Geronimo Spoke Spanish

The Apache chief Geronimo, driving a car in 1904. El líder apache Gerónimo conduce en 1904

It is quite easy to find a Spaniard or a Mexican who, if you ask him who Geronimo is, he does not succeed in answering something. This, regardless of his cultural level or his higher education. At the very least, all he can say is that Geronimo is an Indian who appears in Western movies. Or something like that. But it will be very difficult to run into someone in one or another country who knows that Geronimo spoke Spanish and who knows about the true history of this Apache and the Bendokes, his tribe; of Cochise and the chiricaguas, of Mangas Coloradas, Victorio, Pósito Moragas, Irigoyen, Ponce ... All of them Indian chiefs in the Apache wars against the United States, one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of this country in its conquest of the West. Although in reality the Apache insurrection had begun before, after the independence of Mexico. It seems that during the viceroyal period there were no notable conflicts and that the Apaches lived reasonably integrated within the empire.

Es bastante fácil encontrar a un español o un mexicano que, si le preguntas quién es Gerónimo, no acierte a contestar algo. Esto con independencia de su nivel cultural o de que tenga estudios superiores. Como mínimo sabrá decir que es un indio que sale en las películas de vaqueros. O algo así. Pero va a ser muy difícil tropezar con alguien en uno u otro país que sepa que Gerónimo hablaba español y que conozca siquiera aproximadamente la verdadera historia de este apache y los bendokes, su tribu; de Cochise y los chiricaguas, de Mangas Coloradas, Victorio, Pósito Moragas, Irigoyen, Ponce… Todos ellos jefes indios enlas guerras apaches contra Estados Unidos, uno de los conflictos más sangrientos en la historia de este país en su conquista del Oeste. Aunque en realidad la insurrección apache había comenzado antes, tras la independencia de México. Parece que en la época virreinal no hay conflictos destacables y que los apaches vivían razonablemente integrados dentro del imperio.

Full Article from Maria Elvira Roca Barea, EL PAIS  (Spanish) here.

Brand on Madley, 'An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873'

Benjamin Madley’s book An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846-1873 is a recent addition to the wonderful Lamar Series in Western History from Yale University Press. Noting that “relatively little” has been written about the destruction of California’s Native population, Madley contributes to the growing body of historical work that explores “genocide,” a term of twentieth-century origin, to understand events deeper in the past. Some readers might question the usefulness of applying this term to events in the past, but Madley succinctly makes the case for why these events in California can accurately be described as genocide. He writes, “Genocide is a twentieth-century word, but it describes an ancient phenomenon and can therefore be used to analyze the past” (p. 5). He documents how other historians have used the term in their studies and connects it to the use of the older word, “extermination.” Madley sets his book in a larger context by writing that he seeks answers to larger and uncomfortable questions about the role of genocide in the making of modern democracies like the United States. He also connects his work to the present by asking broad questions about how descendants of California Indians should react to this history, wondering about possible forms of reparation and recognition. Finally, he asks how modern non-Native Californians might reevaluate their relationships with Native descendants. The book explicitly does not address the idea of a concerted effort at the cultural destruction of Native peoples. Much has been written about that elsewhere, and Madley is specifically focused on proving how and why these events should be labeled as genocide.

(read full article here