[6] The Jicarilla Apache led a seminomadic existence in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the plains of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

For years, they lived a relatively peaceful life, traveling seasonally to traditional sites for hunting, gathering, and cultivation along river beds.

Starting in the 1700s, the Jicarilla experienced encroachment by colonial New Spain, pressure from other Native American tribes such as the Comanches, and subsequent westward expansion of the United States.

Their tribal bands were displaced, treaties were made and broken with them, and they experienced a significant loss of life due to tuberculosis and other diseases.

[citation needed] Tribal members transitioned from a seminomadic lifestyle and are now supported by various industries on their reservation, including oil and gas, casino gaming, forestry, ranching, and tourism.

The Jicarilla Apaches are one of the Athabaskan linguistic groups that migrated out of Canada by 1525 CE, possibly several hundred or more years earlier.

[14] Over time, some of the people from the Dismal River culture joined the Kiowa Apache in the Black Hills of present-day South Dakota.

[15][16] Traditional Jicarilla stories, such as White Shell Woman, Killer of the Enemies, Child of the Water, and others, feature people and places that are special to them.

[18] The Apaches' traditional culture, economy, and lifestyle became strained by the arrival and growth of other populations, Manifest Destiny, and the Indian Wars.

Many people died due to famine, the Indian Wars, including the Battle of Cieneguilla, and diseases not indigenous to the American continent, to which they had no resistance.

The Jicarilla people were forced to seek refuge into the eastern Sangre de Cristo Mountains north of the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico.

[19] In 1779, a combined force of Jicarilla, Ute, Pueblo, and Spanish soldiers defeated the Comanche, who, after another seven years and several more military campaigns, finally sued for peace.

[28] By the mid-1800s, tensions between the Spanish, multiple Native American nations, and westward expanding United States settlers erupted as all sought and laid claim to land in the southwest.

"[29] Fort Union was established by Colonel Edwin Vose Sumner, who ordered Major James Henry Carleton's Company K 1st Dragoons on August 2, 1851, to protect westward travelers between Missouri and New Mexico Territory on the Santa Fe Trail.

[29] In March 1854, Lobo Blanco, a Jicarilla chief, led a band of 30 warriors to raid the horse herd of a contractor for Fort Union.

They engaged in a fight on the Canadian River and killed many of the Jicarilla, including the chief, who was repeatedly wounded and finally crushed to death under a boulder.

On March 30, 1854, a combined force of about 250 Apaches and Utes fought the U.S. dragoons, led by Lieutenant John Wynn Davidson, near Pilar, New Mexico, then known as Cieneguilla.

The Jicarilla, led by their principal chief, Francisco Chacon, and Flechas Rayadas, fought with flintlock rifles and arrows, killing 22 and a wounding another 36 of 60 dragoon soldiers, who then retreated to Ranchos de Taos lighter by 22 horses and most of the troops' supplies.

[29][33][34] Lieutenant Colonel Philip St. George Cooke of the 2nd Dragoons Regiment quickly organized an expedition to pursue the Jicarilla with the help of 32 Pueblo Indian and Mexican scouts under Captain James H. Quinn, with Kit Carson as the principal guide.

[29][35][34] A large unit under Major James H. Carleton fought again the Jicarillas near Fisher's Peak in the Raton Mountains, killing several of them.

[34] Beginning in the mid-1850s, following the westward expansion of the U.S. and its impact on their livelihoods, attempts began to relocate the Jicarilla Apache, who became increasingly hostile to these pressures.

After years of warfare, broken treaties, relocation, and being the only southwestern tribe without a reservation, the Jicarilla Llanero and Ollero bands united in 1873.

[36] After finally securing a reservation, it was spiritually disheartening for them to accept that they would no longer roam on their traditional holy lands and have access to their sacred places.

The protection, preservation, and conservation of the bounty of 'Mother Earth', and all its inhabitants is sacred value shared by all Indian people, and the Apaches were most eager to have this concept incorporated into their tribal constitution.

[49] The government is made up of the following branches:[50] Dulce, a city near the extreme north border of New Mexico, serves as the capital of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, with over 95 percent of the reservation's population residing there.

[53] Mammals and birds migratory paths cross the reservation seasonally, including mountain lion, black bear, elk, Canada geese, and turkey.

Rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout are stocked in seven lakes on the reservation, but annual conditions such as low precipitation result in high pH-levels.

They are renowned for their fine basket making of distinctive diamond, cross, zig-zag designs, or representations of deer, horses or other animals.

[2] Ceremonial practices consist of: Annual events include:[51] The Jicarilla Apache Nation's economy is based upon mining, forestry, gaming, tourism, retail, and agriculture,[58] including: Although the mid twentieth century brought additional economic opportunities,[58] high unemployment and a low standard of living prevails for tribal members.

This is largely due to a high incidence of [alcohol] abuse, which averages 1.7% in the Native American population and reaches 30% in some rural areas or reservations.