The Jicarilla Apache people have lived in Northern New Mexico for the past 130 years. Their reservation is located in north-central New Mexico, just south of the State of Colorado, along the Navajo River. The majority of the 3,500 tribal members live in or near the town of Dulce, New Mexico.
The Jicarilla Apache people are part of the larger Athapaskan speaking group (linguistically in the Na-Dene family). It is believed that these people crossed the Bering Straits from Asia over 10,000 years ago. The Athapaskans spread throughout western Canada and United States in several small groups, adapting to the different environments and ecosystems as they encountered them.
One group, later to be known as the Jicarilla Apaches, settled in the Platte and Arkansas River valleys of Colorado (Denver and Pueblo). The exact length of time the Jicarilla Apaches were in the area is unknown, however, it is probable that they had been there since the 1200 to 1300's. In 1541, the Spanish Conquistadors of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado's expedition encountered the Jicarilla Apaches in this part of Colorado. The Spaniards documented that the peoples referred to as "Apache", by the Zuni Pueblos, had the highest quality corn, beans, and melon that Spanish had yet encountered in their travels. The Apaches were proficient in their farming techniques, having mastered the land and its seasons. The extent of their knowledge indicates that the Apache had been in this location for quite some time. The Spanish in their written history of the area spoke of the Apache settlements as "old" and long established in appearance, this indicates that the Apaches had been there a couple hundred years in order to have become acclimated to the area (i.e. 1200-1300's).
After this initial contact, the Apaches were largely unaffected by the Spanish presence as the Spanish did not remain as far north as the Apache settlements and ended up settling southern areas such as New Mexico. Following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 many Taos and Picuris Pueblo people sought refuge with the Jicarilla Apache, as they were severly affected by the Spanish, and in desparate need of sanctuary.
When the United States made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the Jicarilla Apaches themselves felt the presence of the European newcomers for the first time. Anglo Americans began settling in the Platte and Arkansas River Valleys, where the Jicarilla Apaches flourished.
This incursion of settlers into the then homeland of the Jicarilla Apache resulted in turbulent encounters with the settlers and the US Military. Fearing for their lives and families, the Jicarilla Apaches left the Platte and Arkansas valleys; they went south into New Mexico, separating into small bands who went in various directions. Some went to the eastern plains area of New Mexico (what is now Tucumcari, New Mexico), and others sought refuge with the Taos and Picuris Pueblos, who gave them sanctuary, the same way the Apaches had done for them years earlier. Others went to the Cimarron Valley, and a few went to seek refuge with the Utes, who had a reservation, located in Southern Colorado. As opposed to the Apaches, the Pueblos were protected by the previously established Spanish land grants, most of which the United States Government acknowledged. As a result the Pueblos were allowed to stay on their lands. The rest of the Native groups, including the Jicarilla Apache, had no recognized claim to the land they occupied. The Americans settlers were able to lay claim to whatever property they wanted.
They stayed in loose contact with each other and tried to meet up at least once a year to hold foot races, catch up on news and remember each other. Over the years they began calling the ones in the east, "Llanero";, which is Spanish for plains dweller. The ones in the northern areas were called "Ollero"; which is Spanish for mountain dweller. Invariably, the different groups began adapting as best they could to their different surroundings, causing new diversity between the Llaneros and the Olleros. Two different language dialects developed, customs varied, and the slowly began to differ culturally as well.
Tragically, the Native peoples could not own land under United States law. These people became refugees, constantly having to move from place to place. They were unwelcome wherever they went. Because so many Native people were displaced and were viewed as annoying white settlements the United States Government, established reservations for these people in other-than-prime or yet unclaimed locations across the West.
In 1805, a reservation was proposed for the Jicarilla Apaches. This proposal would have given the Jicarilla Apaches the land and water from the Chama River Valley to the Rio Grande. This proposed reservation was derailed by a representative from Colorado who opposed the idea, stating that it was not prudent to have the Utes and Apaches in close physical proximity to each other, lest they unite and attack the white settlers.
The US military began gathering the Jicarilla Apaches from eastern New Mexico, north-central New Mexico, and the Ute Reservation. There were several attempts made to relocate the Jicarilla Apaches to the Mescalero Apache Reservation, near Ruidoso, New Mexico. They were marched from eastern and northern New Mexico, on what the Apaches now call their own "Trail of Tears". However, many people would slip away from the soldiers and would return to their new homelands. They tried to resume their lives as best they could.
By the late 1880's, the Jicarilla Apaches’ population had dropped to only 330 people. Ollero leaders, Garfield Velarde, Augustine Vigil, and Huero Mundo, each of whom could speak Spanish and English as well as their native language, went to Washington D.C. to negotiate a reservation for the Jicarilla Apache with the United States Government. Because the original proposed reservation of 1805 was no longer available due to the settlement of Americans in the valleys formerly occupied by the Jicarilla Apache, they negotiated for access to the Navajo River and the lands south of it instead.
In 1887, by Executive Order, the original portion of the current Jicarilla Apache Reservation was established. The surviving tribal members moved to the new reservation. They began raising livestock, trading with the white settlers and traders, sending their children to boarding school, and trying to coexist with mainstream society. Changes were difficult and often painful, but the Jicarilla Apache persevered. They discovered that the separation of the two clans for over eighty years (three to four generations) had caused them to grow in different directions. Even the language had altered between the separate groups. Tribal customs, though still similar, had altered as well. These differences are still present today. Even though the initial establishment and reuniting of the different clans was difficult and presented many challenges, the Jicarilla Apaches did adapt and thrive once more.
The Jicarilla Apaches acquired their original tribal wealth in the 1930's from land claim settlements with the United States Government. During this same time, it was discovered that large quantities of oil and natural gas existed under their land. These revenue sources, in addition to timber and agriculture, have assisted the Jicarilla Apaches to become progressive and prosperous into the 21st century.
