The name "Lipan" is a Spanish adaption of their self-designation as Łipa-į́ Ndé or Lépai-Ndé ("Light Gray People"), reflecting their migratory story.[9] The earliest known written record of the Lipan Apache identified this tribe as Ypandes.[10] Linguistic research has led scholars to determine that the word Lipan stems from the Lipan words lépai, which means 'the color gray', and ndé, which means 'the people', which would make Lipan mean 'The Light Gray People'.[11] The name Apache may of
Zuñi origin, originating with the word apachu, which means 'enemy', or perhaps from the
Ute, who referred to this group as Awa'tehe. Contemporary Apaches referred to themselves as 'the people', which in their language was Inde or Diné.[12]
The terms Eastern Apache and Texas Apache can also include them as well as the
Chiricahua and Mescalero.[13]I Fought a Good Fight: A History of the Lipan Apaches notes that Spanish explorers recorded their encounters with "Apaches living along the Canadian [river] - the Chipaines, Conejeros, Rio Colorados, and Anchos - were Lipan ancestors."[14]
Lipan Apache is a
Southern Athabaskan language, considered to be closely related to the
Jicarilla Apache language.[15] Today, there are no fluent speakers.[16] In 1981, two elders on the Mescalero Apache Reservation were fluent Lipan speakers.[2] There are current efforts and funding to revitalize the language.[17]
History
Confederated eastern Apache bands had a homeland that spanned from the Southern Great Plains to the Gulf of Mexico, with significant presence in what is now Texas.[18] While little archeological history was left behind by the Lipan Apache, the
pictographs at
Hueco Tanks which were made between 1500 AD and 1879 AD are attributed to Mescalero Apache.[19]
16th and 17th centuries
Ancestors of the Lipan Apache living along the Canadian River made the first known European contact during the Expedition of
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, who traveled there in 1541, and were still in the region when
Diego de Vargas arrived in 1694.[14] Historians believe the
Teya Indians of the
Texas Panhandle likely merged into the Lipan.[20]
Lipan Apache obtained horses from the Spanish by 1608[21] and adopted a nomadic lifestyle. They were excellent horsemen and freely raided settlements.[22] Throughout the 17th century, Spaniards raided Apache communities for
slaves.[23] The Acho, a branch of Lipan, fought with
Taos Pueblo and
Picuris Pueblo people against the Spanish in the 1680
Pueblo Revolt.[24]
In 1684, Spanish colonists completed the
Mission San Francisco de los Julimes near
Presidio, Texas, to serve
Jumano,
Julime, and neighboring tribes. These tribes taught the
peyote ceremony to the Tonkawa and Lipan, who in turn, shared it with the Comanches, Mescalero Apaches, and Plains Apaches.[24] In the 1860s, Spanish chroniclers wrote that some Lipan Apache lived near the Gulf Coast and adopted lifeways of the neighboring
Karankawa.[24]
18th century
By 1700, Lipan had settled across southern Texas and into
Coahuila,
Mexico. They still lived in agricultural settlements, where they farmed indigenous crops such as pumpkins, corn, and beans, as well as watermelons,[23] introduced from Africa. French explorer
Bénard de La Harpe encountered the Lipan Apache near present-day
Latimer County, Oklahoma, in 1719.[8]
The Lipan were first mentioned in Spanish records in 1718 when they raided Spanish settlements in
San Antonio. They frequently raided Spanish supply trains traveling from Coahuila to the newly established San Antonio.[25]
In 1749, two Lipan Apache chiefs joined other Apache leaders in signing one of the earliest recorded peace treaties with Spain in San Antonio.[26] Some Lipan Apache people settled northwest of San Antonio during the mid-18th century.[26]
Spanish colonists built forts and
missions near Lipan settlements.[27] A mission on the
San Sabá River was completed in 1757 but destroyed by the Comanche and the Wichita.[15] That same year, the Lipan Apache fought the
Hasinais,[28] a band of
