Geronimo: His Background

Geronimo

Medicine Man

Geronimo was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Apache tribe. Fro…

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  Wikipedia

• Born: Jun 16, 1829 · Arizona, United States
• Died: Feb 17, 1909 · Fort Sill, OK
• Spouse: Ta-ayz-slath
• Children: Eva Godeley (Daughter) · Lulu Dohn-Zay Geronimo (Daughter)
• Related movies: Geronimo: An American Legend
• Parents: Tablishim “The Gray One” Goy... (Father) · Juana (Mother)

Quotes

“While living, I want to live well.”

“I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. ”

While living I want to live well.

The soldiers never explained to the government when an Indian was wronged, but reported the misdeeds of the Indians.

“Usen and the members of our tribe were considered”

I was warmed by the sun, rocked by the winds and sheltered by the trees as other Indian babes. I was living peaceably when people began to speak bad of me. Now I can eat well, sleep well and be glad. I can go everywhere with a good feeling.

I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say.

I was born on the prairies where the wind blew free and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures.

Timeline

1851:

On March 5, 1851, when Geronimo was in his 20s, a force of Mexican militia from Sonora under Colonel Jose Maria Carrasco attacked and surprised an Apache camp outside of Janos, Chihuahua, slaughtering the inhabitants, including Geronimo's family.

1886:

According to National Geographic, "the governor of Sonora claimed in 1886 that in the last five months of Geronimo's wild career, his band of 16 warriors slaughtered some 500 to 600 Mexicans."

1886:

In 1886, General Miles selected Captain Henry Lawton to command B Troop, 4th Cavalry, at Fort Huachuca, and First Lieutenant Charles B. Gatewood, to lead the expedition that brought Geronimo and his followers back to the reservation system for a final time.

1894:

After 1/4 of the population died of tuberculosis, the Chiricahuas, including Geronimo, were relocated to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1894; they built villages scattered around the post based on kindred groups.

1898:

In 1898 Geronimo was part of a Chiricahua delegation from Fort Sill to the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska.

1909:

He died of pneumonia on February 17, 1909, as a prisoner of the United States at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.