Lipan

people

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Last updated

June 30, 2026

Quick Summary

The Lipan are an Apache people historically from eastern New Mexico and western Texas. They are part of the larger Apache group, which is an Athabaskan-speaking people who migrated to the Southwest from the north.12

The Lipan traditionally had a nomadic lifestyle, largely abandoning farming for a more mobile existence. They are culturally grouped with the Eastern Apache, which includes other bands like the Mescalero and Chiricahua. Like other Apache groups, the Lipan have emergence myths and share culture heroes such as "Killer-of-Enemies". Their language is also referred to as Lipan.231

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Apache
Early history
The Lipan of Texas, who were probably originally a band of Jicarilla, had largely given up farming for a more mobile lifestyle. The Mescalero were influenced by the Plains tribes’ corn- and bison-based economies, but their chief food staple was the mescal plant (hence the name…
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The Lipan of Texas, who were probably originally a band of Jicarilla, had largely given up farming for a more mobile lifestyle. The Mescalero were influenced by the Plains tribes’ corn- and bison-based economies, but their chief food staple was the mescal plant (hence the name…
Read More