kind of thinking indicates little progress in a mature social development of United States leadership. The military record of American Indians is exemplary. We have more men and women per capita volunteering in U.S. military services than any other ethnic group. It was American Indian code talkers that used their native languages to carry and transmit messages that Japanese and German intelligence could not decode, saving thousands of American lives in WWII. Ironically these brave men and women were using languages that American and Canadian boarding schools were doing their best to stamp out. When can we expect respect for our human dignity and human rights? Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs, on Behalf of the Haudenosaunee ******************** Racism is alive and well. Bin Laden is given the name of one of our revered heroes, Geronimo. An apology is in order from the highest up! Take care, Mi'kmaq Elder, (Dr.) Daniel N.

Paul, C.M., O.N.S. Bin Laden Code-name ï¿½Geronimoï¿½ Is a Bomb in Indian Country By Lise Balk King , May 3, 2011 The US government may have captured and killed Osama Bin Laden with a surgical strike, but it also dropped a bombshell on Native America in the process. ï¿½Weï¿½ve IDï¿½d Geronimo,ï¿½ said the voice of the Navy SEAL who reported the hunt for Osama bin Laden was over. The President, and all those gathered in the situation room, waited on edge for the voice to return with the triumphant news, that in fact, ï¿½Geronimoï¿½ was dead. According to multiple sources, ï¿½Geronimo-E KIAï¿½ is the message that was sent to the White House by the strike team to announce that bin Laden, the ï¿½E,ï¿½ or Enemy, was Killed In Action.

As news of bin Ladenï¿½s death spread relief across America and the world, revelations that the assigned code name of Enemy Number One was ï¿½Geronimo,ï¿½ a legendary Apache leader, caused shock waves in Indian communities across the country. It is being interpreted as a slap in the face of Native people, a disturbing message that equates an iconic symbol of Native American pride with the most hated evildoer since Adolf Hitler. The death of bin Laden is arguably the most important news story of the year, and embedded within it is a message that an Indian warrior, a symbol of Native American survival in the face of racial annihilation, is associated with modern terrorism and the attacks on 9/11. The ï¿½bin Laden is deadï¿½ news story will make thousands of impressions on the minds of people around the globe, and the name Geronimo will now be irrevocably linked with the worldï¿½s most reviled terrorist. Potentially the most disturbing fact is what this says to American Indian children.

It equates being Native American with being hated, an enemy to the world, and someone to be hunted down and killed, and re-casts one of their heroes into a villainous role. Time Magazineï¿½s Swampland blog first reported the details yesterday that the target, Osama bin Laden, was code-named Geronimo, in keeping with The White Houseï¿½s afternoon press conference. But the story coming from the White House evolved by evening, with what appears to be a ï¿½re-toolingï¿½ of the message, which now states that the ï¿½missionï¿½ was code-named Geronimo. The CNN White House blog featured a historic black and white photo of Geronimo and the headline, ï¿½Osama bin Laden codename ï¿½Geronimoï¿½, for the duration of the afternoon at whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com. There is currently a post with the title ï¿½Osama bin Laden mission codename ï¿½Geronimoï¿½ (emphasis added) with a timestamp of 4:46 PM, though some commentators express outrage over the earlier title.

Tribal members from around the country are turning to social networking sites Facebook and Twitter as an outlet to express their anger and sadness at the unwelcome association. ï¿½This sucks,ï¿½ said Harold Monteau, an attorney and tribal member from Rocky Boy, Montana, ï¿½A lot of people are angry about the obvious stereotypes it implies.ï¿½ ï¿½Itï¿½s another attempt to label Native Americans as terrorists,ï¿½ said Paula Antoine from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. Beaver North Cloud, a JemezPueblo tribal member from Albuquerque, New Mexico expressed her frustration, saying ï¿½Damn it!!!!! Why am I not surprised, yet so disappointed beyond words.ï¿½ It is unthinkable to many tribal people that the reviled killer and enemy of all Americans, Osama bin Laden, would be code-named after perhaps the most famous American Indian. But it is especially ironic in light of the fact that Native Americans historically serve in the United States Armed Forces in higher numbers per capita than any other ethnic group, and have been doing so for over 200 years.

More than 12,000 tribal members stepped up to fight in WWI for a country that did not recognize them as citizens. In 1924, the passage of the Snyder Act finally granted them citizenship, gave them the ï¿½rightï¿½ to vote, and made them eligible for the draft. In WWII, they signed up in numbers far outpacing their expected contributions. More than 44,000 tribal members enlisted for military service out of an estimated total population of just over 350,000. This makes one wonder: How many American Indians are serving in the Navy today, and how many are members of the SEALs, the heroic soldiers who performed the daring mission that took out bin Laden Sunday night? In any case, this incredible lapse in judgment on the part of the Department of Defense, code named ï¿½Geronimo,ï¿½ presents an opportunity to finally teach the American public, and the world, another lesson in American history. Yes, itï¿½s true that Geronimo and his cohorts were fierce warriors and chiefs, and they fought bravely against the decimation of their homes and families.

