PBS Jicarilla Apache Tribe Resources

Southern Colorado has been home to the Jicarilla Apache since time immemorial. This longstanding relationship of the Jicarilla to their environment is illustrated through heritage practices including micaceous clay pottery, basket weaving, and storytelling by tribal elders and members who honor their ancestral lands through the sacred four directions, seasons, rivers and mountains.

A reverence of the natural world is expressed through the Jicarilla Origin Story as told by tribal elders Dr. Veronica E. Velarde Tiller, Maureen Olson, and Bryan Vigil and tribal member Jennifer Muskrat-Velarde, and through the artistry of Jicarilla Apache Master Potter Sheldon Nuñez-Velarde. The power of animals in Jicarilla belief is illustrated through tribal elder Everett Serafin’s story of the Monster Slayer’s conquering of the Monster Elk. The Jicarilla Apache relationship to plants is highlighted through a Tribal legacy of basket weaving, plant medicine, natural remedies and longstanding food sources led by Great Sand Dunes National Park Ranger Jaiden Garcia, a Jicarilla Apache tribal member, and Jicarilla Apache Master Basket Weaver Rowena Mora. The role of water to the Jicarilla people is highlighted through the bilingual story “Ducklings Told to Protect the Lake” by historian and tribal elder Dr. Tiller as told by her grandson, Anthony James.

Created in partnership with the Jicarilla Apache Nation, Rocky Mountain PBS, and PBS’ Climate Engagement Initiative, this program supplements Colorado fourth grade social studies and history standards with video lessons, a Jicarilla Apache book insert, and a corresponding week-long lesson plan available to fourth grade teachers and educators.

The program Ancestral Homelands of the Jicarilla Apache, created through the PBS Climate Engagement Initiative, is now available on YouTube.

The program is scheduled to air Sunday, January 26 at 10:30 AM on Rocky Mountain PBS.

Corresponding Fourth-Grade Lessons

The Great Seal of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, Dulce, New Mexico.