Speakers Bureau Speaker
Jay Van Orden, Tucson
Jay Van Orden worked for the Arizona Historical Society (AHS) for thirty-two years. As Director of Field Services, he made and maintained connections with most of the state’s local history museums. He remains busy in retirement with research and writing related to Geronimo, the Apaches, and the Civil War in Arizona, as well as the restoration of classic automobiles and motor scooters. He represents AHS on the State Historic Sites Review Committee.
Geronimo’s Surrender: The 1886 C. S. Fly Photographs
In March 1886, representatives of two warring nations met at Cañon de los Embudos near the Arizona-Mexico border. The names and deeds of Geronimo and the Chiricahua Apaches, and of General George Crook and the U.S. Army, have long been recorded in history books. Most major publications, however, have presented a one-sided view of the event and inaccurately or incompletely identified participants. In this presentation, Van Orden reexamines both the historical accounts and the photographed records of the surrender talks, and discusses critical, and heretofore missing, information. Van Orden integrates the updated information to add new depth to the suspenseful days of negotiations. Augmented by information retrieved from both researched eyewitness accounts and consultations with descendants of the photographed Chiricahuas, his presentation adds new historical perspective to a riveting moment in history. The Fly photographs capture the meetings, military camp scenes, and stunning views of the Chiricahua people. "The only known photographs of American Indians as Enemy-in-the-Field" were also the last ones, and with the final surrender of the Chiricahuas six months later, 350 years of Indian-Anglo warfare in North America came to an end.
Warriors and Beyond: A Closer Look at the Clothing, Equipment, and Lifestyle of the Chiricahua Apache
In 1886, C. S. Fly, an itinerant Tombstone photographer, captured on film the negotiations between Geronimo and General Crook at Cañon de Los Embudos, Sonora. These images provide a unique insight into the lives of these "Apaches" while still living in freedom. Images of the meetings, the military camp settings, and the Chiricahua men, women, and children capture aspects of their clothing, equipment, and lifestyle. Although these photographs establish a starting place for the exploration of this topic, Van Orden also relies on years of study of original accounts and other photographs of the Chiricahua Apache to further explore the topic, illustrate comparisons, and create discussion.
