This section covers the geographic areas which stretch from Southeastern California across Arizona and New Mexico and into Western Texas. Various tribes also dominated the border areas of the adjacent states to their north and into Mexico in the south. As in the other articles, I will not identify and locate every tribe in the region. Being a military history survey, I am only listing major groups and specific tribes which have been cited as being involved in military conflicts . Of course several of the nations were often the targets of military actions of their more aggressive but not necessarily larger neighbors. Various groups may be subdivided into those which live along the river valleys and those which occupied specific desert areas such as mesas.

In addition groups could also be classified as sedentary, living in well constructed villages OR nomadic, using fixed or semi-fixed structures and partly due to the season or weather, traveling between various locations. The harsh climate of the Southwest fostered an aggressive attitude within the tribes especially among the nomadic groups.

The material is arranged according to topical subsections. My work should not be considered complete since I am located far from this region which prevents me from viewing local histories and other sources which would provide me with more data on various conflicts. Therefore I am sure that I will be providing future updates to the information provided in later articles.

Selected Bibliography

A more comprehensive bibliography (over 100 books) will be available on my website once the series is complete. A complete list in the magazine would take up too much text space.

Odie B. Faulk. "Crimson Desert". Oxford University Press, 1974.

Franklin Folsom. "Red Power on the Rio Grande". Follett Publishing, Chicago, 1973. Covers the Publeo Revolt of 1680.

Jason Hook & Martin Pegler. "To Live And Die in the West". Osprey Press, London, 1999.

Joseph Stout, Jr. "Apache Lightning". Oxford University Press, 1974. Ron Watson. "Indians of the Mesa Verde". Mesa Verde Museum, 1961. Barton Wright. "Publeo Shields". Northland Press, 1976.

Our Place in the Sun: The American Southwest

Historical Background
The Nations of the Southwest
Shield Designs and Weapons of Southwest Indian Nations