Elders from the Chiricahua-Apache Tribe

Gilbert Aguilera

Gilbert Aguilera is a U.S. Navy veteran and a member of the Chiricahua Apache Nation who has become a prominent advocate for the return and recognition of his people within their ancestral homelands in New Mexico. His work centers on cultural reclamation, historical justice, and the restoration of a physical and institutional presence for the Chiricahua Apache in Nde benah, their traditional territory.

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Aguilera has played a key role in efforts to establish a tribal presence at the historic Fort Bayard campus, where he has served as a spokesperson for Chiricahua Apache initiatives seeking to lease and repurpose space—particularly the former nurses’ quarters—for tribal administrative offices. This project represents more than adaptive reuse; it is part of a broader movement to reclaim land and memory at a site built on Apache territory and deeply intertwined with U.S. military and Indigenous history.

His advocacy is shaped by both service and family legacy. Aguilera served in the U.S. Navy and was once stationed at the Naval Air Facility in China Lake, California, alongside his brother, Manuel Aguilera Jr.. His brother, also a Navy veteran, is buried at the Fort Bayard National Cemetery, making the preservation and stewardship of the Fort Bayard site a matter of profound personal, military, and cultural significance.

Through his work, Aguilera brings attention to the continued struggles of the Chiricahua Apache people, who were held as prisoners of war by the U.S. government for 27 years (1886–1913).

While some descendants are members of the federally recognized Fort Sill Apache Tribe in Oklahoma, many others—like those Aguilera represents—continue to seek formal recognition, land access, and a rightful place in their New Mexico homelands. His voice stands at the intersection of Indigenous sovereignty, veteran service, and the enduring fight for historical and cultural restoration.