Mezcalero Apaches
The Mezcaleros were a sub-group or band of the Apache Indians. The band was the informal political unit, consisting of followers and a headman. They had no formal leader such as a tribal chief, or council, nor a decision making process. The core of the band was a "relative group," predominantly--but not necessarily--kinsmen. Named by the Spanish for the mescal or mezcal cactus the Apaches used for food, drink, and fiber.

The basic shelter of the Mezcaleros was the domeshaped wickiup made of brush. Similar the Navajo, they also regarded coyotes, insects, and birds as having been human beings; the human race, then, but following in the tracks of those who have gone before.

The Mescalero reservation, established in 1873, is located on 460,000 acres east of Tularosa on U.S. Highway 70. Operating the Sierra Blanca Ski Resort, is one way of utilizing their natural resources. Camping, hunting, fishing, and other outdoor sports facilities are also available at the Apache Summit Lodge. Timber provides the tribe's principal income.

Apaches of today are farmers, loggers, ranchers, machine operators, ministers, nurses, artists, clerks, carpenters, accountants, firefighters, and policemen. They were the first trained and organized firefighting unit to work with the U.S. Forest Service to help put out fires in the southwest and beyond.

One author's characterization of the Mescalero Apache people of the past is as follows:

They moved freely, wintering on the Rio Grande or farther south, ranging the buffalo plains in the summer, always following the sun and the food supply. They owned nothing and everything. They did as they pleased and bowed to no man. Their women were chaste. Their leaders kept their promises. They were mighty warriors who depended on success in raiding for wealth and honor. To their families they were kind and gentle, but they could be unbelievably cruel to their enemies--fierce and revengeful when they felt that they had been betrayed. (Sonnichsen 1958:4)