| dc.description.abstract | The surrender of Natchez and Geronimo in 1886 ended the Indian wars in Arizona, but it did not solve the Apache problem. To prevent further outbreaks and to make available tribal lands for white exploitation, the Chiricahuas numbering 400 men, women and children were sent out of the Southwest. Most of the tribe was sent to Fort Marion, Florida while Geronimo, Natchez and their followers were kept at Fort Pickens, Florida. To move them out of Arizona peacefully General Miles, had promised them a large reservation. But President Cleveland refused to fulfill Miles' promise since he had not given permission to grant such terms. The Chiricahuas now began a twenty-seven year incarceration as prisoners of war. During this time various philanthropic groups and interested individuals attempted to provide for the welfare of the captives. The Indian Rights Association, the Boston Indian Citizenship Committee, the Women's National Indian Association, and various sympathetic army officers pressured the government to move them to a place where they could be self-sufficient and gradually assimilate themselves in American society mainly as farmers. In 1887 the philanthropists were able to bring about removal to Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama, a place considered best for the Indians. But the pine country of Alabama proved unsuitable as an agricultural area and the Eastern "do-gooders" badgered the War Department again to move the Chiricahuas to a more desirable area. Finally in 1894 President Cleveland ordered the tribe to Fort Sill, Indian Territory where they remained until 1913. They were then asked if they wished to return to the Southwest or stay in Oklahoma. Some chose to remain on farms they were cultivating while others decided to begin life again in the Southwest. | |
