Were the apache an independent tribe?

Answer 1

No, there were different branches or clans of Apaches. Mescalero and Cherikowa being two of them.

The Apache peoples share a geographic origin, in what is now the southwestern U.S.; they share many cultural traditions; and they share a loosely related group of similar languages. Their basic social structure was family-grouped clans, but many of the clans were loosely affiliated with other clans to forms groups that might be considered tribes. An Apachean tribe did not share the powerful social and political ties of the plains tribes to the north. There was most certainly no such thing as one great tribe encompassing all of the Apache peoples.

Because the Apaches kept themselves isolated from Europeans in their challenging southwestern terrain, scientists are missing a lot of details about the early clan/tribe relationships. We are left to guess about many of the intriguing details of the early Apachean culture and languages. When the U.S. Army conquered the Apaches in the late 1800's and sent them to reservations, there was vast cross-cultural mixing that made it almost impossible to accurately reconstruct knowledge of the pre-reservation Apaches. Even the languages changed, and new crosscut dialects immediately appeared.

While there is no widespread scientific agreement on the fine details, it is not unreasonable to suggest that there were 3 Apachean language dialects: White Mountain, San Carlos, and Tonto (related to Navajo language). It is not unreasonable to suggest that there were approximately 6 major social or roughly "tribal" groupings: Western Apache, Plains Apache, Chiricahua, Mescalero, Jicarilla, and Lipans. The Navajo were a 7th Apachean group, but today they are considered a separate tribe.

Answer 2

No. Apache refers to a large group of tribes speaking related languages and living mainly in Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado. Some of the Apache tribes are Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Mescalero and Coyotero (part of the White Mountain Apaches).