"Walapai" is the mostcommon his-toricandethnographic label for the group whoseofficial tri-bal designation is "Hualapai." The term, meaning "Ponde-rosa Pine People," originally referred
Trang 1Walapai 363
dressed,andwrappedandburied, extended,in arock-covered
grave inthemountains
BibliographyCallaway, Donald, Joel C Janetski, and Omer C Stewart
(1986) "Ute." InHandbookofNorth American Indians Vol
11, Great Basin, edited by Warren L d'Azevedo, 336-367
Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution
Conetah, Fred A (1982).AHistory ofthe Northern Ute
Peo-ple Editedby KatherynL.MacKay andFloydA.O'Neil Salt
Lake City, Utah: Uintah-Ouray Tribe
Jorgensen,JosephG (1964).TheEthnohistory and
Accultur-ation ofthe Northern Ute Ph.D diss., Indiana University
Smith, Anne M (1974) Ethnography of the Northern Ute
Museum of New Mexico Papers in Anthropology, no 17
Santa Fe: University of New Mexico Press
JOEL C JANETSKI
Wailaki
The Wailaki, including the Kato (Cahto,Tlokeang), Lassik,Mattole (Van Duzen Indians),Nongatd, and Sinkyone, livedalong the coast and inlandinnorthwesternCalifornia, alongthe Bear, Mattole, and Eel rivers They spoke Athapaskanlanguages and probably number about onehundred today
BibliographyElsasser, Albert B (1978) "Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone,Lassik, and Wailaki." In Handbook ofNorth American Indians.Vol 8, California, edited by Robert F Heizer, 190-204.Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution
Myers, James E (1978) "Cahto." In Handbook ofNorthAmerican Indians Vol 8, California, edited by Robert F.Heizer, 244-248 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Insti-tution
Walapai
ETHNONYMS:Hualapai, Jaguallapai, Yampai
OrientationIdentification The Walapai are an American Indiangroup located in Arizona "Walapai" is the mostcommon his-toricandethnographic label for the group whoseofficial tri-bal designation is "Hualapai." The term, meaning "Ponde-rosa Pine People," originally referred to a single band,the firstone encountered by explorers and prospectorscoming intoWalapai territory from the Colorado River Prior to thead-ministrative division into two reservations in thenineteenthcentury,the Walapai and the Havasupai constituted a singleethnic group
Location Historically, the Walapai inhabited anextensiveterritory in northwestern Arizona, bounded on the north andwest by the Colorado River, and on the south and eastby hos-tile groups of Yavapai Thisarid range is characterized by hotsummers and mild winters, with frequent andviolent thun-derstorms throughout July and August The Walapainow re-side on a reservation of approximately 1 million acres withinthis aboriginal territory, with tribal offices located at PeachSprings, Arizona
Demography In the 1980s, the reservation populationnumbered about 950 Walapais Accurate reconstruction ofthe historic size of the population is difficult, owing to thefluid nature of hunting and gathering bands, butit isproba-ble that the group never numbered more than 1,000 By
1900, following a series of epidemics and battles with U.S.troops, the population had been reduced to lessthan 600
Trang 2364 VV
~~AJ-linguistic Affiliation TheWalapai language, along with
Havasupai and Yavapai, form the Upland Pai group within
the Yumanlanguage family Mutually intelligible dialectsare
alsospokenbygroupsalongthe ColoradoRiverandin
south-ern California and the northern part of Baja California,
Mexico
History and Cultural Relations
The Upland Pai are descendants of the prehistoric Cerbat
tradition,inhabiting the present territory of the Pai asearly as
A.D 1100 The Walapai origin myth places the creation of all
the Yumangroups at aplaceonthewestbank of the
Colo-rado River, where the Great Spirit transformed the canes
along the river'sedgeintohumans.Although Spanish
explor-ers and missionaries established relations with the Yumans
livingalong the river in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centur-ies,itwas notuntil 1776 that direct and brief contact with
Walapais occurred
They remained isolated for another seventy years, until
the U.S Armybegan to sponsor the searchthroughnorthern
Arizonafor railroad routestotheWestCoast.These
explora-tionsinitiatedtwodecades of hostilities between theWalapai
and Anglos-the soldiers and the settlers who followed
closely behindthem The intrusions began with the discovery
ofgold near Prescott in 1863 In 1866, the respected Walapai
leader, Wauba Yuma, was killed For the next four years,
Walapais engaged the better-armed and better-mounted
sol-diers in battle Ultimately, the Walapai surrendered and were
moved to the inhospitable lowlands of the Colorado River
In-dian Reservation Findingconditions there intolerable, they
fled backtotheir customary territorywhere,intheir brief
ab-sence, ranchers and miners had appropriated the habitable
areasand taken over many of the springs Conditions did not
improve markedly with the establishment of the reservation
in 1883, for heavy grazing hadalreadydepleted the Walapai
range, wiping outseveral of thefoodplants upon which the
Indiansdepended Impoverished and threatened by epidemic
diseases,Walapais soughtworkinthe towns onthe Santa Fe
Railroad and in the mines Many, too, turned briefly to the
millenarian Ghost Dance inthe late 1880s, hoping, to no
avail, that the magical power of the dance would expel Anglos
from theterritory
Aboriginally, the UplandPai (Walapaiand Havasupai)
were culturally andlinguistically similar to the Yavapai along
theirsouthern boundary andtothe Colorado River Yumans
to the west Yetthese similarities did not lead to a shared
sense of identity Although Walapaisintermarried with the
Halchidhoma along the river, raiding and warfare
character-ized their relationships with the powerful Mohaves and the
mobile Yavapais Enmity intensified with the arrival of Anglo
miners and settlers, as Indians were recruited to fight their
traditional foes.Thisprocess led, in postcontact times, toan
increased sense of unity within the beleaguered Walapai
bands
Settlements
Walapai settlement patterns have been and continue to be
closely tied to the availability of resources.Aboriginally, the
'camp," composedof about 25 related individuals, wasthe
primarysettlement and subsistence unit.Relying for much of
the year on the abundant and varied wild resources of
Walapaiterritory, the camp mightjoin othersduring someseasons, either to exploit game or farm near springs andwashes.Duringthe period of conquest, there isevidencethatfarming tookonincreased importance,resultinginlarger andmorestable settlements of as many as 250 Walapais With theestablishment of the reservationand consequent reduction inthe territoryavailable to Walapais for hunting, gathering, andfarming, many took jobs and quartersintownsalong the rail-road By 1960, only half of the enrolled tribal members re-sidedinthe reservation town of Peach Springs
Archaeological evidence suggests that the primary riginal house form was the rough brushwickiup, a circularstructurewithout poles Habitation debris has also been lo-cated in caves and rock shelters During the postcontact pe-riod, Walapais were observed living in more permanentdomed houses, thatched with arrowweed or covered with ju-niperbark Eight-sided hogans and tar-paper shacks becamecommonduring the reservation period During the 1970s, thetribe undertook a substantial effort to develop adequatehousing on the reservation
abo-Economy