Caddo people. The Lipan participated in a Spanish expedition against the
Wichita and
Comanche in 1759 but were defeated in the
Battle of the Twin Villages.[29] Missions established for the Lipan at Candelaria and San Lorenzo were destroyed by the Comanche in 1767.[7]
By 1767, all Lipan had completely deserted the Spanish missions. In the same year,
Marquis of Rubí started a policy of Lipan extermination after a 1764
smallpox epidemic had decimated the tribe.[30]
19th century
In the early 19th century, Lipan Apache primarily lived in south and west Texas, south of the
Colorado River to the
Gulf of Mexico and east to the
Rio Grande.[8] They were allied to the Tonkawa beginning in this century.[31] To resist their enemies the Comanche and the Mexicans, the Lipan Apache allied with the
Republic of Texas in the 1830s. They served as
scouts to the
Texas Militia during the
Texas Revolution of 1835–36.[32]
The State of Texas owned massive war debts and used land sales to raise funds following statehood, leaving almost no land to American Indians. Texas established the Brazos Reservation in 1854, where around 2,000 members of the Caddo, Anadarko, Waco, and Tonkawa tribes, but then the tribes to relocate to
Indian Territory by 1859.[33]
In 1855, some Lipan Apache joined the Brazos Reservation; however, most did not. Some joined the Plains Apache in Oklahoma; others joined the Mescalero in New Mexico, and others fled to Mexico.[8]
In 1869, Mexican troops from Monterrey were brought to
Zaragosa to eliminate the Lipan Apache, who were blamed for inciting conflict.[34] Chief Magoosh (Lipan, ca. 1830–1900) led his band from Texas and joined the
Mescalero Apache on the
Mescalero Reservation in 1870.[34] Troops attacked many Lipan camps; survivors fled to the Mescaleros in New Mexico.[35] From 1875 to 1876,
United States Army troops undertook joint military campaigns with the Mexican Army to eliminate the Lipan from the state of Coahuila in northern Mexico.[36] In 1879, a group of 17 Lipan settled near
Fort Griffin, Texas, but in 1884 they were forcibly removed to
Indian Territory, where they joined the Tonkawa.[8]
In 1891, the Lipans negotiated with President of Mexico
Porfirio Diaz to preserve the Lipan’s tribal land in Zaragosa. This agreement lasted about 12 years until they were displaced from Zaragosa after resisting joining the Mexican Army.[37]
20th century
In October 1903, 19 Lipan Apaches who fled Texas into Coahuila were taken to northwest Chihuahua and kept as
prisoners of war until 1905. They were released to the Mescalero Reservation.[7][5]
Bands
The Lipan Apache emerged from an amalgamation of several Eastern Apache bands united within a large confederacy and who shared a cultural and historic bond. As a confederacy, they united to defend against the Comanche and their allies. By about 1720, the Comanche drove the Lipan Apache from the southern Great Plains.[38] By the early 18th century, the Lipan were divided into regional groupings/divisions comprising several bands - the Forest Lipan division (Lower Lipan bands), the Plains Lipan division (Upper Lipan bands), and bands who lived primarily in northern Mexico (Mexican Lipan bands).[39]
Lower Lipan bands; Forest Lipan division
Red Hair People (Tséral tuétahäⁿ): absorbed later into the Sun Otter band or the Green Mountain band, lived south of the
Nueces River in Texas, no longer existed in 1884.[40]
Green Mountain band (Tsél tátlidshäⁿ): absorbed later by the High-Beaked Moccasin band, lived in the lower Texas Gulf Plains along the lower Colorado, Guadalupe and Nueces Rivers.[41]
High-Beaked Moccasin band (Kóke metcheskó lähäⁿ): lived south of San Antonio as far as northern Mexico.[42]
Tall Grass band (Cuelcahende): lived from southwestern Kansas to northeastern Durango.[43]
Heads of Wolves People (Tsés tsembai): lived above the Colorado River, possibly in the Lubbock area. May represent an early Lipan presence in north Texas before the Commanche moved in.[44]
Upper Lipan / Plains Lipan division
Fire or Camp Circle band (Ndáwe ɣóhäⁿ): lived west to southwest of
Fort Griffin, from the
