Geronimo

Q: Who was Geronimo?

Geronimo was an Apache war chief who lived c. 1829-1909 and became one of the most famous Native American resistance fighters during the Apache Wars, fought to prevent the United States from taking Apache homelands.

Q: How did Geronimo get his name?

Geronimo's Apache name was Goyahkla ("One Who Yawns"), and it is thought he acquired the name "Geronimo" from Mexican soldiers calling on St. Jerome (San Jeronimo) during his attacks on them.

Q: Was Geronimo an Apache chief?

No. Geronimo was never an Apache chief. He was a war chief, meaning a leader of a band of warriors during a specific military engagement or raid. He was also regarded as a medicine man who had prophetic powers.

Q: How did Geronimo die?

Geronimo died of pneumonia in February 1909 at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he was being held as a prisoner.

Joshua J. Mark

Definition

Geronimo (Goyahkla, l. c. 1829-1909) was a medicine man and war chief of the Bedonkohe tribe of the Chiricahua Apache nation, best known for his resistance against the encroachment of Mexican and Euro-American settlers and armed forces into Apache territory and as one of the last Native American leaders to surrender to the United States government.

More about: Geronimo

Timeline

c. 1829 - 1909
Life Apache holy man and war chief Geronimo.
1849 - 1886
Geronimo is a war chief during the Apache Wars.
c. 1850
Kas-Ki-Yeh/Janos Massacre in which Geronimo's mother, wife, and three children are murdered by Mexican soldiers.
1886
Geronimo surrenders to US authorities.
1886 - 1909
Geronimo is a prisoner of the US government.
4 Sep 1886
Apache Chief Geronimo surrenders to US General Nelson A. Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona, among the last Native American leaders who had resisted the US government's colonization of the western region of North America.
1909
Geronimo dies of pneumonia at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.