Subsistence andCommercial Activities Historically, theWalapai economy was based primarily on hunting and gather-ing seasonally available wild resources Moving frequently,the camps visited locations where resources were known to beabundant This annual round focused on several key plantfoods In the spring, agave or mescal wasgathered in canyonsand foothills.When baked for several days in an earth oven,theplant's inner core was eatenimmediately while the outerlayers were crushed into pulp, dried, and stored for futureconsumption.Following the mescal harvest, the camps orin-dividual families moved downtothevalleyand basin floors tocollect stick-leaf and abundantand protein-rich wild seed Bymidsummer, fruits of several cactus species ripened, and inlate summer, attentionshifted to nut gathering in mountaingroves Fewvegetal resources were available during the wintermonths, but the Walapai survived on wild game and thestored products of the spring and summer As settlers movedintoWalapai territoryinthe nineteenth century to grazecat-tle, cut trees for mine timbers, and exploit wild game, thisadaptive hunting and gathering economy changed Walapais,
of necessity, turned increasingly to farming the land aroundspringsand the few perennial streams in the region Walapaisconstructed diversion dams to irrigate gardens of squash,maize, beans,watermelons, and wheat But, once again, thisresponse proved to be short-lived Restricted to the highgrasslands of the reservation after 1883, Walapais in thetwentieth century havecome torelyoncattle (fourthousandhead in the 1980s), wage employment in tribal and federalagencies, asuccessful doll factory, andrecently, the develop-ment ofrecreational facilities along the Grand Canyon, bor-dering thereservation.Nonetheless, over 40 percentof reser-vation residents remain unemployed The horses and cattleintroduced by Europeans were viewed, until the reservationperiod, as food onthe hoof
Industrial Arts Walapai basketry came to be highlyued in the trade network and afforded women a major outletfor artistic expression Mostbaskets were functionalcontain-erssuch as largefirewood and burden baskets,conical seed-gathering baskets, flat trays for parching and winnowing
Trang 3val-Walapai 365
seeds, andwaterbottles sealed withpitchfrom thepifiontree
Walapai pottery, anotheraboriginal art, did not survive the
influx of metal utensilsduring the postcontact period
Trade TheWalapaiactively traded theproductsof
hunt-ingandgathering pursuitstotheiragricultural neighbors
dur-ingaboriginal and postcontacttimes.Whenatpeacewith the
Mohave, theybartered meat forthebeans,maize, and
pump-kinscultivatedalong the river'sfloodplain Cultivated foods
werealso obtained from theHavasupaiinreturnfordeer and
the skins ofmountain sheep Trade linkages extended well
beyond adjacent groups, however Walapai introduced
dis-tinctive products-driedmescal, red hematite pigment, and
theprizedbasketry-intoanexchangenetwork which linked
Indians of the Pacific Coast to the Pueblos ofNewMexico
DivisionofLabor Inthe traditionalhunting and
gather-ingeconomy, womenbore primary responsibility for
collect-ingand processing plant resources, and men hunted Farming
activities werecarriedoutbyall members of thefamily
Land Tenure Priortothe establishment of a reservation,
landtenuretookthe form of a"customaryrange," an area of
habitat diversity within which the bands gathered and hunted
wild resources The boundaries of these rangeswerenot
pre-ciselydemarcated, but there was common consent among the
Walapai thatthe various ranges were the primarysubsistence
grounds of the bands inhabiting them
Kinship
KinGroups and Descent Historically, thenuclear family
of parents and children was seldom an isolated and
self-sufficient unit Rather, campsof about twenty-five
individu-als, usually several related nuclearfamilies, proved to be
nec-essaryfor protection againstraids, for communal hunts, and
for efficientgatheringofwild plant resources While the camp
wasthe primaryland-use unit during the historic period,
sev-eralcampsutilizingadjacent territories were grouped into
pa-trilineal bands, headed by themostrespected of the leaders of
the individual camps Eligibility for camp leadership, and
thus for theheadshipof thebands,wastransmitted
patrilin-eally, butpotential leaders won respect more for theirbravery,
wisdom, and oratorical abilities than for strictgenealogical
descent
Kinship Terminology Under reservation life, the
Yuman-typekinshipterminology of theWalapaidoes not appearto
have retained its salience
Marriage and Family
Marriage Traditionally, marriage was not marked by
for-mal ceremony Rather, the processwasinitiatedthrough
re-peated gifts by themalesuitor to the girl's father Ifthefather
found the manto beacceptable, he would urge hisdaughter
toreceive the man Upon marriage, a man was expected to
live for a time inthecamp of his spouse and then return with
his wife to his own patrilineal camp In practice, however,
young couples typically joined the camp that was most in
need of theirhelp insubsistence activities Divorcewas
re-ported to befrequentinthe postcontactera,forreasonsof
in-compatibility,jealousy, and adultery With settled reservation
life, the incidence of divorce hasdeclined substantially
Domestic Unit Several related familiesjoinedtogether toform thebasicdomestic entity, the camp Frequently, thesefamilies werepolygamous,outof the needto ensuresufficientlabor fordomestic activities.
Inheritance Under aboriginalconditions, notions of heritance of private property wereweaklydeveloped, since anindividual's possessions wereburned upon death.Access towildresourceswithin thetribal range was, however, a criticalright inheritedthrough the patrilineal band
in-Socialization Historically, the socialization of childrenand adolescentscentered on economic pursuits, training theyoung inthe critical tasks of hunting andgathering.Inrecentyears, anoteworthy interest has been shownbyWalapaisindocumenting and preserving Walapai language and culture.The Peach SpringsSchool, opened on the reservation in the1950s, has implemented an extensive program inbilingualandbicultural education for its students
Sociopolitical Organization
SocialOrganization Prior to itsdisruptive encounter withtheU.S.Cavalry inthe 1860s, the Walapai tribe was dividedinto three named subtribes, each encompassing several ad-joiningpatrilinealbands and their constituent camps Thesesocial units tended to be endogamous, since marriagepart-nerswere mostfrequently selected from adjacent camps andbands Butstrictterritoriality does not appear to have beenmaintained: subtribes shared land and resources with otherWalapais when necessary for survival The reservation systemhas transformed this aboriginal social organization TheHavasupai reservation was established for a single bandwithin onesubtribe, and the Walapai reservation, drawing itsdesignation from the proper name for another patrilinealband, now houses descendants of twelve other aboriginalbands
Political Organization and Conflict War with theUnitedStates, as well as the customary practice of govern-mental agents to seek"chiefs" assignatories to official docu-ments, elevated several of the camp and band headmen to po-sitions ofsubtriballeadership Wauba Yuma, shortly beforehis murder, put his mark on the toll-road contract on behalf
of theYavapai Fighters subtribe, as did Hitchi Hitchi for thePlateauPeople.AndCherum, of the Middle Mountain Peo-ple, took military command in the ensuing war, developing aclevertrade network by which he procured arms fromSouth-ern Paiuteswho hadinturnobtained them from Mormons inUtah With thecreationofthe reservation, bringing agents ofthe Indian Service to Truxton Canyon, the incipient triballeadership fell dormant The present tribal government, anelective nine-member council, was established under provi-sions of the Indian Reorganization Act in the late 1930s.Social Control Aboriginally, the wisdom and oratoricalskills of the camp and band leaders were marshaled in familydisputes.Undoubtedly, too, the fluidity of group membershipfacilitatedresolution, as disputants could join the campsoffriends andrelatives
