Geronimo (1829-1909) Featured On Mew Mexico Strike

Geronimo (1829-1909) Featured On Mew Mexico Silver Strike
Current
Denom: NCV
Collected BY: A. J. Giametta
Color: Gold
Inlay: .999 Silver
Token: Gold
Believed Used In New Mexico Casino
Tribal Chief
NOTES — Geronimo (1829-1909) was an Apache leader and medicine man best known for his fearlessness in resisting anyone–Mexican or American—who attempted to remove his people from their tribal lands.
He repeatedly evaded capture and life on a reservation, and during his final escape, a full quarter of the U.S. standing army pursued him and his followers. When Geronimo was captured on September 4, 1886, he was the last Native American leader to formally surrender to the U.S. military. He spent the last 23 years of his life as a prisoner of war.
Geronimo was born in the upper Gila River country on June 16, 1829 (there is debate over whether his birthplace is in present-day Arizona or New Mexico). His birth name was Goyahkla, or "one who yawns." He was part of the Bedonkohe subsection of the Chiricahua tribe of Apaches, a small but mighty group of around 8,000 people. By the time he came of age, the Apaches were at war with Mexicans to the South, the U.S. government to the North and neighboring Comanche and Navajo tribes. He showed early promise as a hunter and led four successful raids on nearby tribes by age 17.