Tonto Apache
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tonto Apache (Apache Dilzhę́’é) (also Dilzhe'e, Dilzhe’eh Apache) is a one of the groups of Western Apaches and also refers to one of the three dialects of the Western Apache language (a Southern Athabaskan language).
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[edit] The name
The name Dilzhę́’é is a Western Apache name that may mean 'people with high-pitched voices', but the analysis is unclear.
The Dilzhe’e Apaches refer to themselves as Dilzhę́’é, as do the San Carlos Apaches. Western Apaches from Bylas use Dilzhę́’é to refer to both San Carlos and Tonto Apaches. White Mountain Western Apaches use the term Dilzhę́’é to refer to Bylas, San Carlos, and Tonto Apaches.
The name "Tonto" is considered offensive by some, due to its etymology — it comes from the Spanish word for "stupid". However, the name has mostly stuck and is widely used by most people outside of the Western Apache community. The term Tonto is most frequently encountered in anthropology literature, especially older works.
[edit] Culture
Goodwin (1942) divided Tonto into two groups:
- Northern Tonto
- Southern Tonto
Many Western Apache reject this categorization and prefer groupings based on bands and clans.
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[edit] Links
- Yavapai-Apache Nation website
- Yavapai-Apache Nation (Inter Tribal Council of Arizona)
[edit] Bibliography
- de Reuse, Willem J. (2006). A practical grammar of the San Carlos Apache language. LINCOM Studies in Native American Linguistics 51. LINCOM. ISBN 3-89586-861.
- Goodwin, Grenville. (1942). The social organization of the Western Apache. Goodwin, Janice T. (Ed.). The University of Chicago publications in anthropology: Ethnological series. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. [reprinted 1969 by Tucson: University of Arizona Press].
