  Case No. 13: At one time it was not difficult to identify Apache Basketry by tribal name, such as: San Carlos, Chiricahua, Tonto, and Yavapai. Today it is not possible to identify baskets as belonging to a particular Apache tribe. During the nineteenth century these southwest tribes waged continual warfare with the Anglos and Spaniards who had settled in the area. Attempts were made by the United States government to establish treaties. However, newly written treaties were broken before the ink dried! About 1880, the army rounded up all the Apaches of Arizona and New Mexico and took them as prisoners to the San Carlos Reservation. There they remained confined for several years. During this period of confinement the basket weavers copied designs and weaving techniques from one another. When the tribes were released and allowed to return to their respective reservations the “new” styles of basketry were continued. As a result of this situation, today we find baskets woven by these tribes to be so similar in appearance that definite tribal affiliation cannot be determined. They are therefore classified only as Western Apache baskets. (See |
|
