Jicarilla Apache Nation
The Jicarilla Apache Nation is located in the scenic mountains and rugged mesas of northern New Mexico near the Colorado border. It includes approximately 2,755 (Census 2000) tribal members, most of whom live in the town of Dulce. Nomadic in nature until just before European contact, the Jicarilla tribe established trade with Taos and Picuris pueblos. They wandered and traded as far east as Kansas until they settled deep in the northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the mid-1720s.
The Jicarilla Apache Nation is world-renowned for hunting, fishing, camping, boating and hiking opportunities. They maintain Horse Lake Mesa Game Park, the largest single elk enclosure in the country at 14,500 acres. Black bear and mountain lion roam freely throughout the nation.
The nation offers fishing at seven beautiful mountain lakes, from 30 to 400 acres in size, and harbors thousands of ducks and the greatest variety of waterbirds found in the Southwest. For more information, contact the Jicarilla Apache Department of Game and Fish at P.O. Box 313, Dulce, N.M. 87528, (505) 759-3255.
Stop by the Jicarilla Arts and Crafts Shop Museum and marvel at Jicarilla beadwork, baskets, paintings and ribbon shirts. Flung across and under several enfolding limestone-streaked mesas, Dulce, the tribal capital, is pretty quiet except during the mid-September Go-Jii-Ya Feast Day, the Stone Lake Fiesta and July's Little Beaver Roundup.
There are plenty of overnight accommodations in Dulce and a community center offers bowling, a gym, swimming pool and exercise room. No camera permits are required; there's no admission fee to the reservation. Dulce is located 35 miles west of Chama on U.S. 64.
Jicarilla Apache Nation
P.O. Box 507
Dulce, NM 87528
Phone: (505) 759-3242
Fax: (505) 759-3005
www.jicarillaonline.com