White Mountain Apache Lands

Fort Apache, a National Historic Landmark, is located at the confluence of the north and east forks of the White River. To stand on its grounds is to go back in time — more than 100 years. It once was the camp for the Army, who constructed 13 of the 27 existing buildings between 1871 and 1892. It is surrounded by incredible scenery which helped lead the military back then to choose this location. After the military’s departure, the area was under the management of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Two of the buildings, the Club House and the Teacher’s Quarters, were built around 1930. In 1923, Theodore Roosevelt School, an Indian boarding school, was established for Navajo and Apache students. Today it is administered by the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

After winning the battle to retain the ownership of the property, the White Mountain Apache Tribe, through the Fort Apache Heritage Foundation, has applied preservation treatments to almost every historic building on the grounds. Many of the buildings, including the “Commanding Officer’s Quarters (General Crook’s Cabin), have been completely restored. 

The Post Office, (the Adjutant’s Office Building) built in 1876, is the third oldest building and was used as the military post office. Today, it is still used as a U.S. Post Office.

When I visited the museum I purchased a book titled “Don’t Let the Sun Step Over You; A White Mountain Apache Family Life, 1860-1975” by Eva Tulene Watt (with assistance from Keith H. Basso). Eva Watt chronicles her life growing up as a White Mountain Apache. The book includes dozens of narratives that she states are for the younger generations that will come along. “See, they’re not gonna know how we used to live. They’re not gonna know all the places we went to, or how we got food, or all the things we done….it’s good for them to know.”

She tells stories about her Grandmother, Rose Lupe (her Father’s Mother) who was kidnapped by an outlaw while she was cutting grass away from camp (which they surmised was either a Western Apache dubbed the “Apache Kid” or Geronimo). The abductor only wanted her to cut up his meat from his hunt and then let her go.

The name-sake of the book “Don’t Let The Sun Step Over You” was what strict Apache parents would say to their children to make them wake up early. “They wanted us to be strong,” Watt says. “They made us go swimming early in the morning, even in wintertime. They throwed a big rock to break the ice. ‘Jump in! Jump in!… and when we came back if we got cold from the water, they won’t let us sit next to the fire,” She says. “‘Get warm outside,’ they said. “Go run! Go play! Run! That way you’re gonna warm up fast. Not sitting here near the fire.” Watt says that nowadays people don’t treat their children like they treated them back then. “They just let them stay in bed, sleep a lot, do whatever they want.” They used to make young girls grind corn and get wood early in the morning, plucking wood off of the trees instead of the ground to make them strong.

Watt learned a lot of her stories from her Mother. “That’s what my Mother used to do with us, you know, tell lots of stories,” says Watts. “I was with my mother a lot of the time — San Carlos, Miami, Apache Trail, Mormon Flat, Chediskai, Cibecue, all those places — and that’s when she told me stories about all the things that happened long years ago.” It’s what Watt is handing down to future generations the things her mother told her and her own life stories. “You children will learn a lot if you listen good to stories,” Her mother would say. “She knew what she was talking about,” says Watt “So we always listened good” She told us, “If you don’t listen, you won’t learn.”

You can purchase the book at the Museum gift shop. I highly recommend it.

The Fort Apache Historic Park, including Kinishba Ruins, is open daily from 7:00 am to sunset. The museum, Nohwike’ Bágowa (House of Our Footprints) is open Monday-Saturday 8 am to 5 pm during the summer, and Monday-Friday 8 am to 5pm during the winter. Call ahead at  (928) 338-1392 for hours. Admission to the museum and park is $5.00 per adult, and $3.00 for seniors (64+) and students. Children under 7 are admitted free. Admission to the Park after-hours and on holidays is $5.00 per vehicle per day. Apache tour guides are available with advance reservations and special accommodations and activities can be arranged for tour groups. It is located in the southern part of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, about 4 miles south of Whiteriver just east on Arizona State Route 73. Address: 127 Scout St, Fort Apache, AZ 85926

Arrowhead Cafe

the Arrowhead Cafe. This isn’t your ordinary cafe. It is run by young entrepreneurs and staff. It was conceived and started by the Arrowhead Business Group Youth Entrepreneurship Program for youth to create a business incubator. They have year-long programs and recruit high school students, ages 13 - 18 years of age, to learn entrepreneurship skills and to create new businesses. Students start out in a week-long camp and then do follow-up sessions throughout the year, form business groups and then are taught how to create a business. Last year they had over 150 students that participated.

Across the hall from the cafe, is the Arrowhead Marketplace. Here you’ll find the items that these young entrepreneurs have imagined, designed, created and then put on display for purchase. You will find products such as framed photos, t-shirts and even fabric for camp dresses among their offerings.

Arrowhead Cafe Hours:

Monday and Thursday: 7:30 am - 4:30 pm

Tues., Wed., and Fri: 7:30 am - 3:30 pm

Saturday and Sunday: CLOSED

Kinishba Ruins

Located approximately four miles west of Fort Apache , the Kinishba Ruins National Historic Landmark is a satellite resource of the Fort Apache Historic Park . Occupied by Zuni and Hopi ancestors until about 1400AD, the village was excavated and partly reconstructed in the 1930s by archaeologist Byron Cummings. In 1993 the site was placed on Congress’s “Priority 1” list of threatened National Historic Landmarks. Stabilization work supported by grants from the Arizona Heritage Fund (administered by Arizona State Parks) and the “Save America’s Treasures” program (administered by the National Park Service) has allowed the Tribe to preserve this important site. Visitors to Kinishba Ruins must check in at the museum at Fort Apache , where interpretive guides are available. Admission to the museum and historic 

Housed in the oldest structure at Fort Apache , an 1871 log cabin traditionally known as General Crook’s Cabin, The Fort Apache Legacy provides visitors with an overview of the history of the fort and its impact on the Apache people. Photomurals, maps, and historic photographs bring the past to life. A mid-1870s period room offers a glimpse into the world of Army officers and their families at what was to them a remote outpost.park includes access to the ruins.