Episode Four of the PBS American Experience series We Shall Remain explored the story of Geronimo, the end of Indian Wars, the beginning of the reservation system, and the establishment of the first Indian boarding school. 

The Library Event Kit and Teacher’s Guide for the PBS television series We Shall Remain provides topics to explore, asking you to consider questions similar to the following:

1. This episode, like the previous three episodes, featured commentary in a Native language. What do you think about indigenous language revitalization efforts?
2. How did Geronimo’s reputation change over his lifetime?
3. How were the leadership styles of Cochise and Geronimo different?
4. This episode introduced the reservation system. What was the impact of establishing reservations on the Chiricahua Apache people’s land?

Further information to support your students or patrons regarding events depicted in Episode Four “Geronimo” can be found in the following resources available on the American Indian Experience database:

• For an overview of the Apache tribal groups including the Chiricahua, start with the “Apache, Western” entry in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians by Frederick E. Hoxie. Also read the entry for “Apache, Eastern” to gain a broader understanding of the six major divisions of Apache.
• Start your background reading about Geronimo with the entry on him in the Encyclopedia of North American Indians by Frederick E. Hoxie. Note that the entry identifies a lesser known name for Geronimo—Goyathlay—and a discussion for how he acquired the name, Geronimo. Look also at the Geronimo entry in The Encyclopedia of Native American Biography entry, which also includes reproductions of two photographs. Four quotations from Geronimo are included in American Indian Quotations. A transcription of his talk, “Reasons for Leaving the Reservation” is included in Great Documents in American Indian History.
• For more details about Cochise, return to the Encyclopedia of North American Indians. This entry will also identify other important Chiricahua, including Mangas Coloradas. The biographical entry for Cochise in The Encyclopedia of Native American Biography provides a good summary of the start of the Apache wars. American Indian Quotations includes five quotations attributed to Cochise, including: “You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight to our hearts.” Great Documents in American Indian History includes the primary source entry “Remarks Made To General Gordon Granger During A Conference On The Matter Of Going To A Reservation, 1871 Cochise (Apache).”
• Native professor Tom Holm wrote the entry on “Wars: 1850-1900” in Hoxie’s Encyclopedia of North American Indians. This article places military contact between the Chiricahua and U.S. government in context with other military engagements. Hoxie also has separate entries for “Scouts” and for “Scalps and Scalping.” Thomas G. Mitchell’s book Indian Fighters Turned American Politicians has a chapter on “The End of the Indian-Fighter Era,” which discusses George Crook’s military career.

While each episode of We Shall Remain is focused on a specific episode or episodes in history and specific tribal groups, Episode Four makes at least passing reference to other tribes. Read background on these tribes in Hoxie’s Encyclopedia of North American Indians, including the Navajo, Kiowa, Cheyenne (check the entries for both Northern and Southern Cheyenne), Lakota (see the entry for “Sioux”), and Nez Perce.

Episode Four of We Shall Remain references the Navajo Long Walk of 1864. The chapter “Colonial Discourse and the Navajo Internment, 1846-1868” in Janice Schuetz’s Episodes in the Rhetoric of Government-Indian Relations provides coverage of this sad event that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Navajo people.

For background on Native languages, start with this entry in Hoxie’s Encyclopedia of North American Indians. Athabaskan Languages, including the Chiricahua language, is discussed in the entry on “Language” in The Great Plains Region: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures.

Read the Topic Guide about “Boarding Schools,” making certain to click through the links to read about such Key Figures as Jim Thorpe; examine Primary Documents, including Zitkala-Sa’s recounting of her boarding school days; and the link to the official site documenting the history of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

For information on the Apache in the 21st century, visit the Tribal Communities Resource with links to reservations in Arizona. Check on the “Visual Guide to Western Apache Items” for text and images of everyday objects including clothing and baskets. The Image Index will bring you to photographs and illustrations of Apache Indians.

Watch the preview of We Shall Remain Episode Five “Wounded Knee” and join the American Indian Experience blog next week for more resources and discussion related to the final episode of We Shall Remain.

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