The state of Arizona used to be Apache country.
The Apache tribe moved south from Canada and the Bering Strait more than a millennium ago, settling in what is now the American Plains and finally the Southwest. Depending on the exact location of the reservation where a particular Apache Indian lived, your search for his birth certificate could take different turns. You may have luck with the state where the Apache member once lived; otherwise, you might have to do your research within a particular reservation of Apaches.
Instructions
1. Gather as much information as you can find about the Apache Indian for whom you want to find a birth certificate. You'll need at least a name and date of birth.
2. Try to determine the particular group or reservation within the Apache nation to which the person belonged. This will help you find out the state where she lived. Vital statistics for Apaches are concentrated mainly in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and, farther south, in Mexico.
3. Write a letter to the office of vital statistics in the state where you believe the birth certificate is located. Some states, like New Mexico, have an online form you can access (see Resources) that must be filled out and electronically submitted. If you forgo the electronic submission, your letter should include: your desire to obtain a birth certificate; the person's name and date of birth; a description of your family connection to the person; and a copy of your current identification.
4. Mail the letter or completed form to the state or states where you think the birth certificate may be located, with a self-addressed stamped envelop and any fee that's requested by the particular state. Navigate to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's state listing of vital statistics contact information for specific state addresses (see Resources).
5. Travel to the department of health office in the city or county where you think the Apache once resided, as an alternative to writing to the state. These offices are where most states collect and store their birth and death certificates. Follow each office's instructions for requesting a birth certificate, which Apaches have been made to file along with other citizens.
6. Write to the individual reservation where the Apache once lived, if she was born before records were maintained by the state. For instance, Arizona became a U.S. state in 1912 and the state has birth records that date back to just 1909 for most people born there, and to 1855 for just some citizens.
If you're looking for birth records from before the state started collecting records, you'll need to write a letter like the one described in Step 3. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope, and send it to the administration office of the particular reservation where the person lived.
7. Inquire in person, by phone or by email to tribal relatives of the person for whom you seek the birth certificate. An Apache relative of the deceased may be able to explain why you're having such a hard time finding the person's birth certificate.
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