Itï¿½s also true that their descendents are on the battlefield today, in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq. They help to defend us against those who would commit acts of terror on what is now our shared homeland, which was once theirs alone. They stand shoulder to shoulder with American citizens of all races. Itï¿½s time for the rest of America to stand with them. Lise Balk King is a Masters in Public Administration candidate at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, class of 2011. She serves as a Senior Editor, US Domestic Policy, for the Harvard Kennedy School Review. Before attending Harvard, Lise co-owned and operated The Native Voice, an independent national Native American newspaper. She can be reached at lise_balk_king@hks11.harvard.edu ******************** Geronimo code name to get Senate look By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN The Associated Press, Fri, May 6 - 4:54 AM Geronimo: The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee didnï¿½t know when it scheduled a hearing on racial stereotypes that members would have such an emotionally charged name to discuss.

But the use of the Apache leaderï¿½s moniker as a code name for Osama bin Laden has appalled many native Americans and drawn calls for an apology. The legendary warrior was known for his ability to walk without leaving footprints, allowing him to evade thousands of Mexican and U.S. soldiers, much like bin Laden evaded capture for the past decade. But for native Americans, thereï¿½s an important difference: Geronimo was a hero ï¿½ not a terrorist. Statements of disapproval from tribal leaders, a call for President Barack Obama to apologize, and scores of angry comments on social network sites have surged since the issue came to light after bin Laden was killed. Thursdayï¿½s hearing was scheduled long before details about the Geronimo code name became public. However, the committee will address the matter, said Loretta Tuell, staff director and chief counsel for the committee. Many native Americans say that while they are angered, they are not surprised. They say the code name is yet another insult in a long, tumultuous history with the federal government. "The government does what it wants when it wants. The name calling is going to stay around forever.

But when you think about it, this is an insult," said Leon Curley, a Navajo and Marine veteran from Gallup, N.M. Jeff Houser, chairman of Geronimoï¿½s Fort Sill Apache Tribe, noted in a letter to Obama that the decision behind the code name stemmed from an ongoing cultural disconnect, not malice. But the damage is the same. "We are quite certain that the use of the name Geronimo as a code for Osama bin Laden was based on misunderstood and misconceived historical perspectives of Geronimo and his armed struggle against the United States and Mexican governments," Houser wrote. ******************** The following is a prime example of how systemic racism degrades the dignity of American Indians. Quoted from a Denver Post opinion piece: Geronimo for bin Laden offensive By Simon Moya-Smith Posted: May 6, 2011 "American Indians expect to be belittled and dehumanized at every turn. We expect to attend schools where the mascot is an Indian named Savage. We expect cutting cultural appropriation by wannabe Indians. But what I, a Lakota, couldn't have anticipated was the ignorance and naivete of President Barack Obama, his administration and the U.S. military.

CNN this week revealed that the military code name for Osama bin Laden was Geronimo, a highly revered historical figure in the American Indian community. "We've ID'd Geronimo," said a Navy SEAL. A short time later, President Obama and his cohorts nestled in the situation room received confirmation that "Geronimo" was, in fact, dead. Take a look, folks. This is the face of ignorance. "This is blatant racism," said Ray Ramirez of the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder. Ramirez added that although the connection made between bin Laden and the honored Apache warrior is brazen, it's nothing new. "When insurgents leave an area, [the military] will say 'He's gone off the reservation,' " he said. "I really don't know what it's going to take to change things." What other races of people would sit idly by as such an audacious affront debased one of their honored and respected ancestors? Would the black community have objected if Osama's code name were "Malcolm X"? Would the Hispanic community have taken to the streets if bin Laden was called "Caesar Chavez"? Would whites have protested had Thomas Jefferson been the code name for bin Laden?

I suppose, though, since American Indians make up only 1 percent of the population, there was no real concern that we'd revolt...." ******************** Headline of an opinion column, Halifax Herald, May 8, 2011 Cool Hand Obama gets Geronimo bin Laden By MAUREEN DOWD Geronimo | Native American Apache Indian Geronimo Geronimo | Native American Apache Indian Geronimo Geronimo Geronimo's Grave Geronimo (June 16, 1829 – February 17 1909) was born to the Bedonkohe band of the Apache, near Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Gila River in the modern-day state of New Mexico, then part of Mexico, but which his family considered Bedonkohe land. His grandfather (Mako) had been chief of the Bedonkohe Apache. He had three brothers and four sisters. Geronimo's parents raised him according to Apache traditions; after the death of his father, his mother took him to live with the Chihenne (red paint people) and he grew up with them.