San Saba River to the Rio Grande River.[41]
Pulverizing or Rubbing band (Tchóⁿ kanäⁿ): absorbed later by the Little Breech-clout band, lived west of Fort Griffin, Texas, to the western side of the Rio Grande, believed extinct by 1884.[41]
Little Breech-clout band (Tchaⁿshka ózhäyeⁿ): lived along the lower Pecos River in Texas.[45]
Uplander band (Täzhä'ⁿ): lived along the upper Rio Grande in southern New Mexico but would migrate to the upper Nueces River in Texas to hunt buffalo.[45]
Prairie Men (Kó'l kukä'ⁿ): known as the Llaneros by the late 18th century, lived west of Ft. Griffin along the upper Colorado and Concho Rivers and ranged to west of the Pecos River.[45]
Wild Goose Band (Teł kóndahäⁿ): possibly absorbed by the Prairie Man band in the late 18th century, lived along the upper Colorado River west of Fort Griffin in Texas, were renowned and fierce warriors.[45]
North Band (Shä-äⁿ): lived in the mid-19th century in northwestern Texas in territory inhabited by the Kiowa Apache.[46]
Mexican Lipan bands
Big Water band (Kú’ne tsá): in the mid-18th century, this band broke from their kin in San Antonio and moved into northern Coahuila near Zaragos, lived along the Escondido and San Rodrigo Rivers and in the Santa Rosa and Sierra El Burro Mountains of Mexico.[46]
Painted Wood People (Tsésh ke shénde or Tséc kecénde): lived in Lavón, Coahuila, Mexico, between Zaragosa and Morelos, believed extinct by 1884.[44]
The Spanish associated these groupings with the Lipan:
Lipiyánes: a coalition of Lipans, Nastagés, and other Lipans who lived along the Pecos, joined together by 1780 under the leadership of Picax-Ande-Ins-Tinsle (Strong Arm), to battle the Comanche’s southern expansion.[47]
Natagés (Mescal People): culturally affiliated with the Mescalero Apache, lived along the Pecos River and were strong allies of the Lipan Apaches.[48]
Pelones (Bald/Hairless Ones): name given to the Forest Lipan division by the Spaniards probably in reference to Lipan custom of plucking facial hair, lived in the upper Brazos area along the
Red River of north-central Texas.[49]
Population
Ethnographer
James Mooney estimated that there were 500 Lipan Apache in 1690.[7] Missionary priest Friar Diego Ximenez estimated the Lipan population to total 5,000 in 1762, 3,000 in 1763, and 4,000 in 1764.[50][51] In 1778, Spanish military commanders meeting in Monclova, Coahuila, estimated the population of Lipan men to be 5,000.[51] By 1820, Mexican government official Juan Padilla estimated that there were 700 Lipans in Texas.[52] Opler and Ray estimated that the Lipan population between 1845-1855 ranged from 500 to 1000.[52] The 1910 U.S. census lists 28 Lipan Apache people.[7]
21st century
Lipan Apache descendants are enrolled with the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico,[5] Tonkawa Tribe in Oklahoma,[7][8] and the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.[7][8]
Multiple
unrecognized tribes in Texas identify as being descendants of Lipan Apache. These include:
In 2019, State of Texas 86th Legislature, adopted concurrent resolutions, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 61 (SCR 61) and House Concurrent Resolution No. 171 (HCR 171),[57] that affirmed the Texas Legislature's views that the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas was "the present-day incarnation of a proud people who have lived in Texas and northern Mexico for more than 300 years" and commended the people of this Tribe for their contributions to the state.[58] Each concurrent resolutions was signed by the Senate, House, and the Governor. Likewise, the
Lipan Apache Band of Texas has been honored by the Texas state legislator in a congratulary resolution.[59]
Texas currently has no state-recognized tribes;[61] however, Texas senate bills for formal state recognition of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas were introduced in 2021[62] and in 2022.[63] Both bills died in committee.[62][63]
Notable Lipan Apache chiefs
Below are historical chiefs with estimated times of when they were active.
