Apache is the collective name for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan (Apachean) language, and are related linguistically to the Athabaskan speakers of Alaska and western Canada. The modern term Apache 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, northwestern 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 Spaniards and Mexicans for centuries. The first Apache raids on Sonora appear to have taken place during the late 17th century. The U.S. Army, in their various confrontations, found them to be fierce warriors and skillful strategists.---------------------------------- The present-day Apache groups include the Jicarilla and Mescalero of New Mexico, the Chiricahua of the Arizona-New Mexico border area, the Western Apache of Arizona, the Lipan Apache of southwestern Texas, and the Plains Apache of Oklahoma. There undoubtedly existed other Apache groups which are not as well-known by modern anthropologists and historians. ------------------------------------ Western Apaches are the only Apache group that remains within Arizona. The group is divided into a number of reservations that crosscut cultural divisions. The Western Apache reservations include the Fort Apache White Mountain, San Carlos, Yavapai-Apache, Tonto-Apache, and Fort McDowell Mohave-Apache reservations. There are also Apaches on the Yavapai-Prescott reservation and off-reservation in Arizona and throughout the United States. The White Mountain Apache Tribe is located in the east central region of Arizona, 194 miles northeast of Phoenix. The Tonto Apache Reservation was created in 1972 near Payson in eastern Arizona. Within the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix it consists of 85 acres (344,000 m²) and serves about 100 tribal members. The tribe operates a casino. The Yavapai-Apache Nation Reservation southwest of Flagstaff, Arizona is shared with the Yavapai. There is a visitor center in Camp Verde, Arizona and at the end of February an Exodus Days celebration with a historic re-enactment and a pow-wow. The Chiricahua were divided into two groups after they were released from being prisoners of war. The majority moved to the Mescalero Reservation and are now subsumed under the larger Mescalero political group along with the Lipan. The other Chiricahuas remained in Oklahoma and eventually formed the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma. The Mescalero are located on the Mescalero Reservation in southeastern New Mexico, near historic Fort Stanton. The Jicarilla are located on the Jicarilla Reservation in Rio Arriba and Sandoval counties in northwestern New Mexico. The Lipan, now few in number, are located primarily on the Mescalero Reservation. Other Lipans live in Texas. ------------------------- Plains Apaches are located in Oklahoma concentrated around Anadarko.