Apaches Research Project

200 Apaches massacred, 100 more murdered, and 148 laying dead at Chihuahua Mexico, was something the Chiricahua Apache tribe, and many other tribes, lived through on a regular basis (Hoxie 1).  All of the previously mentioned, in addition to wars and being parted from their own land, were some of the consequences due to a country seeking to expand and conquer new territory, regardless of what or who they had to eliminate in order to accomplish this goal.  However, if Americans would have taken a more peaceful path in order to conquer the land of the Natives, if there would have been respect and honesty, and the many treaties made would have been honored, then these massacres would have been prevented and it would have been a dramatically different story.  Chiricahua Chief, Cochise, was one of the few people to realize that peace was the only way his people and the people around him could survive (Hoxie 1).  Honesty and respect was his method to come to an agreement. If more people had followed his example, what we know now as the “Indian Wars”, would probably be known as the “Indian Compromises”.  Events during that time were mostly responsible for all the chaos.  America was becoming more industrialized and new settlers were moving in to the “free” land.  The Apache were outnumbered and outgunned by these settlers.  Soon the Chiricahua found themselves on land that was not good, otherwise known as reservations.  The natives, including Chief Cochise, did not agree with this, and they let everyone know by rebelling and killing many new settlers. After a long struggle, the Chief gave his first step towards peace by giving the “We Will Remain at Peace with Your People Forever” speech on March 20, 1872 in Canada Alamosa, New Mexico. This grand speech was very well constituted. Antithesis and similes, among others, were the rhetorical devices Chief Cochise used to effectively and serenely, persuade the American government to let his people keep some of the land, originally owned by the Apaches. The outcome of Chief Cochise’s speech was excellent while he was alive. The Chief honored and respected his word and the compromise made with the Americans. As a result of his admirable achievement, there was peace between the Chiricahua Apaches and Americans until the Chief died in 1874 (Watts 48).

Many events in the life of Chief Cochise stimulated and influenced the content and purpose of his speech. Beginning at his birth in 1805 in southern Arizona, the Apache had beat the Spanish colonizers (as he mentions in the speech) making them a very strong tribe (Watts 46). Born to the Chiricahua Apache tribe, Cochise soon became the main leader of the tribe (“Cochise” 1). The now Chief Cochise was responsible and in charge of many of the consequences and decisions made in his tribe. Among these decisions was whether to keep peace or war with other people and/or tribes. Throughout his life, Cochise was the leader of many wars against new settlers pursuing to take his land. His idea to continue war was altered after witnessing the deaths of his people in these wars. Cochise was falsely accused of kidnapping a boy and was captured by an American colonel; however, Cochise soon escaped (“Cochise” 1). For Cochise to be falsely accused, in other words lied to, was not acceptable. As a result of his escape, two of his nephews and his brother were hanged, and it is also possible that his father died during these conflicts (Hoxie 1). As part of revenge for the loss of his loved ones, Cochise continued to attack Americans and was the aggressor for five years.

Reservations and conflict over the Chiricahua’s land was the major influence in Cochise’s speech. The Chief and his people were transferred from reservation to reservation, until it was finally too much. Currently the Chiricahuas were located in their home, Arizona, but this reservation was soon to be moved to New Mexico. At that time, Chief Cochise was located in Alamosa, but when he took notice of the fact that his people were being moved from their homeland, the Chief returned to Arizona to stop it (Hoxie 1). After 11 years of war with the Americans, Chief Cochise finally realized that something needed to change. In 1870 he recognized that he needed peace for his people to survive, and decided to confer with Americans. Accomplishing the goal of making Cochise compromise with them was not easy. Cochise only listened to his friend Thomas J. Jeffords and agreed to parley with General Howard. To let his people remain in their homeland was the only condition Cochise decided upon (Hoxie 1).

The time of the speech and the events that led to it, were definitely very dangerous and innovative for both Native Americans and new settlers. Throughout history there had been a continuous fight with who has the power and control of the land. Settlers had been fighting with Indians since 1631 in Massachusetts,