The year was 1934, and I was six months old. My father, mother, and I lived in a small settlement in the foothills of the mountains 100 miles northwest of San Carlos. Our home was a wickiup that my father had built for us.
My Search For Acceptance
My name is Jack Cochise. My birthplace and home is the beautiful town of Mescalero, New Mexico—home of the Mescalero Apache Tribe.
An Apache Prisoner Finds Freedom
I was born on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. My parents raised me in the traditional ways of our Apache people, and we worshiped at a place we called “holy ground.”
An Apache Warrior Chooses a New Name
Cochise, Geronimo, and Naiche were warriors. They will remain legends in Apache history. The Apache fought against the Spanish, Mexican, and United States governments for hundreds of years to keep their way of life in their homeland.