The Jicarilla Trail

In 1918 the Jicarilla Apaches of northern New Mexico seemed destined for extinction. A once proud and unruly people that were among the last to be "pacified" by the white man, they had sunk into a hopeless depression. They watched apathetically while opportunists from outside exploited their land, were so riddled by disease that their number had dropped to less than 600. Then the Bureau of Indian Affairs sent energetic Chester Faris to take over as superintendent. Faris had a way of handling his new charges. "I always made it a rule," says he, "never to tell an Indian what to do. I waited until he told me what he wanted, and then I helped him get it."

Under Faris' unobtrusive leadership, the Jicarillas began to regain their pride. Instead of letting outsiders lease and buy their land, Superintendent Faris persuaded them to cultivate it themselves. They cleared and fenced it, began raising sheep, cattle and horses. They started getting royalties on the lumber they owned. By the time Faris left in 1923, the tribe had begun to increase.

From his home in Albuquerque, to which he eventually retired, Faris kept a watchful eye on his old friends. Last fall they came to him with a new sort of problem. Gas and oil had been discovered on their land, and they could soon expect to have $7,000,000 in royalties to spend. Last week, on the advice of Nonagenarian Faris, the Tribal Council deposited in the First National Bank of Albuquerque $1,000,000 in a special trust to ensure the tribe's future. The $40,000-a-year income it produces will be used as school and college scholarships for the Jicarillas--boys, girls and adults. The largest tribal trust of its kind, it appropriately bears the name: the Chester E. Faris Educational Fund.

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