Speakers Bureau Speaker
Dale Curtis Miles, San Carlos
Dale Curtis Miles was born on the San Carlos Apache tribal area and was their first tribal historian. He was educated in Phoenix area schools and lived there a number of years before moving back to San Carlos. Mr. Miles has devoted his life to learning the history and culture of the Apache peoples while studying at ASU and NAU. He has worked with the Arizona Historical Society, the Smithsonian Institute of the American Indian, and tribal elders as well to gain a traditional view of tribal life-ways and stories. In addition, he has written articles for Native People and True West magazines. He is currently working on a book on the image of the Apache people in film and media.
Presentations are suitable for adult as well as high school audiences.
Apache Culture Kit
Using a trunk of Apache artifacts, Mr. Miles presents traditional Apache culture. The kit is a collection of cultural items made in San Carlos and other area of Apache country: moccasins, baskets, cradleboards, beadwork, and dress. The experience is hands-on, leading to an understanding of an often-misrepresented people.
The Camp Grant Massacre, 1871
The Camp Grant Massacre of April 30, 1871, was one of the most well-known and inhuman atrocities committed against the Apache Indians of Arizona. In this presentation, Miles recounts how the incident created national controversy when President U.S. Grant became directly involved and ordered those who committed the crime to be prosecuted.
The Fight in the Salt River Canyon: Skull Cave, December 1872
The Fight at Skull Cave in the Salt River Canyon took place during General George Crook’s Tonto Basin campaign in December 1972. It proved to be an important engagement during General Crook’s first campaign in the Arizona Territory; it was a testing ground for his method of using tribal scouts and mule pack trains along with small columns of soldiers for search-and-destroy missions against hostile Apaches and their Yavapai allies. This presentation looks at the battle from both sides, with a focus on what many believe to be the most important witness, Mike Burns or Hoomothya, a Yavapai boy. Burns, who was captured right before the cave stronghold was discovered, saw the battle from the front lines as a prisoner of the soldiers. He never forgot the horrible sight of entering the cave with the soldiers and seeing the shattered bodies of his loved ones. Later, he was adopted by an army officer, was educated, and, as an adult, wrote a narrative of that terrible day. The fight at Salt River Canyon and Mike Burns’ story provide unique insights into the high price of Anglo settlement in the Southwest.
General Crook and the Sierra Madre Adventure in Mexico, 1883
The Crook expedition was the first to convince the Chiricahua Apaches under Geronimo that surrender was necessary, since their mountain sanctuary was no longer safe from U.S. troops. In this presentation, Miles draws on interviews with elders to explain the use of Apache scouts and mule trains, which helped make this campaign a success.