Religion and Expressive CultureReligious Beliefs TheWalapai, like otherYumangroups,
do not haveanelaborate cosmology oracomplex ritualcycle
Trang 4366 Walapai
Spirits to which shamans attach themselves are associated
withparticularlocations withinaboriginal Walapai territory
In the twentieth century, they have been subjected to
re-peated missionary activity, but the Baptists, Mormons, and
therevivalist Four SquareGospel mission have met with little
success onthereservation Much of thetraditionalreligious
activity, continuing well into the present century, centers
around the shaman
N
ReligiousPractitioners and Medicine Adeceased
rela-tive's spirit alerts a prospective shaman to his specialty
through a series of dreams Then,during asolitary visit to a
mountain,the individual acquires the necessary power from
the spirits through additional dream sequences Thus
pre-pared, theshaman may operate inthe realm of curative
medi-cine Treatmentofdiseases and snakebites consists of singing
over thepatientandsucking the wounds The specialist may
thenproduce asmallobject from thewound, believed to be
the locus of themalignantspirit Byextractingtheoffending
object, theshaman returnsthe evil spirit to its mountain It is
reportedhistoricallythat the shaman wasliable to bekilled by
the relatives ofadeceased patient orrewarded with buckskins
if the patient recovered
Ceremonies The individualistic character of the shaman
complex gives rise to few groupwide ceremonial occasions
amongthe Walapai Girls pass through a brief puberty
cere-monialfollowing their initialmenses,but, historically,
mar-riage was not markedby formal rites
Arts Facialpaintingand shell neck pendantswere,
histor-ically, important modes of personal decoration and
expres-sion The shells, obtainedintrade from Yumans along the
Colorado River, functionedascharmsor amulets, guarding
the wearer againstdisease
Death and Afterlife Traditionally, Walapai dead were
crematedalongwith their material possessions The souls of
thegoodpeople departedfor the ancestralland on the bank
of the Colorado River to the accompaniment of ceremonial
cryingbylivingrelatives and friends Late inthe nineteenth
century, U.S soldiers attempted toenforceChristian burial
practices, and many Walapai partiallyacquiesced, interring
the dead in rock slides andcairns.The mourning ceremony,
anelaborate ritual among the Colorado RiverYumans,
per-sists in attenuated form among the Walapai
BibliographyDobyns, Henry F., and Robert C Euler (1970) Wauba
Yuma's People: The Comparative Socio-Political Structure of
the Pai Indians ofAritona Prescott College Studies in
An-thropology, no 3 Prescott,Ariz.: Prescott College Press
Kroeber, Alfred L., ed.(1935) Walapai Ethnography
Ameri-can Anthropological Association, Memoir 42 Menasha,
Wis
Martin,JohnF (1985) "The Prehistory andEthnohistoryof
Havasupai-Hualapai Relations." Ethnohistory 32:135-153
THOMAS R MCGUIRE
Wallawalla
The Wallawalla (Walula), including the Palouse (Palus) andWauyukma, lived along the Wallawalla, Palouse, and SnakeriversinsoutheasternWashington The Wallawalla now live
ontheUmatillaIndian Reservation in Oregon with the tilla andthe Cayuse.They spoke a Sahaptin language of thePenutianphylum and numbered about five hundredinthe1980s
Uma-BibliographyGunkel, Alexander (1979) Culture in Conflict: aStudy ofContrasted Interrelations and Reactions between Euroameri-cans and the Wallawalla Indians of Washington State AnnArbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International
Wappo
The Wappo (Ashochimi) lived along the headwaters of theNapa River and Popeand Putah creeks to the south of ClearLake in northern California They spoke a language of theYukian family andprobably number less than fifty today
BibliographyDriver, Harold (1936) Wappo Ethnography University ofCalifornia Publications in American Archaeology and Eth-nology, 36 Berkeley
Sawyer, Jesse 0 (1978) "Wappo." In Handbook of NorthAmerican Indians.Vol 8, California, edited by Robert F Hei-zer, 256-263 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution
Trang 5Washoe 367
Thepeople refertothemselves aswi-giworwasiiswiwwhich
appearsto mean"people fromhere."
Location Inearlyhistoric timesthe Washoeinhabiteda
region of about four thousand square miles between Honey
Laketothe north and the upper reaches of the West Walker
River to the south On the east, the Pinenut and Virginia
rangesseparatedthem from the Northern Paiute, andonthe
west the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains separated
themfrom the Miwok and Maidupeoples Thestate
bound-arybetween Nevada and Californiaroughlybisects their
an-cientterritory, running through Lake Tahoe at an
approxi-matecenter.Their majoryear-round settlementswere inthe
well-wateredvalleysalong the easternslopes of the Sierra
Ne-vada Mountains at an altitude of about forty-five hundred
feet and where there was an abundance of vegetation and
game.Theyalsomadeextensiveuseofalpine areas upto
ele-vations ofsixthousand or more feet for seasonal hunting,
fishing, and gathering except during the severest winters
Regulartreksweremadetothe acorn oak grovesinthe
foot-hills over the crestofthe mountains aswell as to fishing sites
shared with the Northern Paiute at Pyramid, Walker, and
Monolakes.Today,the remaining Washoe liveinsmall
colo-nies and scattered settlements at Reno, Carson City, and
Dresslerville, Nevada, and around Woodfords, California
The headquarters of the modern tribal government is at
Gardnerville, Nevada
Demography Theestimates ofanaboriginalpopulation
of fifteen hundredor soWashoepeople are much lower than
what might be expected from the size and resources of the
areathey inhabited.Butthey didsuffer asharp drop in
num-bers owingtodisease and povertyinthe nineteenth andearly
twentieth centuries, when figures as low as three hundred
werereported After the 1950s, with increased federal support
for education andimprovedeconomicconditions, there has
been arapidpopulation recoveryindicated by the registration
of well over fifteen hundred persons onthe tribal rolls
iUnguisticAffiliation Linguiststentatively agree that
Wa-shoe (Washo) belongstothe Hokan stock of Amerind
lan-guages Evidenceisuncertainforearlier conjectures that the
Washoe migrated eastward from a prehistoric association
with otherHokan-speakingpeoples inwhat is now California
totheir presentlocation, orthattheyrepresentthe remnant
of an ancient distribution ofHokan-speakerssome one
thou-sandormoreyears ago.The isolation of Washoe from related
languages, together with linguistic and archaeological
evi-dence, suggests thatithas beeninplace for many thousands
of years.Thelanguagerevealslittle dialectic differentiation,
but some borrowing has occurred with Numic and other
neighboringlanguages.Thenumber of fluent speakers of
Wa-shoe has declineddrasticallyinrecent times
History and Cultural Relations
The Washoe people and their country were unknown to
Americans until theearlynineteenth century when explorers
such as Joseph Walker, Jedediah Smith, and John Frimont
traversed the central GreatBasinseekingdirectroutes to
Cal-ifornia Although they had some earlier contact with the
Spanish to the west, actualintrusionof theirterritorydid not
occur until the hordes of immigrants began toappear from
the east during the gold rush of the 1840sand 1850s Many
