Chiricahua

Chiricahua ( /ˌtʃɪrɨˈkɑːwə/ US dict: chĭr′·ĭ·kâ′·wə) 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 (61,000 km2) of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico. Today two branches of the tribe are federally recognized as independent units: the Fort Sill Apache Tribe, located near Apache, Oklahoma; and the Chiricahua tribe located on the Mescalero Apache reservation near Ruidoso, New Mexico.