author
Geronimo
1829–1909
A legendary Apache leader and medicine man, he became one of the most famous Indigenous figures in American history through his long resistance to Mexican and U.S. military campaigns. Even after his surrender, his name remained a powerful symbol of courage, survival, and defiance.
1 Audiobook
Geronimo's Story of His Life
by Geronimo
About the author
Born in 1829, Geronimo was a Bedonkohe Apache leader and medicine man of the Chiricahua Apache. He is best known for leading and joining efforts to defend Apache homelands in the Southwest against Mexican and later U.S. forces during the second half of the nineteenth century.
After years of conflict, he surrendered in 1886. He spent the rest of his life as a prisoner of war, living first in Florida and Alabama and later at Fort Sill in present-day Oklahoma. In his later years, he became a widely recognized public figure, appearing at fairs and public events and sharing his story through Geronimo's Story of His Life.
He died in 1909. More than a century later, he remains a deeply remembered and debated historical figure: to many, a symbol of resistance, endurance, and the fight to protect Native land and culture.