Whites wereattracted to the verdantvalleysoccupied by theWashoe, fencing the lands for cattle, restricting access towater sources, andestablishing numeroustradingposts andsettlements By the 1870s thelowlandforests,grasslands, andthe large game soessential toWashoe subsistence had be-come depleted Thecompletion of the transcontinental rail-roadsignaledthe end of the oldlife-wayanditsconquestbyanew, alien society For the next one hundred years, theWashoe wereforced into the status of servile, unfranchiseddependents in an aggressive frontier world Appeals byWashoe spokesmen or by the occasional sympatheticIndianagent for aidand lands went unheeded A reservation wasnever assigned to them, and the land allotments providedunder the Dawes Act of 1887 were largely unfit forhabitation
ordevelopment Many families leased their allotments at tremely low rates tosheepranchers, which, in turn, led to therapiddeterioration of the pifion groves whose harvesting hadprovided oneof the major staples in aboriginal times Thepeoplelivedinsqualidcampsonthe outskirts ofWhitetowns
ex-or on the ranches where many were employed
In1917, a fewsmall parcels of land with inadequate cilities weresetasideat Reno, Carson City, and Dresslervilleprimarily for Washoe use Schools for Indian children weresegregated, theirlanguage and traditional customs were dis-couraged, and discriminatory policies restricted social inter-action Citizenship was not granted until 1924 Some im-provementinconditions began to takeplace after the IndianReorganization Act of 1934 when the Washoe became a le-gallyconstituted tribe with a written constitution and officialtribalcouncil
fa-Major change,however, did not occur until after 1970when the Washoe won a compensation of $5 million (of a
$43 million claim filed in 1948) before the Indian ClaimsCommission.Through effective investment of 70 percent ofthe funds and issuing per capita payments onlytoolder mem-bers, considerable advancement has been made in tribal or-ganizationand services With the emergence of new leader-shipandplanning,state and federal funds were procured forhousing, employment opportunities, educational programs,tribalbusinesses, and additional lands Young people began
to remain inthe area or to return from relocation with a sense
ofhope and renewed identity The Washoe Tribe of NevadaandCaliforniahasbecome an activeparticipantinintertribalaffairs, and many of its members are pursuing successful ca-reers inthe largerlocal and national communities
The aboriginal Washoe were a peaceable people whonevertheless staunchly defended their core habitation andsubsistence areas fromhostile intrusion yet tolerated access
by others exceptintimes of extreme scarcity Likewise, boring peoples such as the Northern Paiute, Miwok, andMaiduallowed some use of resources in their own domains.The fewbriefskirmisheswerebetweensmallgroupsover mat-ters ofunnegotiated trespass, perceived insult, or revenge.Networks of intermarriage reinforced long-standing friendlyrelations with familiesofsurroundingpeoples, and this prac-tice has continued into historic times The Washoe at first ac-commodated incomingWhites during the early nineteenthcentury and resorted to sporadic resistance only when the in-truders threatened their resources and autonomy But theywere quickly overwhelmed and forced into passive acquies-cence during a century offrontier conquest
Trang 6neigh-368 Washoe
Settlements
Aboriginal Washoe settlementsweregenerally placedon
ele-vated groundnear sourcesofwater Domicilestended tobe
widelyspaced for privacyand reducedvisibility from afar
Per-manentyear-round settlementsweremaintainedin
tradition-allyestablished locations inthe six or seven majorlowland
valleys alongtheeastern slopeof the SierraNevada
Moun-tains Housing sites, or even entire settlements, might be
moved about within these areas upon the death offamily
members, changing relations between households, orother
conditions Duringseasonal hunting andgathering activities,
small groups set up temporary camps in the mountains or
while trekking to distant locations in search of desired
re-sources,returningtotheir permanentsettlements for the
win-termonths This pattern of mobility and option was
termi-nated byWhite usurpation inthe 1850s Today, the Washoe
continue tolive mainly inthe small colonies established in
the earlytwentieth century, though many live and work in
local towns or inotherareas The traditional winter house
was mostcommon in permanent settlements and was a
coni-cal construction of bark slabssupportedby interlockedpoles
set over ashallowdepressionintheground with an entrance
facing eastward Dome-shaped summer houses of willow
framethatched with tuleand brush were used as well as the
simple lean-to for shade or for temporary shelter on seasonal
treks Duringthe late nineteenth and early twentieth
centur-ies, versions of thesestructures were made of discarded
mate-rials from White settlements Standard colony housing up to
the 1960s involved rows of dilapidated board shacks
sur-roundedby the accumulated rubble of attempted repair and
scavenged materials Owingtotheadvancements of the past
twenty orthirty years, the quality of Washoe housing today
exceeds that of most low-income residences in the area
Economy
Subsistence and CommercialActivities Washoe
aborigi-nal economy wasbased onhunting, fishing, andgathering
The environmentprovided anabundance of large and small
game,fishinthelakesand streams,and seeds and other plant
products requiringahighlyskilledpatternof seasonal
exploi-tation over the year Although the local pinenut and the
acornfrom over themountains weremuchdesired foods(and
continue tobe inmodemtimeswhen available), other food
resourcesprovided a major part of the diet The destruction
of the subsistence base in earlyhistoric times resulted ina
rapid transformation of diet to one of starches, fats, and
sweets prevalent among ruralwesternWhitesettlers During
the frontier period many Washoe lived and worked on
ranches-the men aslaborers andcowhands, and the women
as laundresses and cooks Othermen wereemployedin-the
mines or the construction of roadsand dams Some brought
wood, fish,and game into the towns for sale until they were
restrictedby local laws A fewwomensupplemented income
by selling baskets and pinenutsorhiringouttodomestic
serv-ice Most,however, were destitute.Today, many younger
Wa-shoe menand women participateinthe general economy and
areemployed in an expanded tribal governmentor in a
num-beroftribally operated businesses Inprecontact times, the
dog was theonly domesticated animal.Afew Washoe had
ac-quiredponies from the Spanish inCalifornia and,later, from
Americansettlers Butconditions did not permit the ment of an equestrian mode such as that appearing amongtheirNorthern Paiuteneighbors in the early nineteenthcen-tury Sporadic attempts to raise cattle and sheep ontriballands have been unsuccessful
develop-Industrial Arts Theaboriginal Washoeproducedarange
ofmanufactures instone, wood, fiber, bone, or skins, andutilized a repertoireoftechnologiestypical of the hunting andgathering economiesofthe western Great Basin Americanimplements, utensils, clothing, and ornament quickly re-placedthe traditional forms.The basketry produced by thewomenwas admired by all surrounding peoples andcontin-ued to bedeveloped as an art of renown well into the twenti-eth century
Trade Aboriginal trade seems not tohave been extensive
in the region, though the Washoe did exchangeby barterandgift giving some salt, pinenuts, and deer and rabbit skins towestwardpeoples, suchasthe MiwokandMaidu, for shells,obsidian, certainmedicinal plants, and other itemswhich, inturn, were tradedeastward to the Northern Paiute for ante-lopeskins, kutsavi and cui-uifish In the early postcontact pe-riod, they engaged in a small exchange involving firewood,pinenuts, game, andfish to White settlers