Bigotes (
lit.'Mustached One') (middle of the 18th century): In 1751, he left Texas and crossed the Rio Grande into
Coahuila. About this date, they lived along the
Rio Escondido and
Rio San Rodrigo in Coahuila.[64][65][66]
Poca Ropa (
lit.'few or scant clothes') (
c. 1750 –
c. 1790) was Chief of the Little Breech-clout band along the lower
Pecos River[67]
Cavezon/el Gran Cavezon (
lit.'The Big Head'):
c. 1760 –
c. 1790) was Chief of the Fire/Camp Circla band, lived along the
San Saba River towards the upper
Nueces River.[68][69][65]
Yolcha/Yolcna Pocarropa (
c. 1822 –
c. 1828) was Chief of several bands of the Littel Breech-clout band in western Texas, grandson of Poca Ropa. He was allied with Cuelgas de Castro. He moved his band from the lower
Pecos River area in West Texas to the Laredo and lower Rio Grande region in late 1820s.[67][70]
Cuelgas de Castro (
c. 1821 –
c. 1842) was Chief of the Sun Otter band in the territory of San Antonio across the Rio Grande in Tamaulipas and played a large role in interactions between the Republic of Texas and the Lipan Apache. He was an ally of chiefs Flacco and Yolcha Pocarropa.[65][71][70]
Flacco (
c. 1821 –
c. 1843) was Chief of the High-Beaked Moccasin band east of San Antonio who had a history of aiding Texas Militian units. He was a friend of President of the Republic of Texas
Sam Houston.[68][72]
Magoosh (Ma’uish):
c. 1850 – 1900) was Chief of the of Sun Otter band in southeastern Texas. Because of a severe epidemic, one part of this band went to
Zaragosa in Coahuila, while the other part of Magoosh's band took refuge by the
Mescalero and accompanied them in 1870 onto the
Mescalero Reservation.[65][73]
^Lovett, Bobbie L.; González, Juan L.; Bacha-Garza, Roseann; Skowronek, Russell K. (2014).
Native American Peoples of South Texas(PDF). The University of Texas – Pan American. pp. 45–46.
^Carlisle, Jeffrey D. (1952).
"Apache Indians". Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas.
^
abMescalero Apache Research Report (2020), p. 28
^Mescalero Apache Research Report (2020), pp. 16, 22
^Juliana Barr, Peace Came in the Form of a Woman: Indians and Spaniards in the Texas Borderlands (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007) p. 47
^John, Elizabeth A. H. (1996). Storms Brewed in Other Men's Worlds. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 350–352.
ISBN0806128690.
^Ewers, John C. "The Influence of Epidemics on the Indian Populations and Cultures of Texas." Plains Anthropologist, vol. 18, no. 60, 1973, pp. 104–15. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25667140. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
^Crouch, Carrie J. (22 October 2020).
"Brazos Indian Reservation". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^
abMinor, Nancy McGown (2009b). Turning Adversity to Advantage: A History of the Lipan Apaches of Texas and Northern Mexico, 1700-1900. University Press of America. p. 156.
ISBN978-0-7618-4858-5.
^Minor, Nancy McGown (2009a). The Light Gray People: An Ethno-History of the Lipan Apaches of Texas and Northern Mexico. University Press of America (published October 2009). pp. 93–97.
ISBN978-0-7618-4858-5.
^Rodriguez, Oscar; Seymour, Deni J. (2016). "Embracing a Mobile Heritage: Federal Recognition and Lipan Apache Enclavement". Fierce and Indomitable: The Protohistoric Non-Pueblo World in the American Southwest. The University of Utah Press. p. 87.
ISBN9781607815211.
Carlisle, JD. Dissertation. "Spanish Relations with the Apache Nations East of the Rio Grande". The University of North Texas, May 2001
Dunn, William E. "Missionary activities among the eastern Apaches previous to the founding of the San Sabá missions." Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, 15.
Dunn, William E. "The Apache mission on the San Sabá River, its founding and its failure." Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, 16.
Opler, Morris E. (1936). "The kinship systems of the southern Athabaskan-speaking tribes." American Anthropologist, 38, 620-633.
Opler, Morris E. (1938). "The use of peyote by the Carrizo and the Lipan Apache." American Anthropologist, 40 (2).
Opler, Morris E. (1940). Myths and legends of the Lipan Apache. Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society (Vol. 36). New York: American Folk-Lore Society, J. J. Augustin Publisher.
Opler, Morris E. (1945). "The Lipan Apache Death Complex and Its Extensions." Southwestern Journal of Anthropology.1: 122-141.
Opler, Morris E. (1959). "Component, assemblage, and theme in cultural integration and differentiation." American Anthropologist, 61 (6), 955-964.
Opler, Morris E. (1968). "Remuneration to supernaturals and man in Apachean ceremonialism." Ethnology, 7 (4), 356-393.
Opler, Morris E. (1975). "Problems in Apachean cultural history, with special reference to the Lipan Apache." Anthropological Quarterly, 48 (3), 182-192.
Opler, Morris E. (2001). Lipan Apache. In Handbook of North American Indians: The Plains (pp. 941–952). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
† extinct language / ≠ extinct tribe / >< early,
obsolete name of Indigenous tribe / ° people absorbed into other tribe(s) / * headquartered in Oklahoma today