An Apache Odyssey: Indeh by Eve Ball, Nora Henn, Lynda Sanchez (review)

74 Western American Literature An Apache Odyssey: Indeh. By Eve Ball with Nora Henn and Lynda Sanchez. (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1980. 311 pages, $19.95.) Indeh is a record of several people’s memories, experiences, and recol­ lections of themselves and of others. In between the several speakers, Mrs. Ball makes historical cross-references or explains the circumstances of the quotation. Her credibility is enhanced by her objectivity and her lack of subjective interpretation. An interesting introductory explanation is made of the word “Indeh.” Mrs. Ball writes, I had long been familiar with the Apache word “Indah,” which military officers and historians have interpreted as meaning “White People.” That translation is indirect; the literal meaning of “Indah” is “The Living.” Until Ace Daklugie used the term “Indeh,” I had not encountered it. Literally it means “The Dead,” and it is the term by which Apaches, recognizing their fate, [at the hands of the encroaching white race] designated themselves. Ace Daklugie, one of Mrs. Ball’s main informants, was the son of Juh (pronounced Ho) who was the elected chief of the Nednhi Apaches, “the fiercest and most implacable band of that indomitable people.” Asa received his hated Anglo name at Carlisle because as leader quickly appointed by Geronimo, he had taken his place at the head of the line of Apache children when they were named in alphabetical order. Chieftainships and leadership positions among the Apache had compli­ cated and stringent requirements little understood by outsiders. Geronimo never was a chief, but was in ways far more influential because he had the “Power.” Geronimo’s advice to young Daklugie when he left for Carlisle was, “I, rather than see my race perish from Mother Earth, cared little who was chief so long as I could direct the fighting and preserve even a few of our people. You are always to remember that it matters little who gets either the credit or blame, so long as the good of the tribe is hanging fire.” Lean insights such as that into the personalities of the main characters in this narrative saga are relatively few, therefore all the more worth savoring. Both Mrs. Ball and Daklugie maintain a distance and decorum in their relationship which remind the reader that much was not said — much is still not recorded. This stance underscores the editorial excesses in other books which have heretofore been written about the Apache by government agents, military officers, missionaries, or certain historians. Indeh is remarkable for its implicit indication of Apache family rela­ tionships, social mannerisms, and religious beliefs not found in any other book so far. Until the Apache history is written by an Apache, Indeh is excellent for the interim. GRETCHEN RONNOW, Cedar City, Utah ...