Apache is the collective name for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States, aboriginal inhabitants of North America, who speak a Southern Athabaskan (Apachean) language. The modern term excludes the related Navajo people. However, the Navajo and the other Apache groups are clearly related through culture and language and thus are considered Apachean. Apachean peoples formerly ranged over eastern Arizona, north-western Mexico, New Mexico, parts of Texas, and a small group on the plains.

There was little political unity among the Apachean groups. The groups spoke 7 different languages. The current division of Apachean groups includes the Navajo, Western Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Lipan, and Plains Apache (formerly Kiowa-Apache). Apache groups are now in Oklahoma and Texas and on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. The Navajo reside on a large reservation in the United States. Some Apacheans have moved to large metropolitan areas, such as New York City.

The Apachean tribes were historically very powerful, constantly at enmity with the whites for centuries. The U.S. Army, in their various confrontations, found them to be fierce warriors and skillful strategists.

 

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