Division of Labor Traditionally, the gathering of plantproducts was almost exclusively a woman's activity, as werepreparation of food and other household tasks Womenmight also participate in majorfish runs, rabbit drives, andsurrounds oflarge games such asdeer or antelope Huntingand combat, however, were men's activities, as well as themaking ofweapons and stone implements Yet considerablecooperationobtained for majortasks requiring group effort.Among the modem Washoe, even when both men andwomen arewageearners, traditional gender roles tend to bemaintained
Land Tenure Except fortraditional habitation or ing andgathering sites in regular use, Washoe territory was anopen range accessible to anybut hostile or uncooperativetrespassers.Individual families claimed rights to certain plots
hunt-in the Pinenut Range, but these were generally shared intimesof abundance There was no concept of sectional or tri-bal land ownership but, rather, flexible andtraditionally rec-ognized domains of privilege with regard to natural resources.Notions oflandownership imposed by Whites during earlycontact,andinthearbitraryassignment ofland allotments inthe latenineteenth century, werealien and continue to en-gender stressinsocialrelations ManyWashoe now own landindividually, and certain new acquisitions are owned by thetribe in federal trust
Kinship
KinGroups andDescent Variant forms of the bilateralextended family constituted the basic Washoe kin groups.Thesecomposed the small local communities that were es-sentially family compounds referred toas "bunches." Net-works ofintermarriage inlong-establishedareasofhabitationled to the formation of larger regional communities, or
"bands,"whichpeople identified asplacesofrelatively manentresidence and closekinship.Tieswithmoredistantcommunities were weaker and relationships less traceable,but conditions of limited population distribution, mobility,
Trang 7per-Washoe 369
andcommonlanguageand culture induceda senseof "tribal"
identity amongallsections Groupswerenotcorporate, and
notionsof descent functionedmainlytodetermine the
possi-ble range ofkinship obligations and of permissible sexualor
marital relations
KinshipTerminology All siblings andcousins were
re-ferredtoby thetermsforbrother andsister(a"generational"
system) and furtherdistinguished onlybytherelative ages of
their parents Terms inthe parentalgeneration were
bifur-cate-collateral; that is, they provided distinctterms for each
of the parents and their siblings Some change toward the
generalAmericansystem hasbeentakingplaceinthe
twenti-eth century
Marriage and Family
Marriage No marriage with known consanguineal
rela-tives was permissible Despite the small population,
poten-tials formarriageabilityweremaintainedby the extensive
mo-bility of individuals and groups and shallow genealogical
reckoning that limitedthe tracing ofrelationships
Monog-amy was themost common marital arrangement, but
poly-gyny(both sororal and nonsororal) frequently occurred The
sororateandlevirate alsowerepracticed Firstmarriages were
usually arranged by parents During the first years of marriage,
residence was bilocal but with a tendency to matrilocality
Separationbecause of incompatibility, infidelity, or
improvi-dence could beinitiated by either spouse and was recognized
by the community Intermarriage with otherNative
Ameri-cansand with Whitesisincreasingin recenttimes, and
mar-riage practices ingeneral follow the American pattern
Domestic Unit The members ofa localized bilateral
ex-tended family together with some affines, distant relatives,
and visiting friends formed the minimaldomestic unit
Indi-vidualsshifted residence frequently to live in communities of
relatives or friends elsewhere Where feasible, modern
Wa-shoe residentialarrangements follow earlier patterns
Inheritance There is no clear evidence that statuses or
propertywerepassed downthrough any rule of inheritance in
aboriginal times Personal possessions were disposed of at
death, andheadships and other offices were determined by
group consensus.Today, theAmericansystem ofdescent and
inheritance prevails legally, though the traditional
orienta-tionoften is expressed inpractice
Socialization Nurturingand permissiveguidance were the
model for idealparenting Expressionofhostility or violence
toward children was strongly discouraged Admonition and
punishment wererelegatedtothird personsor tothe threat of
supernatural intervention This patterncontinues to
predom-inateamongmodernWashoe families where personal
auton-omy and individualism are respected andasserted
Sociopolitical Organization
SocialOrganization Washoesocietywas egalitarianin
or-ientation with no fixed distinctions of wealth or status
groups Leadership and roles of special skill were acquired
through demonstrated ability and legitimizedby local group
recognition Womenfrequently attained positionsof
author-ity and expert specialization Personal attributes of
generos-ity, modesty, and wise counsel were expectedifthe
commu-nitywere not towithdraw itssupportby turningtoanother.Today, differences in education and income do obtain, butthe traditional social values are effective inminimizing thedevelopment of class divisions
PoliticalOrganization AboriginalWashoe communitieswere autonomous, each represented by local headmen orheadwomen whose rolewas essentially that of admired ad-viser orspokesperson Tiesbetween localcommunities werevoluntary and could be activated for cooperative enterprisessuch asfestivals, gamedrives, and defense Renowned sha-mans,hunters,or warriors sometimeswere solicited as tempo-rary leaders for these purposes Communication was main-tained with distant Washoe sections forperiodic communalgatherings and, though rarely, during emergencies where ad-ditionalwarriorsmight be needed During historic times, theforced concentration of the Washoe in the small areas allo-catedbyWhitesdisrupted this pattern of organization Cer-tainspokesmen, either familiar withEnglish or amenable tonegotiation with Whites, were designated as "Captains"under the erroneous assumption thatthey represented most
of the people A few of these men, such as the renowned
"Captain Jim"in thelate nineteenthcentury, emerged as orouspleaders for the Washoecause.Attempts at tribalreor-ganizationintheearly twentieth century were ineffective be-causeof the strong sense of family autonomy and resistance
vig-tocentralizedrepresentation Inmorerecent times, however,
an elected Washoe Tribal Council representing each of thecolonies as well as off-reservation persons has developed asuccessfultribal governmentunder federal supervision It ad-ministers collective Washoe affairs and relations with stateandfederal agencies
Social Control Internal cohesionwas maintained by tensivesocialization for group solidarity Aggressive behavior,except for defense of the group, wasrigidly proscribed Infrac-tions weredealt with by collectiveavoidance or the threat ofsupernatural reprisal Recalcitrant individuals might bedriven from thegroup or even assassinated Modern Washoecommunities have the services of a tribal police force andcourts Lawenforcement agencies oflocal towns and countiesexert adegree of jurisdiction
in-Conflict Warfare among aboriginal Washoe subgroupsappears to have been absent, though occasional feuds be-tween individuals or families erupted briefly into open vio-lence These wereresolved when a wrong was deemed to havebeenavenged orthrough the intervention of elder negotiators
oneach side As the firstpeopleinthewestern Great Basin toexperience the full brunt of Whiteinvasion, the Washoe werequickly reduced tohelplessnessindefense of their interests
A deep sense ofhopelessness and betrayal permeated theirlivesduring most of the postcontact period and conditionedWashoe-White relations Homicide, factionalism, gambling,suicide, and accusations of witchcraft increased throughoutthe small Washoesettlementsinthe late nineteenth and earlytwentieth centuries Some individuals and families managed