He married a woman (Alope) from the Nedni-Chiricahua band of Apache when he was 17; they had three children. On March 6, 1858, a company of 400 Mexican soldiers from Sonora led by Colonel José María Carrasco attacked Geronimo's camp outside Janos while the men were in town trading. Among those killed were Geronimo's wife, his children, and his mother. His chief, Mangas Coloradas, sent him to Cochise's band for help in revenge against the Mexicans. It was the Mexicans who named him Geronimo. This appellation stemmed from a battle in which, ignoring a deadly hail of bullets, he repeatedly attacked Mexican soldiers with a knife, causing them to utter appeals to Saint Jerome ("Jeronimo!"). The name stuck. The first Apache raids on Sonora and Chihuahua appear to have taken place during the late 17th century. To counter the early Apache raids on Spanish settlements, presidios were established at Janos (1685) in Chihuahua and at Fronteras (1690) in northern Opata country.

In 1835, Mexico had placed a bounty on Apache scalps. Two years later Mangas Coloradas or Dasoda-hae (Red Sleeves) became principal chief and war leader and began a series of retaliatory raids against the Mexicans. Apache raids on Mexican villages were so numerous and brutal that no area was safe. While Geronimo said he was never a chief, he was a military leader. As a Chiricahua Apache, this meant he was one of many people with special spiritual insights and abilities known to Apache people as "Power". Among these were the ability to walk without leaving tracks; the abilities now known as telekinesis and telepathy; and the ability to survive gunshot (rifle/musket, pistol, and shotgun). Geronimo was wounded numerous times by both bullets and buckshot, but survived. Apache men chose to follow him of their own free will, and offered first-hand eye-witness testimony regarding his many "powers". They declared that this was the main reason why so many chose to follow him (he was favored by/protected by "Usen" (the apache word for god), the Apache high-god).

Geronimo's "powers" were considered to be so great that he personally painted the faces of the warriors who followed him to reflect their protective effect. During his career as a war chief, Geronimo was notorious for consistently urging raids and war upon Mexican Provinces and their various towns, and later against American locations across Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. Geronimo - Apache (June 16, 1829 – February 17 1909) Geronimo and his authentic signature He married Chee-hash-kish and had two children, Chappo and Dohn-say. Then he took another wife, Nana-tha-thtith, with whom he had one child. He later had a wife named Zi-yeh at the same time as another wife, She-gha, one named Shtsha-she and later a wife named Ih-tedda. Some of his wives were captured, such as the young Ih-tedda. Wives came and went, overlapping each other, being captured and added to the family, lost, or even given up, as Geronimo did with Ih-tedda when he and his band surrendered.

At that time he kept his wife She-gha but abandoned the younger wife, Ih-tedda. Geronimo's last wife was Azul. Though outnumbered, Geronimo fought against both Mexican and United States troops and became famous for his daring exploits and numerous escapes from capture from 1858 to 1886. One such escape, as legend has it, took place in the Robledo Mountains of southwest New Mexico. The legend states Geronimo and his followers entered a cave, and the U.S. soldiers waited outside the cave entrance for him, but he never came out. Later it was heard that Geronimo was spotted in a nearby area. The second entrance to the cave has yet to be found and the cave is still called Geronimo's Cave. At the end of his military career, he led a small band of 36 men, women, and children. They evaded thousands of Mexican and American troops for over a year, making him the most famous Native American of the time and earning him the title of the "worst Indian who ever lived" among white settlers.

His band was one of the last major forces of independent Native American warriors who refused to acknowledge the United States occupation of the American West. In 1886, General Nelson A. Miles selected Captain Henry Lawton, in command of B Troop, 4th Cavalry, at Ft. Huachuca and First Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood to lead the expedition that captured Geronimo. Numerous stories abound as to who actually captured Geronimo, or to whom he surrendered, although most contemporary accounts, and Geronimo's own later statements, give most of the credit for negotiating the surrender to Lt. Gatewood. For Lawton's part, he was given orders to head up actions south of the U.S.–Mexico boundary where it was thought Geronimo and a small band of his followers would take refuge from U.S. authorities. Lawton was to pursue, subdue, and return Geronimo to the U.S., dead or alive. Lawton's official report dated September 9, 1886 sums up the actions of his unit and gives credit to a number of his troopers for their efforts.

Geronimo gave Gatewood credit for his decision to surrender as Gatewood was well known to Geronimo, spoke some Apache, and was familiar with and honored their traditions and values. He acknowledged Lawton's tenacity for wearing the Apaches down with constant pursuit. Geronimo and his followers had little or no time to rest or stay in one place. Completely worn out, the little band of Apaches returned to the U.S. with Lawton and officially surrendered to General Miles on September 4, 1886 at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona. Chee-hash-kish Model 1876 Serial Number: 109450 When Geronimo surrendered he had in his possession a Winchester Model 1876 lever-action rifle with a silver-washed barrel and receiver, bearing Serial Number 109450. It is on display at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Additionally he had a Colt Single Action Army revolver with a nickel finish and ivory stocks bearing the serial number 89524 and a Sheffield Bowie knife with a dagger type of blade and stag handle made by George Wostenholm in an elaborate silver-studded holster and cartridge belt.

