Indictment of Geronimo, an Apache Indian, 1887
This document is the indictment of Geronimo for the April 15, 1887, murder of Jesus Robles.
Geronimo was known as one of the fiercest resisters to Mexican and American occupation and the relocation of Native Americans to reservations. In 1851, when Geronimo was a young man, the Mexican Army attacked his camp, resulting in the death of his wife, children, and mother. He swore he would avenge their deaths, and over the next three decades he and his followers fought for the freedom of their people, resisted American military forces, and led escapes from reservations. Finally captured in 1886, Geronimo spent the next 23 years of his life as a prisoner of war, only allowed freedom from incarceration to be displayed at major fairs and exhibits and at the second inauguration of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Our office holds over 6,100 linear feet of records relating to Native Americans created by Bureau of Indian Affairs agencies in Southern California and Arizona. Additionally, we hold civil cases filed in federal courts in Southern California, Arizona, and Las Vegas, Nevada, relating to Native American rights.
Indictment of Geronimo, an Apache Indian, dated 1887. National Archives Identifier: 335681945.
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