Association with a Chiricahua Apache family for 19 years gives Bud Shapard an exceptional insight into Apache history and culture. His background in Indian history and culture was honed as the Research Services Officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. After his retirement to the North Carolina mountains in 1988, he spent his time writing. His first book, Chief Loco: Apache Peacemaker (University of Oklahoma Press, 2010), was the winner of the 2011 New Mexico Book Award for a Multi-cultural Subject.
