Lozen

Background

Lozen was born into the Chihenne during the late 1840s. From an early age, she rejected traditional women’s duties, preferring to ride horses and receive warrior training from her brother Victorio.

Education

Apart from a martial education, Lozen also studied medicine, and she became a medicine woman in addition to her role as a warrior.

Career

In 1871, the U.S. government offered to establish a reservation for the Apaches under Cochise and Victorio at Warm Springs, New Mexico. After consulting with his sister, Victorio agreed. But the tribe was subsequently moved to less favorable locations, and, in 1876 they fled from the San Carlos reservation in Arizona, eluding capture for the next three years. In the period of extended conflict that ensued, Apache leaders relied on Lozen's predictions. She joined Victorio on raids, attended war dances, and participated in councils. Contemporaries described her as sacred and respected above all other women.

In the fall of 1880, Victorio was being pursued in Texas when a woman in his band entered labor. Lozen remained behind with her, until she had given birth, then escorted mother and infant across New Mexico to the Mescalero Apache reservation, eluding American and Mexican forces along the way. Meanwhile, Victorio was trapped by the Mexican military and killed along with seventy-eight others. Lozen joined Victorio's seventy-year-old successor, Nana, and the medicine man, Geronimo (Goyankla).

In the summer of 1881, Lozen captured a herd of horses bearing valuable ammunition. Soon after, she joined Geronimo when he left the San Carlos reservation to resume raiding. In a battle with Mexican troops, Lozen calmly retrieved a mule carrying ammunition while under direct fire. In the spring of 1883, she filled another role, as a mediator, when she and a woman named Dahteste (Tahdas-te) arranged a meeting with General George Crook. (Married to one of Geronimo's followers, Dahteste was also an excellent fighter.) At this meeting, Geronimo and Nana agreed to return to Fort Apache - but by the spring of 1885, they were in flight once again.

In March 1886, Lozen and Dahteste arranged another conference with Crook. Geronimo almost surrendered, then changed his mind and fled. Lozen joined him. Meanwhile, to prevent the four hundred Chiricahuas who had remained on the reservation from joining the renegades, General Nelson Miles, Crook's replacement, had them incarcerated in Florida. In late summer 1886, Lozen and Dahteste appeared at a camp of American soldiers in Mexico and announced that Geronimo was willing to meet. His followers had been reduced to some three dozen men, women, and children. Undefeated in battle, they were nonetheless tired and homesick. Joining the Chiricahuas in Florida, they remained prisoners of war until 1913.

From Florida, the tribe was moved to Mount Vernon, Alabama, where Lozen contracted tuberculosis and died in 1889 at about the age of fifty. She was buried in an unmarked grave along with 250 other Apaches.

Achievements

• Lozen is famous for using her powers to locate the American and Mexican cavalry who were pursuing Geronimo’s band. Outstretching her arms, she would chant and move in a circle, whereupon she would feel a tremor in her hands. Whatever direction those hands were pointing at the time would indicate where the enemy was. The level of tremor told her the strength of the pursuing party.

Personality

Lozen is reputed to have been a skilled military strategist, as well as being highly proficient when it came to medicinal matters. Additionally, Lozen was her people’s spiritual leader, and, according to legend, possessed spiritual abilities that enabled her to detect the movement of her enemies, thus helping her to plan her strategies. Some have dubbed Lozen as the 'Apache Joan of Arc'.

Quotes from others about the person

• "Lozen is my right hand... strong as a man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen is a shield to her people." - Victorio
  
  "I saw a magnificent woman on a beautiful horse - Lozen, sister of Victorio. Lozen the woman warrior! High above her head, she held her rifle. There was a glitter as her right foot lifted and struck the shoulder of her horse. He reared, then plunged into the torrent. She turned his head upstream, and he began swimming." - James Kaywaykla

Connections

Lozen was never married.

Brother:

Victorio

Friend:

Dahteste

References

• Amazons to Fighter Pilots: A Biographical Dictionary of Military Women
  2003
• Sifters: Native American Women's Lives
  2001
• Chiricahua Apache Women and Children: Safekeepers of the Heritage
  2000
• The Hebrew Kid and the Apache Maiden
  2004