Chiricahua Apache Enduring Power: Naiche's Puberty Ceremony Paintings

Chapter 5. The Art of American Indian Prisoners of War

5 The Art of American Indian Prisoners of War In mimicking the format of photography, Wohaw . . . entered a realm of authority that he and his cohorts usually played the object to. . . . The tree and the warrior are rendered as a trace of what could not be contained or circumscribed by the dominant and expanding culture of the white West. —Anna Blume FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, AUGUST 2004 Still an active military base, Fort Sill is an amazing combination of historic buildings and modern technology. As the only still active army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian wars, Fort Sill is a National Historic Landmark. At the same time, all ¤eld artillery soldiers and Marines receive their training here, as well as many international students from allied nations. Set among the wide expanses of Oklahoma plains, Fort Sill has several gates through which military personnel and the public may enter. Security has increased since the attacks on the Twin Towers of September 2001 because Fort Sill, as the center for the development and implementation of ¤eld artillery training for the army, would be a prime target for terrorists. After arriving late the previous night, I awaken to the wider skies and gently rolling hills of Wichita Falls, Texas. From there it is just an hour drive north on Interstate 44 to Fort Sill. A soldier I met on the plane apologized for the monotony of the drive, “It’s not very interesting country,” he said, “but you can do 70 miles an hour and then 75 once you get on the turnpike.” Despite the relative ®atness of the land, the openness of the country is a relief to the eyes and soul after the dense thickets and oppressive vegetation of Alabama (Figure 28). And it is closer to the wide open spaces of the West. I can even see distant mountains! Later, I see deer grazing in meadows—does as well as huge bucks with racks of antlers. Eugene Chihuahua spoke for many of his people when he described his ¤rst impression of Fort Sill: Captain Scott had not lied to us. We could see the mountains. They weren’t tall like ours but they were mountains. There were trees, and we didn’t have to climb one to see the sun. There was water in the creek—clear sparkling moun- tain water. There were mesquite beans, and we began gathering and shelling them. We hadn’t seen one since we were taken to Florida. We gathered several hundred bags of them. And there were deer—not so many as at Turkey Creek, but a good many. You’ll laugh at this, but I don’t mind. The best of all was to hear the coyotes sing, and the cry of the quail, too. We hadn’t heard them since we left Fort Bowie. And the smell of sage was good to us. [Ball 1988:169] When I reach Fort Sill, a part of me feels at home to be on a military installation once more. Having grown up in the Air Force, I am used to regimentation, uniforms, and strict orders. Yet, as with nearly all “military brats,” as we call ourselves, I have always had a love-hate relationship with the total institution that determined every detail of my family’s life. I loved traveling, and I still feel hemmed in when too much time goes by without a trip. I both envy and disdain people who have a home town and family history stretching back generations in a single place. When my father died and I went through his papers, I could not believe how he had to account for every day of his life when we were moving between military installations. The orders are absolute, unbending, and brook no extenuating circumstances . This personal experience has given me some insight into the con®ict between the civilian world and the military world. Throughout the history of the United States the federal government and the military have had con®ictFigure 28: Oklahoma horizon at sunset, near Fort Sill. Photo by author. 108 Chapter 5 ing viewpoints and have worked at cross purposes, vacillating from one of¤cial policy to another. Nowhere was this more evident than in the treatment of American Indians, most speci¤cally the Chiricahua prisoners of war. Representatives in Congress tried to satisfy the demands of their constituents...