April Baum
Professor Noble-Ward
HIST170D-4840
24 February 2015
Apache women and Polygamous settlers "Apachie women and their white husband, Arizonia 1879," notes the handwritten caption for this hand-colored portrait. That same year the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling against polygamy. "Everything there has changed," wrote T. S. Hitchcock, a retired dentist, who submitted this photo. This photo was captioned by Margaret G. Zackowitz in the National Geographic stock, titled, “Family Portrait”. In 1870, with Brigham Young, the leader of the Mormon indoctrinate in Utah, the Mormons gain power politically, ushering the idea of polygamy in the West, claims New Perspectives on the West article, on PBS.org. Though the Native Americans became citizens in 1871, not sovereign nations, (PBS), many were destitute and hungry with little resources after their land had been seized, now struggling on reservations. Because the Apaches were known to be polygamists, many sold women into arranged marriages where the father in the tribe would obtain a dowry from male settlers in the Southwest. (Francis,Valentine). This can be interpreted as a life of slavery or otherwise today known as “human trafficking”, hard labor, and a lifetime of despair. Though the Apache women were formally treated with elite status, the late 1800’s brought change in the value system as the tribes began to starve and dwindle. (Francis,Valentine). The Apache women were even looked down upon by their own tribe, doing all the hard labor, and considered to be property by the groom. (Francis,Valentine). This is to the point where many women were disfigured by members of their own tribe, because they were “thought” to be cheating on their husband. (Francis,Valentine).
Besides the treatment of their own tribal members, Mexican soldiers would capture, rape, and breed women who were then sold into slavery. (Nixon). They were also captured by Buffalo Soldiers posted on Apache reservations. (Nixon). However, the Mormons were in alliance with the Apache, and would trade goods for protection. (Nixon). There were instances of interbreeding due to cultural family similarities, but again, the severe loss of food and land forced woman to be traded for necessities or a dowry for marriage. (Nixon).
Being sold to a settler, engaging in polygamy, often ended in sexual submission and hands to work on the ranch or the farm in the late 1800’s. (Francis,Valentine). Though the occurrence was rare, the issue still existed. The photo above shows one instance of resignation and sorrow symbolized in one photo of a time when little options were given to Native women, and survival was the name of the game.

Works Cited
Family Portrait. Margaret G Zachowitz, National Geographic Stock. 2010.
Flashback. National Geographic.org. 2015.
Nixon, Guy. Slavery in the West: Untold Story of the Native Americans. Xlibris Corp., 2011. Print.
Resources Of Arizona Territory. Francis & Valentine, Steam Printers And Engravers. 1871.
New Perspectives on The West. PBS.org. 2001.
Takaki, R. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America (Revised Edition). New York: Back by Bay Books, 2008. Print.