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The Apache are natives of the Southwest deserts (particularly in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas). Some Apache people were also located across the border in northern Mexico. One Apache band, the Na'ishan or Plains Apache, lived far away from the other Apaches, in what is now Oklahoma. Their customs were different from other Apaches, more similar to their Kiowa neighbors. For that reason, the Americans often called the Na'ishan "Kiowa-Apaches."
Apache women were in charge of the home. Besides cooking and taking care of children, Apache women built new houses for their families every time the tribe moved their location. Though it was rare for an Apache woman to become a warrior, girls learned to ride and shoot just like the boys did, and women often helped to defend Apache villages when they were attacked. Apache men were hunters, warriors, and political leaders. Only men were chiefs in the Apache tribe. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine.
Most Apache people lived in wickiups, which are simple wooden frames covered by a matting of brush and sometimes a buffalo-hide tarp. Wickiups were small dwellings, often the size of a modern camp tent, and an Apache woman could build a new wickiup in two hours if there was enough brush available. The Plains Apaches and some Lipan Apaches used buffalo-hide tipis as housing instead, which are more spacious and easier to heat than wickiups.
Originally Apache women wore buckskin dresses and the men wore leather war shirts and breechcloths. In the 1800's, many Apache men began to wear white cotton tunics and pants, which they adopted from the Mexicans, and many Apache women wore calico skirts and dresses. The Apaches wore moccasins or high moccasin boots on their feet. An Apache lady's dress or warrior's shirt was often fringed and beaded for decoration.
The Apaches did not traditionally wear feather warbonnets, but the Plains Apaches adopted these headdresses from their Kiowa allies. Other Apache people wore leather or cloth headbands instead. Women usually wore their hair long and loose or gathered into a bun. Many young Apache women fastened their buns with hourglass-shaped hair ornaments called nah-leens. Apache men often cut their hair to shoulder length (except in the Plains Apache tribe.) Both sexes liked to wear shell jewelry, especially choker-style necklaces. The Apaches also painted their faces for special occasions. They used different patterns for war paint, religious ceremonies, and festive decoration.
The Apaches were not farming people like their cousins the Navajos. Primarily they were hunters. Apache men hunted buffalo, deer, antelope, and small game, while women gathered nuts, seeds, and fruit from the environment around them. Although they were not farmers, the Apaches still ate corn frequently. They got it by trading with the Pueblo tribes and the Spanish, or by capturing it during raids. Apache hunters used bows and arrows. In war, Apache men fired their bows or fought with long spears and buffalo-hide shields.
The Apaches traded regularly with other tribes of the Southwest. They particularly liked to trade for corn from agricultural tribes like the Navajo and Pueblo tribes. More often, though, the Apaches were known for raiding neighboring tribes and stealing horses, corn, and other goods. The Apaches had different ideas about war than Europeans did. The Europeans considered a direct attack honorable but thought sneaking in and stealing things was cowardly. But to the Apaches, stealthily raiding another tribe's camp was a brave deed because it meant risking their own lives, but attacking the camp openly would be shameful, because children and old people were likely to be hurt. Apache warriors usually only fought real wars over matters of revenge or defending their lands from invaders, like when they fought against the Mexicans and Americans. At other times, Apache men went on raids primarily to prove their courage.
http://www.bigorrin.org/apache_kids.htm
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