Land area

Land of the Apache (western bands) in New Mexico, recorded 1886 (area 689)

Shape traced from the 1899 maps; approximate. Open on the map

1886
Named in the record
The 1899 record: “Country claimed by them at beginning of their relations with the U. S”

In the record

Land the western Apache bands claimed when their dealings with the United States began; the United States took it over without any treaty of purchase. Neither a cession nor a reservation. The area covers about 56 million acres in what is now New Mexico.

The 1899 record names Apache as the people of this land.

Today, Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, Fort Sill Apache Tribe, Jicarilla Apache Nation, New Mexico, Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, Mescalero Apache Tribe, San Carlos Apache Tribe and 3 more carry the history of the people named here.

Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.

See this cession on the map

Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.

Who is doing the work

This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:

Land return and Native-led work nearby

Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition Nation government Tribal co-management and protection of Bears Ears National Monument Give on their site Website
Taos Pueblo Nation government Blue Lake return, 48,000 acres, Dec 15, 1970 (Pub. L. 91-550) Website
Colorado Plateau Foundation Native-led Grants to Native-led organizations protecting Colorado Plateau lands, waters and cultures Give on their site Website
Lakota People's Law Project (program of Sacred Defense Fund) Native-led Legal advocacy Give on their site Website

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Connections

Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.

Nations named for this land 4

Apacheas named in the 1899 recordsuggested
San Carlos Apache Tribematched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Tonto Apache Tribe of Arizonamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation, Arizonamatched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested

Located in 1

New Mexico

Sources

Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1886-10-01primary record
Royce’s map sheet: Arizona 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
Royce’s map sheet: New Mexico 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work

The record’s fields

Area number in the 1899 record: 689
Dates in the 1899 record: 1886-10-01
Kind of instrument: Act of Congress
Peoples as named in the 1899 record: Apache (western bands)
States: NM
Counties: Bernalillo; Catron; Cibola; Dona Ana; Grant; Hidalgo; Luna; McKinley; Sandoval; Sierra; Socorro; Valencia
Map sheets in the 1899 record: Arizona 1; New Mexico 1
Geometry: Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps

Research notes

geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.

Kind: Land area
Confidence: Medium

Correct this record