toescape theworst effects of these circumstances, but all dured the stigma of oppression anddegradation Today, theravages of the recent past are being obliterated by a remark-able economic and social recovery Internal conflict hasgreatly diminished and a positive cultural heritage is beingreasserted
Trang 8Religion and Expressive Culture
Religious Beliefs Prayers and ritualmanipulationof
spir-itual powers believed to be investedinnature werethe active
instruments of Washoe religion and were deemed essential to
anysuccessful human endeavor Nature must bepropitiated
to ensure its bounty and goodwill All natural phenomena
werethought to be imbued with sentient spirit power
Ani-mals inparticularwerepersonified asautochthons inmyths
of geologic and human origins Spirits of the dead were
feared,andthere islittle evidence thatnotionsof asupreme
being existedprior to the historic period.The modem
Wa-shoe retain many of these beliefs and the practices associated
withthem.Some have been participants in the Native
Ameri-can church while the Assembly of God and the Baptist
church have attracted others
Religious Practitioners In former times, the shamans
were theprincipal specialists in the use ofmagicalpowers for
rites ofdiagnosis, curing, and divination Their skills also
mightbe exerted to defend against the hostilepowers of
oth-ers orto destroy one's enemies There were many other
indi-viduals acknowledged to derive their abilities fromtutelary
re-lationships with specific powers of nature, especially those
persons exhibiting exceptional skill in subsistence,
ceremo-nial, medicinal, or martial activities, but theydid not
com-mand the degree ofobeisance afforded the shamans In the
1930sand 1940s the shamans had obtained such a powerful
hold among the Washoe thattheywerefinally denounced by
aniratecommunity for conspiracy to defraud and for their
ex-orbitant fees Thismovement was led by the new local Native
American church which was itself under attack by many
White as well as Washoe citizens for its use ofpeyote as a
sac-rament.Nevertheless, the control of the shamans was
weak-ened and, in recent times, none isacknowledged in the area
Christian ministers, itinerantpreachers,and a few remaining
roadchiefs of the NativeAmerican church continue to
pro-vide religiousguidance, while Western medical practitioners
and some native herbalists administer to the ailing
Ceremonies Important annual ceremonies involving
large numbers of peopletook place at the first harvest in the
Pinenut Range, in theeasternmostextension of theacorn oak
groves near Honey Lake, and at the locations of major fish
runsassociated with the rivers and lakes of theregion A more
localized, but equally important rite was the celebration of
thecommencement of mensesbyagirl'sfamily and friends
Other special rites also took place at the birth of a child, boy's
puberty, marriage, and death Many of these observances
continue today in diminished and variant forms among some
families
Arts Most expressions ofaboriginal artistry disappeared
early in thehistoricperiod.Theseincludedornament in shell,
bone, andseed; distinctivestylesofbody painting and
tattoo-ing; featheredheaddresses; decorative skin and fur
accesso-ries; and dyed and woven fibers There was also an extensive
repertoire of songs, tales, and legends, very little of which has
been retained The major surviving art has been the
excep-tionally finebasketrythatbecameinternationally renowned
in the earlytwentieth century through the work of the famous
Datsolalee and a number of other expert weavers Elaborate
woven cradles still are constructed for infants, and fancy
beadwork and some baskets are made for sale
Medicine Illness wasattributed to the intrusion of alienobjects, offended supernatural agencies,sorcery, orbad feel-ing A wide range of herbal and mineral substances was em-ployed in treatment by shamans and various categories ofcurersendowed with special derivedpowers Modem Washoerelymainly on Westernmedical facilities,but many alsouti-lize traditional knowledge of herbs and customary practicespassed down through elder family members
Death and Afterlife Except for old age and chronicmity, death was seldom attributed to natural causes Thus,the occasion of a death was fraught with concern for thesafety of theliving: everyeffort must be made to protect theimmediate family fromwhatever malevolent forces might be
infir-atwork Thespirit of the deceased must bepacifiedby a riod ofpublicmourning and prayers beseeching it to leave theareaswiftly and withoutrancor Burials in a remote place orcremation werethe most common The personal belongings
pe-of the deceased were interred or burned with the body Therewas a prohibition againstspeaking the name of the deceased
in thepresence of closerelatives, for this might call the spirit.Ideas of anafterlife were ambiguous: recorded lore suggestsvariously that the dead liveunderground, that some are reluc-tantto leave the area wherethey died and wander aimlesslyaboutdoinginadvertent or purposeful harm, or that there is aland to the south wherespirits of the dead reside The cosmo-logicalbeliefsof the modem Washoeare generally similar tothoseof theAmerican society of which they are now a partbut also are influenced by the spread ofpan-Indian philo-sophical concepts among Native American communities Fu-nerals are ofmajor importance, and though they are usuallyconducted inaccordance with the contemporary rites of localChristian churches, traditional prayers and funeral customsareoftenobserved as well
Bibliographyd'Azevedo, Warren L., ed (1956) The Washo Indians of Cali-fornia and Nevada University of UtahAnthropological Pa-
pers, no 67 Salt Lake City
d'Azevedo, Warren L (1986) "Washoe." In Handbook ofNorthAmerican Indians.Vol 11,Great Basin,edited by War-ren L.d'Azevedo, 466-498 Washington, D.C.: SmithsonianInstitution
Downs, James F (1966) Two Worlds of the Washo NewYork: Holt, Rinehart& Winston
Nevers,J.Ann(1976) Wa-She-Shu: A Washo Tribal History.Reno: IntertribalCouncilof Nevada
Price, John A.(1980) The Washo Indians: History, Life Cycle,Religion, Technology, Economy, and Modem Life NevadaState Museum Occasional Papers, no 4 Carson City
Siskin, Edgar E (1983) Washo Shamans andPeyotists:
Reli-gious Conflict in an American Indian Tribe Salt Lake City:University of Utah Press
WARREN L D'AZEVEDO
370
Trang 9Western Apache 371
ETHNONYMS:Dzil gha'i, Dilzhe'i, Dzilt'aadfi, Nde6
OrientationIdentification The name "Apache" first appears in the
historical recordin1598.Thereis noundisputedetymology,
although Zuni is often cited as its source. The Western
Apacheinclude the subtribesWhite Mountain, SanCarlos,
Cibecue, Northern Tonto, and SouthernTonto.Theywere
defined as a single cultural unit because dialect variation
amongthemwas minor,theywerehorticulturalto adegree,
andtheywerelinked through matrilineal clans, although they
themselves recognizednosuch superordinatelevel of
organi-zation.Allusedthe word Ndee,or"man,person, Indian,"to
refertotheirspecificsubtribe, but theydidnotnecessarily
in-clude the other "Western Apache" insucha designation
Location Sincethe lateseventeenthcenturytheWestern
Apachehaveoccupiedthemountainsof theMogollonRim,
and thehighdeserttransition zoneofthe ColoradoPlateau,
includingtheheadwaters of the Verde, Salt,andLittle
Colo-rado rivers, and part ofthe Gila River.The area isbetween
32° and350 Nand 109°and 112°W.Today,mostWestern
Apache live on the Fort Apache (White Mountain), San
Carlos, CampVerde, and Paysonreservations.
Demography According to the 1980 censusthe Indian
populations of the three major reservations were Fort
Apache,7,010;SanCarlos,6,013;andCampVerde,136.
