Great Warrior: Lozen of the Warm Springs Apache, 1840-1889
In some tribes a woman was free to choose a warrior's path. Just as with male warriors, she was responsible for shielding her people from harm, guiding them to safety, and fighting their enemies. Lozen, the sister of Chihenne/Warm Springs Apache leader Victorio exemplified all of these qualities.
Lozen was born c 1840's in New Mexico, in the Chihenne Apache's home range. Her brother, Victorio/Biduya was several years older than her. How or why Lozen chose to become a warrior instead of a wife in mother isn't known today. However, it may have had something to do with the fact that, in addition to being personally courageous and very cunning, Lozen had abilities above and beyond those of typical warriors. According to tradition, she could sense the direction and proximity of enemies. She would pray to the Apache deity and stand with her palms outstretched, turning in one direction or another until the palms tingled or changed color. Time and again, she was right and Victorio came to rely on her prowess, both on the battlefield and in council. He introduced her to his colleague as his right hand. Lozen was, "strong as any man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen is a shield to her people."
By 1877, conditions on the San Carlos Apache Reservation were unbearable. Rations were almost non-existent and the Apaches were facing disease, starvation and exposure. Not allowed to go off the Reservation to hunt for themselves, the only choice was to leave. Lozen supported Victorio's decision to take this audacious step and turned her attention toward the women and children who had chosen flight. When they crossed the rain-swollen Rio Grande into Mexico, the women and children huddled on the American side, afraid to cross. Lozen appeared on a black horse and, according to one young survivor, "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." The woman and children followed her without question.
Once across the river, Lozen turned the management of the group over to an older woman and rejoined the warriors. Victorio said that he depended as much on Lozen as he did on Nana. Unfortunately, he did not have Lozen's advice and fighting ability with him during his final battle at Tres Castillos. Lozen had noticed an Apache woman nearing childbirth and knew that the woman would fare better on the Reservation than on the march. Armed with only her rifle and cartridge belt, a canteen, knife and few provisions, she escorted the mother back into American territory. When their food ran out, she used the knife to kill a longhorn, and butchered out the meat. She stole a horse from the Mexican cavalry for the mother, and another for herself from a vaquero. Later, when she needed them, she liberated another rifle, saddle, blanket and even a shirt from a soldier, and delivered the woman's baby on the trail. Finally, she brought the woman and her child back to the Reservation, only to find out that her beloved brother had fought his last battle.
She left the Reservation again, rejoining Nana and the survivors in the Sierra Madre. When Geronimo broke out of San Carlos in 1885, Lozen attached herself to his Chiricahua band and kept up the fight. When Geronimo decided to enter into negotiations with the Americans, he chose Lozen and another female warrior, Dahteste, to speak for the Apache side. The terms included imprisonment for the leaders of the rebellion, which the two women adamantly rejected. They also rejected the idea of exile at Fort Marion in Florida. However, soon after their surrender, the Apache, including Lozen, were placed on a train and sent to Florida. They were later transferred to Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama, where Lozen died in confinement in 1889.
Lozen was born c 1840's in New Mexico, in the Chihenne Apache's home range. Her brother, Victorio/Biduya was several years older than her. How or why Lozen chose to become a warrior instead of a wife in mother isn't known today. However, it may have had something to do with the fact that, in addition to being personally courageous and very cunning, Lozen had abilities above and beyond those of typical warriors. According to tradition, she could sense the direction and proximity of enemies. She would pray to the Apache deity and stand with her palms outstretched, turning in one direction or another until the palms tingled or changed color. Time and again, she was right and Victorio came to rely on her prowess, both on the battlefield and in council. He introduced her to his colleague as his right hand. Lozen was, "strong as any man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen is a shield to her people." By 1877, conditions on the San Carlos Apache Reservation were unbearable. Rations were almost non-existent and the Apaches were facing disease, starvation and exposure. Not allowed to go off the Reservation to hunt for themselves, the only choice was to leave. Lozen supported Victorio's decision to take this audacious step and turned her attention toward the women and children who had chosen flight. When they crossed the rain-swollen Rio Grande into Mexico, the women and children huddled on the American side, afraid to cross. Lozen appeared on a black horse and, according to one young survivor, "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." The woman and children followed her without question.
Once across the river, Lozen turned the management of the group over to an older woman and rejoined the warriors. Victorio said that he depended as much on Lozen as he did on Nana. Unfortunately, he did not have Lozen's advice and fighting ability with him during his final battle at Tres Castillos. Lozen had noticed an Apache woman nearing childbirth and knew that the woman would fare better on the Reservation than on the march. Armed with only her rifle and cartridge belt, a canteen, knife and few provisions, she escorted the mother back into American territory. When their food ran out, she used the knife to kill a longhorn, and butchered out the meat. She stole a horse from the Mexican cavalry for the mother, and another for herself from a vaquero. Later, when she needed them, she liberated another rifle, saddle, blanket and even a shirt from a soldier, and delivered the woman's baby on the trail. Finally, she brought the woman and her child back to the Reservation, only to find out that her beloved brother had fought his last battle.
She left the Reservation again, rejoining Nana and the survivors in the Sierra Madre. When Geronimo broke out of San Carlos in 1885, Lozen attached herself to his Chiricahua band and kept up the fight. When Geronimo decided to enter into negotiations with the Americans, he chose Lozen and another female warrior, Dahteste, to speak for the Apache side. The terms included imprisonment for the leaders of the rebellion, which the two women adamantly rejected. They also rejected the idea of exile at Fort Marion in Florida. However, soon after their surrender, the Apache, including Lozen, were placed on a train and sent to Florida. They were later transferred to Mount Vernon Barracks in Alabama, where Lozen died in confinement in 1889.
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