Though I was hesitant to read a book about Apaches written by a white man, I must admit that Conrad’s The Apache Diaspora: Four Centuries of Displacement and Survival is a fascinating and erudite book. Through his research into archives in the United States, Spain, Mexico, as well Apache oral histories, he shows how the dispersion of the Apaches is truly a diaspora, as those pushed out of the American Southwest retained a strong bond to their people and their land. I found it amazing that Conrad managed to compress four centuries into a single volume. I found that I wanted to know more about particular subjects, but realized Conrad couldn’t delve into every single issue.
Though all indigenous American groups suffered through similar attempts at subjugation by genocide, the Apaches, because of their geographic position between the forces of Spanish, Mexican, American, and Comanche armies, were particularly affected. Through four centuries, they faced slavery and forced migrations in efforts to eradicate their way of life. Families were torn apart and scatted throughout the North American continent and into the Caribbean, Spain, and Mexico.
The Apache Diaspora looks deeply at genocidal issues, how the Indigenous people survived, how the African diaspora intersected with that of the Apaches. Again, each Indigenous group has their own story. Much of what Conrad has written cannot be applied to every single Indigenous group, but a good deal can be transferred: centuries of enslavement, warfare, and forced migrations. The United States, as well as the other imperial forces involved, should reevaluate their treatment of Apaches and other Indigenous tribes and consider reparations.
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The Apache Diaspora: Four Centuries of Displacement and Survival is available through:
Amazon | University of Pennsylvania Press
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