Hopes for the Future explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Displacement and Homeland

  Geronimo pleads for the return of his people to their ancestral land in Arizona, emphasizing the unsuitability of their current lands.

• Betrayal and Broken Treaties

  Geronimo states that the treaty with General Miles has not always been properly observed by the U.S. Government.

• Injustice and Oppression

  Geronimo questions whether his people have been rightly treated and describes their ongoing captivity.

Characters to notice

• Geronimo

  Speaker of the chapter, expressing hopes for the future of his people.

• General Nelson A. Miles

  Mentioned as the signatory of the treaty with Geronimo on behalf of the U.S. Government.

• Theodore Roosevelt

  Referred to as the President who granted Geronimo permission to tell his story.

Key passages

• “I am thankful that the President of the United States has given me permission to tell my story.”

  Geronimo expresses gratitude to the President for allowing him to share his narrative.

  Opening statement of the chapter.

• “I hope that he and those in authority under him will read my story and judge whether my people have been rightly treated.”

  Geronimo hopes that the President and officials will evaluate the treatment of the Apache people.

  Geronimo appeals for a fair assessment of Apache treatment.

• “That treaty has not at all times been properly observed by the Government, although at the present time it is being more nearly fulfilled on their part than heretofore.”

  The U.S. Government has not always kept the treaty, though recently they have been more compliant.

  Geronimo notes the inconsistent observance of the treaty.

• “I think that my people are now capable of living in accordance with the laws of the United States, and we would, of course, like to have the liberty to return to that land which is ours by divine right.”

  Geronimo believes the Apache are ready to live under U.S. laws and wishes to return to their divinely granted homeland.

  Geronimo asserts the readiness of his people for citizenship and return.

• “We are now held on Comanche and Kiowa lands, which are not suited to our needs—these lands and this climate are suited to the Indians who originally inhabited this country, of course, but our people are decreasing in numbers here, and will continue to decrease unless they are allowed to return to their native land.”

  The Apache are confined to lands meant for other tribes, causing population decline; only a return to Arizona can reverse this.

  Geronimo explains the unsuitability of their current reservation.

• “It is my land, my home, my fathers’ land, to which I now ask to be allowed to return.”

  Geronimo requests permission to return to his ancestral homeland.

  Emotional plea for return to Arizona.