From September 4-8, 1986, Arizonans marked the return of the Chiricahua ex-prisoners of war and their descendants in ceremonies intended to complete a spiritual circle. The commemoration looked back on the clash between national expansion and the Chiricahua determination to resist and remain free on their land, and on the lasting impact that so few had on so many. It reflected on raiding, warfare, deportation, imprisonment, and the repatriation of the Chiricahua people. A proclamation issued by Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt linked the observance to the final surrender of Naiche and Geronimo's group and the deportation of the entire Chiricahua Apache Tribe in 1886, which ended a long state of war in Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora, and Chihuahua and began twenty-seven years of imprisonment. The proclamation welcomed the Chiricahua ex-prisoners of war and other tribal members to Arizona on the one hundredth anniversary of the capitulation and called on people to learn the history and culture of the Apache people and take part in the centennial events. The English translation of the Apache-language text expressed the emotions of ex-prisoners of war and descendants who came to the commemoration, recalling history, mourning as family names were read, and affirming that future generations would remember the past and hold fast to their rights because the spirit of the Chiricahua remained among them. It also spoke of retracing the steps and fulfilling the dream of their grandparents to return to the land for which they had surrendered and spent twenty-seven years as prisoners of war.