Mescalero

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Gorgonia, Mescalero Medicine Man

This article is about the Native American tribe; for other uses of the word see Mescalero (disambiguation).

Mescalero (or Mescalero Apache) is a Native American tribe of Southern Athabaskan heritage currently living on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in southcentral New Mexico. The Mescaleros opened their doors to other Apache bands, the Chiricahua who were imprisoned at Fort Still, Oklahoma and the Lipan Apaches . The Reorganization Act of 1936 consolidated the tribes onto this reservation, which had a 2000 census population of 3,156. The land is almost entirely in Otero County, but there is a tiny unpopulated section which spills over into Lincoln County just southwest of the neighboring city of Ruidoso. The reservation's land area is 1,862.463 km² (719.101 sq mi). Ranching and tourism are major sources of income.

U.S. Route 70 is the major highway through this reservation, which lies on the eastern flank of the Sacramento Mountains (see photo below) and borders the Lincoln National Forest. The mountains and foothills are forested with pines, and commercial development is restricted. However, the reservation itself has invested, for example, in a ski resort, now called Ski Apache, on a 12,000 foot mountain, Sierra Blanca, and a hotel in its shadow, the Inn of the Mountain Gods. An artificial lake is on the grounds. Sierra Blanca itself is sacred ground for the Apache.

Mescalero tipis

A cultural center near the tribal headquarters on U.S. Route 70 in the reservation's largest community of Mescalero contains some historical information. Another museum on the western flank of the Sacramento Mountains, in Dog Canyon, south of Alamogordo, New Mexico also contains more information. The Mescalero Apache Tribe was headed by Wendell Chino, President of The Mescalero Apache People for over 40 years. Currently, his son, Mark Chino is the President of the tribe. The Tribe hold elections for office every four years. The Mescalero language is an Southern Athabaskan language which is a subfamily of the Athabaskan and Na-Dené families. Mescalero lies on the southwestern branch of this subfamily and is very closely related to Chiricahua and more distantly related to Navajo and Western Apache.

Mescalero painted boy, this image is often misclassified as Mescalero because it was taken during the time of "Long Walk" in which the Navajo were marched over 350 mile in the winter of 1864 and incarcerated at Bosque Redondo, New Mexico with the Mescalero Apache. Most of the elderly, young children and pregnant women did not survive this march.