Geronimo was seen as the last great defender of the Native American way of Life but by others he was seen as a stubborn holdout who was violently driven by revenge and was putting the lives of others in danger. Is one opinion right or are they both right depending on how you look at the situation? Balancing current views of right and wrong with the historical context. |
| Geronimo and his associates at the 101 Ranch taking a drive in a Locomobile Model C. (Geronimo is wearing the top hat). |
This photograph was taken on June 11, 1905, at the Miller brothers 101 Ranch in Oklahoma. The Indian in the full head dress to the left of Geronimo is Edward Le Clair Sr. (a Ponca Indian). Geronimo greatly admired his beaded vest that later on that day it was given to him. When Geronimo died 4 years later he was buried in this vest. There are three other photographs of Geronimo from that day that are very misleading.
One of these photographs shows Geronimo with several mounted Army soldiers. At this time, he was still imprisoned at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and guards had to accompany him.
Another photograph shows him standing beside a dead buffalo, which he had supposedly just killed. The picture shows a number of arrows sticking out of the dead animal. They advertised this event as the last buffalo Geronimo killed. This is extremely ironic since buffalo were not found in the region that Geronimo lived and he had not killed this animal. Range hands had put the buffalo in a bow and arrow range and since the arrows were not fatal, one of the cowboys finally shot the animal in the head.
The third photograph shows Geronimo skinning the dead buffalo.
This photograph served as the inspiration for the noteworthy song by Michael Martin Murphey as the title track of his debut album, Geronimo's Cadillac in 1972. This song has become an unofficial anthem for the American Indian Movement in the 1970s. This song has been redone multiple times.
The life and times of Geronimo:
He was born in June of 1829.
He was a naturally-gifted hunter.
By the time he was 17 years old, he lead four successful raiding operations.
He continued the tradition of the Apaches who resisted the white colonization of their territory in the Southwest. Mexico put a bounty on Apache scalps- up to 25$ for a child's scalp.
He met and married a woman named Alope. They had 3 children together.
During a trading trip, tragedy stuck their camp. When Geronimo returned, he found his mother, wife, and children were all dead. To honour tradition, he burned the belongings of his family and headed out into the wilderness to grieve.
He and 200 other men, hunted down the Mexican soldiers who killed his family. This went on for 10 years as he tried to have revenge on the Mexican government.
He was caught in 1877 and was sent to live on a reservation.
For four long years he struggled with life on the reservation and escaped in September 1881.
Over the next five years, he and a small band of followers engaged in what was the last Indian wars with the U.S.
At one time he had almost 1/4 of the Army's forces (almost 5,000 troops) trying to hunt him down.
After years of war, he surrendered to U.S. troops in 1886.
While he became a celebrity, he spent the last 2 decades of his life as a prisoner of war.
He published his biography in 1905.
He died in February of 1909, when thrown from a horse on his way home. He spent one night in the cold and was found by a friend the next day. Unfortunately, his health was declining and he passed away 6 days later with his nephew by his side.
On his death bed he said" I should never have surrendered" and "I should have fought until I was the last man alive".
Was this man wrong to want revenge for his family's death?
Does it matter what his motives were for all the fighting?
Was he mad with revenge or was he fighting for the all First Nations in the United States?
Should he have had others fight with him or was this a fight he should of done alone?
Should he have surrendered when he did or sooner or not at all?
Can we judge this event based on current believes about right and wrong?
What about historical context? What else was happening within the U.S?
Source:
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/05/05/geronimos-cadillac%E2%80%94er-locomobile-32429
http://www.biography.com/people/geronimo-9309607
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