The Apache of Southwest New Mexico: Recognized but Unacknowledged

Ruben Leyva (Apache) is a teaching assistant at the University of New Mexico and part of the inaugural Ph.D. Native American Studies cohort. Ruben’s Apache roots in New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico are the focus of his research. He is a traditional storyteller focusing on oral histories and oral traditions for the Chihene Nde Nation, where he is the tribal historian.

In April of 2024, the petition Ruben co-authored for his tribe’s federal acknowledgment was published online by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgment (OFA). He presented at the 2024 American Indian Studies Association Conference at UNM, providing a deeper look into the OFA process. He also presented a Zoom lecture on Apache Homelands and the Gila Wilderness, reclaiming his ancestors' roots in the modern Gila National Forest. Not all of Ruben’s ancestors surrendered to the U.S. military, with Apache Geronimo. Instead, some lived in the Sierra Madre Occidental and periodically visited family on U.S. Apache reservations, including San Carlos, Fort Sill, and Mescalero.

Ruben possesses undergraduate and graduate degrees in business administration and is a career criminal investigator with 28 years of experience.