Research Guides: Native American Languages: Mescalero/Chiricahua Apache/Ndé Bizaa'

Overview of Mescalero/Chiricahua Apache

The language of Mescalero Apache (Also called Mescalero-Chiricahua or Chiricahua Apache) or Ndé Bizaa' is the primary indigenous language of the Mescalero Apache Tribe of New Mexico. It is also spoken in the Fort Sill Apache Tribe in Oklahoma. The language is a Southern Athabaskan language (western group).. According to the Endangered Languages Project, there are less than 1,500 speakers of the language, classifying the language as "threatened."

Mescalero/Chiricahua Apache Language Restoration

A Message From The Apache Language Program - Mescalero Apache Tribe
A brief overview of the Apache language classes offered by the Mescalero Apache Tribe. These classes are offered every Wednesday at 5:00 for the public. While they are designed for elders to teach the youth their native language.
Cultural and Language Program - Fort Still Apache Tribe (Oklahoma)
An overview of the cultural preservation and language revitalization programs of the Fort Still Apache tribe. Currently, the program focuses around traditional instruction (with textbooks in a classroom), however, the program hopes to expand in the future.
Mescalero Apache Tribe Language Program - Mescalero Apache Tribe
An overview of the The Mescalero Apache Tribe Language Program, including information about the program such as contact information, goals of the language program, strategies for reaching said goals, and future plans for the program.
Udall visits Mescalero Apache Schools to talk language preservation - Our Languages
This article describes the loss of the Apache language and attempts by the Mescalero Apache School system to integrate the Apache language in its curriculum during the early and mid 2000s.

NOTE: Originally posted in the Alamogordo Daily News and reposted on Our Languages

Mescalero/Chiricahua Apache Language Resources

Apache Language - Chiricahua Apache Mimbreno Nde Nation
An overview of the Apache language (with a focus on Western Apache) published by the Chiricahua Apache Mimbreno Nde Nation. The website includes comparisons between Jicarilla Apache, Mescalero Apache, and Western Apache words. It is useful in understanding the differences between the different Apache languages.
Mescalero-Chiricahua language - Wikipedia
An overview of the Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache Language as described by Wikipedia. It includes information about the phonology of the language, including both consonants and vowels, as well as information about the Language family and the number of speakers.
The Child of Water, Chiricahua Apache Text - Harry Hoijer
A short traditional Chiricahua Apache story, as recorded by Harry Hoijer in 1935. The story tells of the birth of Child of Water, an Apache hero, who slew the monsters who lived on the surface of the world and allowed man to thrive. The text includes the original Apache and an English translation along with extensive linguistic and anthropological notes. The resource was republished by the University of Virginia.