The Jicarilla Apache of Dulce

Book excerpt: Now the headquarters of the Jicarilla Apache, Dulce (meaning "sweet" in Spanish) was named by the impoverished and relocated Indians who associated the place with the sugar and candy that came with government-supplied rations. Since the establishment of the reservation in 1887, Dulce has become the hub of everything associated with the Jicarillas. From the early timber operations, farming, and livestock raising, the Jicarilla Apache have become an economic powerhouse of northern New Mexico. Dulce is now a community living in two worlds, fully immersed in the American mainstream economy with a world-class hunting lodge, significant oil and gas operations, and widely diversified investments while fiercely maintaining the centuries-old language, culture, religion, and ceremonies of Jicarilla Apache Indians.