Apache is the collective name for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States.The Apache tribe occupied primarily the mountains and plains of southern Arizona and New Mexico, and also lived in Mexico. Apachean people also roamed parts of Texas and the Great Plains.

The Chiricahua were divided into two groups after they were released from being prisoners of war. The majority moved to the Mescalero Reservation and are now combined with the larger Mescalero political group along with the Lipan Apache. The other Chiricahuas remained in Oklahoma and eventually formed the Fort Sill Apache Tribe of Oklahoma.