The revolver, rig, and knife are on display at the Fort Sill museum. The debate still remains whether Geronimo surrendered unconditionally. Geronimo pleaded in his memoirs that his people who surrendered had been misled: his surrender as a war prisoner was conditioned in front of uncontested witnesses. General Howard, chief of Pacific US army division, said on his part that his surrender was accepted as a dangerous outlaw without condition, which has been contested in front of the Senate. Geronimo and other Apaches, including the Apache scouts who had helped the army track him down, were sent as prisoners to Fort Pickens, in Pensacola Florida, and his family was sent to Fort Marion. They were reunited in May 1887, when they were transferred to Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama for seven years. In 1894, they were moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In his old age, Geronimo became a celebrity. He appeared at fairs, including the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, where he reportedly rode a ferris wheel and sold souvenirs and photographs of himself. However, he was not allowed to return to the land of his birth.

He rode in President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade. In 1905, Geronimo agreed to tell his story to S. M. Barrett, Superintendent of Education in Lawton, Oklahoma. Barrett had to appeal to President Roosevelt to gain permission to publish the book. Geronimo came to each interview knowing exactly what he wanted to say. He refused to answer questions or alter his narrative. Barrett did not seem to take many liberties with Geronimo's story as translated by Asa Daklugie. Frederick Turner re-edited this autobiography by removing some of Barrett's footnotes and writing an introduction for the non-Apache readers. Turner notes the book is in the style of an Apache reciting part of his oral history. In February, 1909, Geronimo was thrown from his horse while riding home, and had to lie in the cold all night before a friend found him extremely ill. He died of pneumonia on February 17, 1909 as a prisoner of the United States at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. On his deathbed, he confessed to his nephew that he regretted his decision to surrender.

He was buried at Fort Sill in the Apache Indian Prisoner of War Cemetery. Geronimo was raised with the traditional religious views of the Bedonkohe. When questioned about his views on life after death, he wrote in his 1905 autobiography, "As to the future state, the teachings of our tribe were not specific, that is, we had no definite idea of our relations and surroundings in after life. We believed that there is a life after this one, but no one ever told me as to what part of man lived after death ... We held that the discharge of one's duty would make his future life more pleasant, but whether that future life was worse than this life or better, we did not know, and no one was able to tell us. We hoped that in the future life, family and tribal relations would be resumed. In a way we believed this, but we did not know it." Later in life, Geronimo embraced Christianity, and stated, "Since my life as a prisoner has begun I have heard the teachings of the white man's religion, and in many respects believe it to be better than the religion of my fathers ...

Believing that in a wise way it is good to go to church, and that associating with Christians would improve my character, I have adopted the Christian religion. I believe that the church has helped me much during the short time I have been a member. I am not ashamed to be a Christian, and I am glad to know that the President of the United States is a Christian, for without the help of the Almighty I do not think he could rightly judge in ruling so many people. I have advised all of my people who are not Christians, to study that religion, because it seems to me the best religion in enabling one to live right." He joined the Dutch Reformed Church in 1903 but four years later was expelled for gambling. To the end of his life, he seemed to harbor ambivalent religious feelings, telling the Christian missionaries at a summer camp meeting in 1908 that he wanted to start over, while at the same time telling his tribesmen that he held to the old Apache religion. Community Poll How would you rate our websites navigation? Easy Apache Indian Resistance - Geronimo - YouTube Apache Indian Resistance - Geronimo Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist.

Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Mar 1, 2007 A short explanation of the Apache Native American Indian resistance that happened in the Southwestern United States around the 1860s. There was an active slave trade in the south west that most people are unaware of. The western states were very important in the Civil War for the North. Gold from California and Silver from Nevada helped finance the war against the South. The Indians were in the path of the expanding valuable mineral hunt and settlement. One tribe that fought this expansion were the Apaches. First the Mescalero and then the Chiricahua. The Apache bands were led by Cochise, Victorio, the Chiricahua band was led by famous Geronimo. Geronimo led the most famous Native American resistance and it cost the U.S. government over $40 Million dollars to kill 100 Indians. Geronimo was caught and forced to live in the Southeast where many of the Apaches died.

Geronimo died as a captive in 1909 in Oklahoma, far from his mountain home. The speakers are Bob Haozous, a Chiricahua artist and Grace McNeley a Navajo cultural leader. Category

Question: Geronimo was a member of which (American) Indian tribe?
Answer: Apache