Apache Bronco
OUR PEOPLE.OUR HISTORY.OUR LEGACY.
WE TELL OUR OWN STORY.
Apache Bronco works to bring all California Apaches together. We preserve what our families carried, reconnect relatives, and build a clearer record of our history for the generations still to come.
Apache Bronco today
A PLACE TO BEGIN.
Apache Bronco is an independent organization bringing California Apaches together around family history, relationships, and shared responsibility. People arrive here with different questions: where their families came from, how those histories meet in California, and what belonging can mean today.
Start with the history, follow the California chapter, or meet the people guiding the work. Each page offers a different part of the story.
Explore the website
HISTORY. CALIFORNIA. PEOPLE.
Choose the part of the story you want to understand first.
BEHIND THE NAME
Meet the people behind historical labels and understand why 1886 was a turning point—not the end of Apache life.
READ OUR STORYCOMMUNITYA CALIFORNIA CHAPTER
Explore households, work, children, and relationships that connect older family histories with life in California.
EXPLORE OUR CALIFORNIA STORYPEOPLEWHO GUIDES THE WORK
Meet Founder Gillie K. Bear Heart and Director, Head Woman, and Seer Thana Redhawk—iitsèłtsùk.
MEET OUR LEADERSHIPPurpose and direction
WHERE WE WANT TO GO.
Purpose, priorities, and the future have different roles. Explore each without losing sight of the people they are meant to serve.
A SENSE OF BELONGING
The future we hope young people, elders, and families can share.
EXPLORE OUR VISIONMISSIONWHY WE ARE HERE
Our present purpose and the California Apache community at the center of it.
EXPLORE OUR MISSIONGOALSTHE WORK AHEAD
Current priorities and the resources needed for future opportunities.
VIEW OUR GOALSTake part
FIND YOUR NEXT STEP.
Membership, family-history inquiries, and support each have a clear starting point.
UNDERSTAND PARTICIPATION
Read the pathways, responsibilities, and application process. Membership is organizational only; it does not establish Tribal citizenship or ancestry.
EXPLORE MEMBERSHIPFAMILY HISTORYAPPROACH WITH CARE
Learn how Apache Bronco handles family material and what to know before making an inquiry.
EXPLORE PRESERVATIONSUPPORTBEGIN A CONVERSATION
Discuss support that fits the organization’s actual work. Online donations are not yet available.
SUPPORT OUR WORKApache Bronco
THE STORY IS ABOUT PEOPLE.
Understanding the past should shape how we listen, how we lead, and how we make room for those who come next.