Descendant Jerry ‘Geronimo’ Martin shares his story.
The great-great grandson of the legendary Apache warrior and medicine man Geronimo, Martin has made it his life’s mission to tell the true story behind the man often misunderstood by history books.
“What makes my grandfather the greatest warrior is that he was the last to stand for what he believed,” said Martin. “There are so many newspaper stories about Geronimo that are inaccurate. I want to tell the truth.”
Geronimo, born in 1829, endured unthinkable loss when his wife, mother and three children were murdered. “He also fought for his people because he wanted to live as they always had lived,” Martin said. “Not under the watchful eye of the government on a reservation. He didn’t want sustenance; he wanted to hunt and grow his food like it used to be.”
Martin travels the country speaking at historical societies, state parks, libraries, museums, schools and military events. “It is a promise I made to my grandmother, known as Lil Granma,” he said.
“Jerry brings his ancestral stories to life,” said Nate Meyers, director of the Sedona Heritage Museum. “He’s so passionate and he has a good story to tell. The audience really gets a good sense of Geronimo, the person, rather than Geronimo, the myth.”
Martin was born in Boulder, Colorado. His mother, who contracted tuberculosis at age 14, met his father – a married man with children – while in an infirmary. She became pregnant at 17. “Because she wasn’t released from the hospital, my grandmother came from the San Carlos Reservation [in southeastern Arizona] to raise me,” Martin said. “My mom was released three years later.”
He affectionately called his grandmother “Lil Granma” because she was just shy of five feet tall.
At 18, Martin joined the Navy and was assigned to the Marine Corps as a hospital corpsman, serving as a medic for four years in Vietnam with the artillery unit known as the I/9 Walking Dead. “We suffered the most casualties of any other unit in Vietnam military history,” he said. “There was a bounty put on us by the president of North Vietnam.”
After his eight years the military, Martin earned degrees in computer science and business administration. He worked as a truck driver for 25 years before transitioning into the fiber optics industry. “With my background in fiber optics, I also became a contractor for the U.S. Government, moving analog to digital. We worked all around the U.S.,” he said.
Today, Martin lives in Camp Verde with his wife, Eileen, a writer who authored Lena-tu-ha: An Apache Maiden, a historical novel based on Lil Granma’s life. Writing under the pen name Isherbomb, Eileen recounts the story of Lena-tu-ha and her sisters, who escaped from a prisoner-of-war train but were captured and sold into slavery by Mexican federales.
In the book’s acknowledgements, Eileen offers a special thanks to her deceased mother-in-law, Consuela, who planted the seed for the book, and describes the struggles of the Native people as told to her. “…the Indians were captured by both the U.S. soldiers and the Mexican Federales. They were placed on reservations. If they escaped, they were prisoners of war. They were used as slaves on the big ranches in Mexico. U.S. soldiers took the children off the reservations and sent them to Residential Schools where they were taught to be ‘civilized human beings.’ If they did not comply with White Men’s ways, they were sometimes euthanized. Their parents were told that they just ran away.”
The couple shares their home with horses, chickens and five German shepherds, one of which is a service dog. Martin’s full nationality is Benakahe, Chiracahua, Mescalero, Lippan Apache and Aztec.
Martin also explained how the term “Geronimo!” became a battle cry. “He was on the train from Arizona to Florida as a prisoner of war. In San Antonio, my grandfather jumped out of the train, did a rolling tuck, climbed up a water tower and took a leap from about 40 feet. He did another tuck and roll and they tackled him.”
Matthew Sakietewas Gilbert, professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, said Martin is more than just a storyteller. “As a descendant of the great Apache leader Geronimo, for years, Jerry’s stories of his people have captivated Indians and non-Indians alike,” he said. “Indian Country needs more leaders like Martin – those who are fearless, direct and motivated by their past and a desire for a brighter future.”
My Favorite Movie
“The Wizard of Oz.” It is fascinating, a place that you can go and be safe.
My Favorite Place
Sedona. That’s where I visited the last five years for vacation.
My Superpower
Visions, visions do come true. I see visions in the future that I can forecast, either a warming or change of venue. Those are my powers, just like my great-great grandpa, he had those visions, too.
My Guilty Pleasure
Chocolate.
My Favorite Saying
It’s not important who you are, as much as it is who you allow yourself to become. You’re the only one who’s responsible for you. VVBN
For more information, visit geronimolegends.com.
Photo by V. Ronnie Tierney: Jerry “Geronimo” Martin wears traditional Apache regalia as he honors the legacy of his great-great-grandfather, the famed warrior and medicine man Geronimo.
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