Southern Athabaskan languages in the context of "Mescalero-Chiricahua language"

Navajo or Navaho (/ˈnævəhoʊ, ˈnɑːvə-/ NAV-ə-hoh, NAH-və-; Navajo: Diné bizaad [tìnépìz̥ɑ̀ːt] or Naabeehó bizaad [nɑ̀ːpèːhópìz̥ɑ̀ːt]) is a Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America. Navajo is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States, especially in the Navajo Nation. It is one of the most widely spoken Native American languages and is the most widely spoken north of the Mexico–United States border, with almost 170,000 Americans speaking Navajo at home as of 2011.

The language has struggled to keep a healthy speaker base, although this problem has been alleviated to some extent by extensive education programs in the Navajo Nation. In World War II, speakers of the Navajo language joined the military and developed a code for sending secret messages. These code talkers' messages are widely credited with saving many lives and winning some of the most decisive battles in the war.

Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan Indigenous people, who have lived in the Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European and African contact, they lived in New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and northern Mexico. Historically, they were the easternmost band of Apache.

The descendants of the Lipan Apache live primarily in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, and northern Mexico. Some are enrolled in three federally recognized tribes: the Mescalero Apache Tribe in New Mexico, the Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, and Apache Tribe of Oklahoma, which is also known as the Kiowa Apache or Plains Apache. The Lipan Apache, however, are not a federally recognized tribe. Additionally, Lipan Apache descendants are members of non-federally recognized groups.

Lipan (Lipan Apache: ndé miizaa) is an Eastern Southern Athabaskan language spoken by the Lipan Apache in the states of Coahuila and Chihuahua in northern Mexico, some reservations of New Mexico and parts of southern Texas. Lipan belongs to the Na-Dene languages family and it is closely related to the Jicarilla language, which is also part of the Eastern Southern Athabaskan languages.