Apaches Tell Their Story: The Apaches of Aravaipa Canyon. By John Hartman San Carlos Apache Reservation This mass murder of Apaches at Aravaipa has become known in the historical literature as “The Camp Grant Massacre”.
The Apaches refer to the site as g’ashdla a cho o aa or “big sycamore standing there,” with the unspoken understanding of what took place. In 1871 the bands of Chief Ezkiminzin and Chief Capitan Chiquito came into Camp Grant on Aravaipa Creek. Aravaipa Permits. Before highways and railways, before pioneers, even before Columbus.....the land we know as the United States was truly a vast wilderness.
To protect these last remaining areas, Congress created the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness. Aravaipa's outstanding scenery, desert fish and wildlife, rich history, and opportunities for primitive recreation will remain free from the influence of man and are protected in this condition for future generations.