History of New Mexico: A Captivating Guide to Historical Events and Facts You Should Know About the Land of Enchantment by History Captivating

Author:History, Captivating
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-27T00:00:00+00:00

The Treaty of Bosque Redondo

On June 1, 1868, the United States government negotiated a treaty with the Navajo. In exchange for the right to return to their homelands, the Native Americans agreed to halt raiding, work with an Indian agent, and send their children to school for ten years.

The government would supply one teacher per thirty children, along with seeds and farm equipment to aid the Navajo in restoring their way of life. The Navajo would receive clothing and goods they could not manufacture up to a total value of $5 per person for the next decade.

On June 18, the Navajo, who call themselves the Diné, retraced their steps across Mexico. Scarred by the experience and beyond grateful to see their beloved mesas once again, the tribe chose adaptation over resistance, rebuilding their lives to emphasize the more peaceful and agricultural aspects of their culture.

Originally the Diné received 3.5 million acres within a range of four mountains they held sacred. Since that time, the tribe has successfully increased the extent of their reservation to encompass 16 million acres.

The failure at Bosque Redondo left the Comanche and Kiowa as the remaining threat to the peaceful development of the New Mexico territory. While the tribes disrupted commerce along the Santa Fe Trail, ironically, the Comanche continued to honor the old peace negotiated with Governor Anza. Instead, they focused their aggression on Anglos, allowing native New Mexicans and Pueblos to go about their business unmolested.

In the early 1870s, the United States Army turned its full attention to ending Native violence on the Plains. Troops scoured the Texas Panhandle during the Red River War (1874), harassing the remaining bands with relentless attacks until the tribes surrendered and agreed to reside on reservations in Oklahoma.

Five years later, however, in 1879, Chief Victorio led a group of warriors in a mad dash off the reservation that resulted in a bloody rampage that reached into Arizona. When Victorio died in 1881, his son-in-law, Nana, continued fighting, raiding with Geronimo after 1885.

The Apache finally surrendered in 1886, with the biggest troublemakers in their number shipped off to Florida as prisoners of war. Army troops had to protect the Natives from a mob at Deming that wanted to see them all hang. In the end, the Indian Wars ended not in glorious battle but with a train disappearing into the eastern horizon.

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