Es-timatesof the nineteenth-century populationtotal lessthan
5,000
Linguistic Affiliation Western Apache is one of the
Apachean (Southern Athapaskan) languages, classified in
theAthapaskan stock of the NaDen6 phylum
History and Cultural Relations
Linguistic and cultural evidence indicates that theWestern
Apache migratedfromCanada betweenA.D. 1400 and 1500
andarrivedinArizonanoearlierthan the 1600swherethey
came into contact with the native Pueblo populations
Pueblo influencewasparticularlystrongafterthePueblo
Re-volt of 1680 when numerous Pueblos took up residence
among Apacheans Severe pressure from Utes inthe early
1700s andagain inthemid-1800s along with the U.S.
cam-paignledbyKitCarson resultedin groupsofNavajomoving
south andcoming into contactwithor even taking up
resi-dence amongApaches It is likelythat it was duringthese
timesthat theNavajo introducedhorticulture and matrilineal
clans Relationswith both Western Pueblos and theNavajo
alternatedbetween trade and raidupthroughthe nineteenth
century. Relations with Spain also alternated between war
andpeace,thoughrelations with Mexicoweregenerally
hos-tile Althoughsome newtechnical items wereadded tothe
Apache inventoryalongwith their Spanishnames, Spanish
andMexican cultureshad little significant impact.
TheWesternApacheweremuch lessaffected than other
Apacheans by the changesbrought about by the1848Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the subsequent Gadsden
Pur-chase of1853, probablybecause their landsinnorth-central
Arizona were notastridemajor routesoftravel,nor, except intheTonto area, were theremajor miningactivities Theyac-ceptedwithout resistance the presenceof forts within theirterritory, and the White Mountain and Cibecue groups inparticular madepeaceand cooperatedwith the new conquer-ors This quiescent state was marred by two major inci-dents-the Camp Grant Massacrein1871,inwhichatleastseventy-five San Carlos women and children were killed byresidentsofTucson and theirPapagoallies, and the CibecueFight in 1881, which resultedin the death of a prominentshamanalong withanumber of soldiers andApachescouts.
SettlementsWith theadoptionofhorticultureWesternApachesbecamepermanently associated withfarming sites This associationwas seasonal with local groups composed of several matrilin-eal-matrilocalextended families (gotah) movingfromplacetoplacein ayearly round ofhunting andgathering-returning
in thespring andfall to the farm area and in the winter ing to lower elevations Local groups varied in size fromthirty-five to two hundred individuals and had exclusiverightsto certain farm sites andhunting localities Adjacentlocalgroups,looselylinked through marriage, arealproximity,anddialect, formed what have been called bandscontrollingfarming and hunting resources primarilyin asingle watershedarea.There were twenty of these bands in 1850, each com-posedofabout four local groups Their ethnographic names,suchasCibecue Creek Bandor Carrizo CreekBand, reflecttheir watershedspecificity
mov-ContemporaryApache communitiesare anamalgam oftheseolder, territorially defined units, whichduring the res-ervation period concentrated near agency headquarters,trading posts, schools, and roads On the White MountainApache Reservation there are two major communities atCibecueand Whiteriver, and on the San Carlos Reservationthere are two at San Carlos and Bylas Traditional housingwasthe wickiup (gogha); contemporary housing consists ofamixture of olderframehomes, modern cinder block or frametract houses, and mobile homes Some housing is substan-dard relativetogeneral U.S.standards, though vast improve-ments have been made in the last twenty years The WhiteMountain Apacheshave had a particularly aggressive devel-opment program and own a shopping center, motel, theater,sawmill, and ski resort
EconomySubsistence and Commercial Activities In traditionaltimes, about 40 percent ofthe diet came from gathered wildplant foods, 35 percent from meat (especially deer), and 25percent from horticulture Wild food products includedsahuaro fruit, mescal (agave), acoms, mesquite beans, juni-per berries, and pifion nuts Horticulture was practiced infields often less than an acre in size, with small dams andchannels used for irrigation After the establishment of thereservations a few Apaches took advantage of government al-lotment programs to develop cattle herds, but those who didoften came into conflict with Whites who grazed cattlethrough a permit system on the reservations By the 1950smost of the non-Indians who were running livestock on In-
Trang 10372 Western Apache
dian land had been forced off, and the tribes themselves
startedcooperativeherding operationswith stock ownedby
individualsbut managed bytribal employees
Subsistencefarming has continuedup tothepresentday
onlyon the FortApache Reservation The White Mountain
ApacheTribe has startedanirrigated farmingoperation,and
both reservations have a varietyoftouristfacilities toprofit
fromcamping, boating, fishing, andhunting bynon-Indians
along with lumbering TheFortApacheReservationhas been
moresuccessfulintheseenterprisesthan San Carlos becauseit
hasmore resourcesandabetter climate.SanCarlos has
devel-opedajojobanutindustry, andsomeApachesmineand sell
thesemiprecious stoneperidot, whichisfoundrelatively close
tothe surfacein one areaof thereservation.Alltheseactivities
provide jobs andincome foratleast part of the population
Otherincome derives from off-reservation employment,
gov-ernmentjobs, smallbusinesses, andpublic assistance.
Industrial Arts Traditional activities such as tanning
skins, basket making, and the manufacture of cradle boards
and pitch-linedwater jars are still done on alimited basis
Beadwork,painting,and doll making have been addedtothe
repertoire.
Trade Inthepast,Apaches traded withsomeofthe
sur-rounding tribes fora varietyofitems. Individualhandicrafts
arestilloccasionally tradedtolocalstores orsoldtodealers,
but for themost parttheeconomic system onthereservations
is partof thelargerAmerican cash economy.
Divisionof Labor Although hunting, raiding, and warfare
wereusually men's tasks, and gathering, basket making, child
rearing,andcooking, women's, the division of laborwas
flex-ible Both sexesworked fields andcontinue to doso. Both
workatpublic gatherings Both could functioninleadership
roles andasshamans, althoughmendidso moreoften.Today
both sexes run for andare elected totribaloffice There is,
however, marked physicalseparationofmenandwomen in a
variety ofcontexts, andto preservetheirreputations a man
and a woman must notbe alone with each other
Land Tenure Aboriginally, the bands controlled
re-sourceswithin theirterritories, and farmlandswereowned by
the individuals whoweremembers of thevariouslocalgroups.
Individuals could will their landto anyof theiroffspringor to
theirsurviving spouseandcouldalso lend landto anyof their
relatives Only if they wishedtolend landto anonrelativewas
approval of local leaders needed Today landisheldin trust
by the U.S.government, and individual-use rights are
con-trolled by rules basedon a mixof tradition andtribal law
KinshipKin GroupsandDescent Thereare overfifty namedex-
ogamousmatrilineal clans, which form three unnamed
phra-tries.Clanswerenamed after farmsites,and the phratriesno
doubt formedas aresult of population spread and settlement
of new farm sites. Clans functioned to regulate marriage,
sponsor and support the ritualactivities of their members,
enact revenge,and aidinday-to-daycooperativeworkgroups.
