About San Carlos

San Carlos History

The people group now known as the Apaches, migrated to the Southwest by the 11th century. Their traditional homelands once included what are now Arizona and New Mexico, Texas, and large areas south of what is now the Mexican border. They did not live in tribes, but in regional and local groups. They called themselves “Ndee,” which means “the people.”

Apaches were traditionally a nomadic people who lived off the land by hunting and gathering. By the mid-1700s, the influx of Spanish settlers moving northward produced frequent clashes with Apache groups. By 1835, the Mexican government offered bounties for Apache scalps, while raiding of settlers and settlements became a regular part of Apache life. With the end of the Mexican-American War, American prospectors, ranchers and farmers poured into the area and conflicts escalated.

The Apache resistance, led by leaders and warriors such as Cochise, Mangus Colorado, and Victorio, fought a defensive and ferocious effort to protect their lands and people. By 1850, the violence had reached such a level that the U.S. Army became involved. Slowly, the different Apache bands were subjugated and forced onto reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. The San Carlos Reservation was arguably the worst of these, “purposely chosen for its remoteness, which was described at the time as ‘a desolate sand-waste, a sweltering disease-ridden inferno.’” It was an incredibly unhealthy environment for anyone, but especially for a people who, for the most part, had previously lived in mountainous regions.

Established by executive order on November 9, 1871, the San Carlos Reservation became a dumping ground for the “most difficult” Apaches – i.e. the groups that held out longest and most bitterly against the US government. Known as “Hell’s Forty Acres” because of its appalling conditions, it housed Chiricahua Apaches as well as Yavapai and Apache bands forcibly removed from their original homelands. Traditional enemies were forced to live together and compete for the limited resources that the US government made available to them. Many in the US Army and government hoped that the Apaches on San Carlos would just die there.

The residents of the San Carlos Reservation were often victims of politics and corruption, sometimes by people who did not understand their culture and other times by people greedy for gain. The Apaches had been promised rations, federal money, and other forms of assistance, but these things rarely reached them. Starvation and disease were constant threats. The original agent for the reservation, John Clum, introduced many positive policies that improved the lives of those living on the Reservation and gradually won the trust of many. However, he was frustrated by constant interference from the Army and various political interests and eventually resigned his position. The agents who succeeded him allowed graft and other improprieties to flourish, which resulted in the Army being given exclusive control over the reservation in 1884. The Army would retain this role until the military post was closed in 1901.

In 1874, the US government instituted a “concentration policy” which proved to be misguided and tragic. Under this policy, all western Apache groups were required to relocate to San Carlos. Many of these relocations took place under the most harsh conditions and over difficult terrain, resulting in the loss of many lives. By 1877, over 5000 Apaches and Yavapais resided on the Reservation. Placing so many different groups in one place led to increased rivalries and hostilities between groups. The Chiricahuas were particularly unhappy at having been forced from the reservation that had originally been established for them in their homelands and relocated to San Carlos. This unhappiness led to several breakouts, under leaders including Nana and Geronimo, over the next decade. By the time Geronimo finally surrendered in 1886, these breakouts had resulted in the loss of hundreds of civilian lives, the seizure or destruction of millions of dollars in property, and the deployment of 5,000 soldiers to the Southwest.

After the end of the Apache Wars, life on the San Carlos Reservation continued to be a struggle as the Apaches and Yavapais tried to adapt to a radically new way of life. During the next 15 years, some of the groups that had been forced to relocate to San Carlos were allowed to leave and return to reservations in their former homelands. In 1897, the Fort Apache Reservation was separated from the San Carlos Apache Reservation as reservation for the White Mountain Apache Tribe. All remaining Army troops and supplies were withdrawn from San Carlos in 1901 and the agency buildings were turned over to the Department of the Interior.

During the early part of the 20th century, the Apaches remaining on San Carlos, known collectively as the San Carlos Apaches, continued to farm and develop the area around the agency. However, their difficulties were far from over. 22,000 acres of reservation land, including most of the fertile farmlands, were annexed by the US government in 1924 for construction of the Coolidge Dam and reservoir. The dam project was designed to provide water for irrigation and to generate power for communities on and off the reservation. After its completion in 1928, the reservoir began to encroach on the old San Carlos Agency, the former military camp, and nearly 200 Apache homes and farms. Consequently, in 1929, the Agency, including many of its buildings, was moved about 12 miles north up the San Carlos River, keeping the same name.

Native Americans were finally granted full U.S. citizenship in 1924. After the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the various Apache groups formed a government and became federally recognized as the San Carlos Nation. In 1948, the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a provision of its state constitution and the Apaches were finally allowed to vote.