Jicarilla Apache - Tribal Government

Tribal Government

The Jicarilla Apache are a federally recognized tribal entity who in 1937 organized a formal government and adopted a constitution. Traditional tribal leaders were elected as their first tribal council members. In 2000 the tribe officially changed their name to the Jicarilla Apache Nation.

Veronica E. Velarde Tiller, author of Culture and Customs of the Apache Indians writes: "All the powers of the tribal governments reflected the traditional values of the Apache people. The protection, preservation, and conservation of the bounty of "Mother Earth," and all its inhabitants is sacred value shared by all Indian people, and the Apaches were most eager to have this concept incorporated into their tribal constitution."

An important value of sharing was integrated into the constitution, whereby the Apache Indians declare that the resources of the reservation are "held for the benefit of the entire tribe." Further, all land on the reservation is held by the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, one of only two reservations in the United States where land is not owned by individuals but by the tribal nation as a whole. Tribal members are individuals that are at least 3/8ths Jicarilla Apache.

The government is made up of the following branches:

• executive, with a president and vice-president serving four-year terms
• legislative, with eight members serving staggering four-year terms
• judicial, tribal court and appellate court judges assigned by the president.

Its capital is Dulce, which comprises over 95 percent of the reservation's population, near the extreme north end. Most tribal offices are located in Dulce.