Sinceclans tendedtobe localized withinthesameband, they
operated at a restricted geographic level, but because the
phratrieswererepresentedinall thesubtribes, they provided
weak cross-cutting ties among all the Western Apaches
Clanscontinue todaytoplay roleinWesternApache
politics, feuds, and ritual; theclan,however,isbeing mented by friendships for mutual economic supportinritualactivities, and clan endogamousmarriages occur
supple-Kinship Terminology Cousinterminology isofthequois type, with bifurcate collateral parental generationterms,emphasis beingplacedonparental-generation matrila-teral kin with parental-generation patrilateral kin beingmerged into one category regardless of gender
Iro-Marriage and the Family
Marriage Distantpatrilateralcrosscousins inthe father'sclan or phratry were considered ideal and some marriagepart-ners reflect such exchange in several successive generations.Sororalpolygyny, levirate, and sororate marriages all occurred.Chastitywashighly valuedand girlswereextremely shy wheninteracting withboys During the first few days of a marriagethecouple did not necessarily sleep together and sometimeswere chaperoned by a female relative of the wife Residencewas matrilocal with the son-in-law responsible for hunting,protection, and labor on his in-law's farm Rather strict moth-er-in-law avoidance is stillpracticed by many Apaches Divorcewas easy and could be effected by either party
Domestic Unit Gotah werecomposed of several tionswith a core of matrilineally related women Some con-temporaryresidence units still reflect this structure, but withjobs frequently requiring sons-in-law to be elsewhere, manyfamilies have other arrangements But, even in families living
genera-in tract-style houses it is not unusual for a number oftrilineally related relatives to be close neighbors and for un-married daughters with small children to compose part of ahousehold This pattern reflects both high rates of illegiti-macy and poverty and traditional views of kinship and resi-dence patterns
ma-Inheritance Personal property was often destroyed or ied with an individual, but possessions could be given to anyclose relative orfriend prior to death Today some items areburied with the body, but the bulk of the estate is dividedamong a person's children
bur-Socialization Apachesvalue above all else the autonomy
of the individual This applies to children as well as adults,and thus children are often indulged
Sociopolitical Organization
Social Organization Theonly groups were those based onkinship, territoriality, and co-residence Individuals who wereleaders of these various units were titled nant'an Occasion-ally the prestige of some of these leaders exceeded the bound-aries of their respective units, and they might be recognizedoutside their own local group Depending on the unit in-volved, leadership was either inherited matrilineally orachieved Leaders had no power and little formal authoritybecause of the high value placed on individual autonomy,and they were primarily spokespersons and wealthyindividu-als with thelargest farmsin theirarea Being wealthy gavethem economic clout, and their charisma and theirabilitytotalk and make good decisions meant that they were listened
to and highly respected Relatives often supplied labor fortheir farmsinexchange for being provided for The only otherprominent role in the society was that of shaman
Trang 11Western Apache 373
Political Organization TodaySan Carlos, FortApache,
and Camp Verde have tribal councils and governments based
on constitutionsauthorized under the Indian Reorganization
Act of 1934 Elections arevigorously contested
Social Control Thegeneral Athapaskanvalue of
individ-ual autonomy is evidenced here aswell Traditional social
control focused heavily onthe threat of witchcraft
accusa-tion,which ifsupported bycommunityconsensusresultedin
execution Witchcraft accusation still plays arole in social
control, and some murders maybeexplainedaswitch
execu-tions Positiverole models for behaviorareprovidedbystories
repeated by eldersinreference to events that have takenplace
atspecific locationsinthearea.Apaches refertothisasbeing
"stalkedby stories." Gossip andindirect criticism also are
tra-ditional meansofenforcing conformity to accepted standards
of behavior.Only when under the influence of alcohol do
in-dividuals directly confront each other Both federal and tribal
laws and ordinances are enforcedby tribal police and
govern-mentagents
Conflict Western Apaches for the most part avoided
di-rectconflict with American settlers and the military after the
1850s Minorproblems were caused by nativistic movements
in the late nineteenth andearly twentieth centuries
Tradi-tional feuds between territorial or kinship groups sometimes
were carried on through shamans trying to counteract the
magic believed to be emanating from the adversary groups In
some cases feuds resulted in violence Contemporary
elec-tionsoften take on an atmosphere that involves conflict, and
accusationsof ballot stuffing may be leveled Some
contem-porary vandalism is rumored to be reflective of old feuds
There has recently been some conflict between the leadership
ofthe White Mountain Apache Tribe and business leaders
and citizens in neighboring communities over issues relating
to reservationboundaries, income from tourists, and leased
land within the reservation There has also been some
con-flict overland and water use with the federal government
Religion and Expressive Culture
Religious Beliefs Apaches believe that a number of
super-natural powers associated with super-natural phenomena exist
These powers are neutral with respect to good and evil, but
they can be used for various individual purposes Control of
these powers can be either sought after and developed or
thrust upon one Belief is supported byamythology that
ex-plains the creation of the world and includes several deities
Most important areLife Giver, sometimes identified with the
sun; Changing Woman, a source of eternal youth and life;
and her twins, Slayer of Monsters and Child of Water These
are sometimes syncretically identified with God, Mary, and
Jesus.Also important are anthropomorphic mountain spirits
called gaan who in form and symbolism were no doubt
bor-rowed from the Pueblos Other important figuresinmyth are
Coyote and Old Man Big Owl
For many Apachestraditional religion has been
supple-mented or replaced by a variety of Christian sects Lutherans
and Catholics were the first groupstoproselytize, and they
have been joined by Mormons, Baptists, Assemblies of God,
and thepentecostalMiracle church Wycliffe Bible
Transla-torshasprovidedanApachetranslation of the Bible and has
an ongoing literacy program to promote it Various nativistic
movementshave characterizedApache life, the most recent
of which is theHoly Groundcult centering on regularings atspecified "holy grounds" and led by individuals wholearned specific prayers and songs recorded in an originalstyle of picture writing developed byaleader, Silas John
gather-Religious Practitioners Agents of powers arecalled diyin(shaman).Those who have theirknowledge secretly and use
itfor their own ends are witches, 'itkashn
Ceremonies Inthe past there were alarge number of ing ceremonies each related to a specific power These wereperformedasindividual treatment seemed warranted Theonlymajor ceremonystill performed is the girl's puberty ceremony,bothariteof passage and a community ritual It harnesses thepower ofChanging Woman to ensure individual health andlong life and community health In the last twenty years thisceremonyhas beenelaborated, with expensive gift exchangescontinuing between relatives of the girl and relatives of hergodparents for several years after the initial ceremony
cur-Medicine Traditional curing consisted of shamans'ing ceremonies to restore the balance upset by accidentalcontactwith or disrespect shown toward a power to reversewitchcraft attacks Herbal medicines were also used In the re-centpastboth Western medicine and traditional ceremonieswere used in various combinations Today contemporaryWestern medicine is the primary form of medical treatment,although Changing Woman's power is sought after at pubertyrites,and some individual Apaches know songs and prayers topowers, which they use primarily within their immediate fami-lies
sing-Death and Afterlife Everyone is given an allotted lifespan, which, unless violence or withcraft intervenes, will endbecause of old age Concepts of an afterlife are vague Specialactionsare taken to make sure the dead do not return and try
tolure the living to come with them
BibliographyBasso, Keith H (1970) The Cibecue Apache New York:Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Basso,Keith H (1983)."WesternApache." In Handbook ofNorth American Indians Vol 10, Southwest, edited by Al-fonsoOrtiz, 462-488 Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Insti-tution
Goodwin, Grenville (1942) Social Organization of the ernApache Chicago: University of Chicago Press
West-Kaut, Charles R (1957) The WesternApacheClanSystem:ItsOrigins and Development University of NewMexicoPubli-cations in Anthropology, no 9 Albuquerque: University ofNewMexico Press
PHILIP J GREENFELD