Chief Naiche was the final hereditary chief of the Chiricahua

Chiricahua

Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...

 band of Apache Indians.

Background

Naiche name, which in English means "meddlesome one" or "mischief maker", is alternately spelled Nache, Nachi, or Natchez. He was the youngest son of Cochise

Cochise

Cochise was a chief of the Chokonen band of the Chiricahua Apache and the leader of an uprising that began in 1861. Cochise County, Arizona is named after him.-Biography:...

 and was named after his grandmother Dos-Teh-Seh. His older brother was Chief Taza

Chief Taza

Taza was the son of Chiricahua Apache leader Cochise. He died September 26, 1876, after only about two years as chief. He is buried in Congressional Cemetery Washington D.C....

. During his adolescence, Naiche got to know Geronimo

Geronimo

Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...

. As a medicine man, Geronimo acted as a teacher for him. Naiche married Ha-O-Zinne, an Apache woman. Together they had several children, including a son named Christian Naiche.

Career

In 1880, Naiche traveled to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 with Gerronimo's band, to avoid forced relocation to the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation

San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation

The San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, in southeastern Arizona, United States, was established in 1871 as a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache tribe. It was referred to by some as "Hell's Forty Acres," due to a myriad of dismal health and environmental conditions.-Formation:President U.S....

 in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. They surrendered in 1883 but escaped the reservation in 1885, back into Mexico. They were captured in 1886, and Naiche and others were imprisoned in Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

.

Upon the death of his father Cochise, Naiche's brother Taza became the chief; however, Taza died only two years later, and the office went to Naiche. In the 1880s, Naiche and Geronimo successfully went to war together.

Naiche and other Apaches requested to return to Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, while still imprisoned in Fort Marion. The US did not allow their return, but Kiowa

Kiowa

The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians and indigenous people of the Great Plains. They migrated from the northern plains to the southern plains in the late 17th century. In 1867, the Kiowa moved to a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma...

 and Comanche

Comanche

The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...

 tribes offered to share their reservations in southwestern Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 with the Chiricahua, so Naiche and 295 members of his band moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where they became the Fort Sill Apache Tribe

Fort Sill Apache Tribe

The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is the federally recognized Native American tribe of Chiricahua Warm Springs Apache in Oklahoma.-History:The Fort Sill Apache Tribe is composed of Chiricahua Apache. The Apache are southern Athabaskan-speaking peoples who migrated many centuries ago from the subarctic to...

. In 1913, Naiche moved to the Mescalero Indian Reservation in New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

.