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Lozen: An Intelligent and Brave Apache Warrior Woman
Lozen was a female warrior of the Chiricahua Apaches (known also as the Members or Warm Springs Apache) who lived during the 19th century. Apart from her prowess as a warrior, 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’.
Lozen – A Secret Name
The name ‘Lozen’ is an Apache war title, given to one who has stolen horses in a raid. It has been said that during Lozen’s time, many Apaches used titles or nicknames in public, and seldom used their birth names. This was due to the belief that by doing so, he / she was conserving his / her spiritual power. Lozen’s personal name seems to be no longer known today, not by the general public at least.
Lozen was born during the 1840s, perhaps around the middle or towards the end of that decade. Lozen’s place of birth is said to have been somewhere in the area of New Mexico / Arizona / Northern Mexico, which was called Apacheria at that time. Her brother was the famous Apache war chief Victorio.
Chiricahua Apache chief Victorio, circa 1875.
Even as a young girl, Lozen is said to have shown that she had no interest in the traditional roles that females played in her tribe, i.e. being in charge of domestic affairs. Instead, she was keener to learn the arts of war and the ways of the warrior. It has been said that Lozen was tutored in these areas by her brother Victorio. Apart from a martial education, Lozen also studied medicine, and she became a medicine woman in addition to her role as a warrior.
Lozen’s Abilities
By the age of 20, Lozen was apparently an expert at stealing horses, which probably accounts for the title she used in public. In addition, Lozen was skillful at riding, shooting, and planning strategies. She fought alongside her brother, and often sat beside him at council ceremonies, as well as participating in warrior ceremonies. An often quoted saying by Victorio is that Lozen was his “right hand, strong as a man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen is a shield to her people.”
A painting of Lozen.
Lozen is also said to have been gifted with the ability to detect the movement of her enemies. According to legend, Lozen would stretch out her arms, with her palms facing the sky. Then, she would follow the Sun, whilst praying to Ussen, the Apache Creator of Life. It has been claimed that when she felt a tingling in her hands, and when her palms darkened, Lozen would know the direction from which her enemies were coming. Armed with this knowledge, Lozen would help her people avoid capture.
San Carlos Reservation Escape
Nonetheless, in 1870 the Apache were driven out of their lands and onto reservations. Lozen and her people were on the San Carlos Reservation, where in 1877 they decided to escape from its harsh conditions. They managed to make it back onto their own lands, but had to fight to preserve their freedom. Two years later, they were sent onto another reservation. Victorio, Lozen and the other Apache warriors continued their fight against their oppressors.
Guard House in San Carlos, Arizona circa 1880.
Alliance with Geronimo
In 1880, Victorio was killed in a battle. Lozen and a small band of warriors wanted revenge, and began raids across New Mexico and Arizona. Eventually, Lozen and her warriors joined forces with Geronimo, another prominent war chief of the Apache. When Geronimo surrendered to the Americans in 1886, his followers, including Lozen, were first sent to Florida, and then to Alabama.
Lozen and Dahteste (sitting together in the upper part of the photo) along with Geronimo.
The Apache were not used to the climate of their new home, and many are said to have died of diseases such as diphtheria and tuberculosis. Lozen was one of these, as she died in 1889 as a result of tuberculosis. She is said to be buried in Alabama in an unmarked grave.
Geronimo: The Apache Warrior that fought to Avenge the Slaughter of his Family
In the 1940s, the U.S. Army was experimenting with the possibility of infiltrating enemy territory by dropping soldiers with parachutes from aeroplanes. According to one account, on the night before the first mass jump was to be performed, the soldiers involved were watching the 1939 film Geronimo. After the film, a private by the name of Aubrey Eberhardt boasted that he will shout ‘Geronimo!’ as he jumped out of the plane in order to prove that he was not afraid. This caught on with the rest of Eberhardt’s fellow soldiers, and subsequently the general public. It has since often been mimicked by those preparing to jump from great heights. Who was Geronimo?
Born in 1829 to the Apache tribe, Geronimo was originally known as Goyathlay, which meant ‘the one who yawns’. The Gila Wilderness, which is the place of Geronimo’s birth, is now located in the south of present day New Mexico, though it was part of Mexico at the time of Geronimo’s birth. On one occasion, Geronimo was on a trading trip away from his camp. When he returned, however, he discovered that his mother, wife and three young children were massacred by Mexican soldiers. This filled Geronimo with anger, and he decided to wage war against the Mexicans as revenge.
Using guerrilla tactics, Geronimo began conducting daring raids against the Mexicans. Geronimo’s fearlessness and aggressiveness soon made him a feared warrior amongst the Mexicans. According to legend, the terrified Mexican soldiers who had the misfortune of facing Geronimo in battle would shout and plea to St. Jerome for help and deliverance. As a result, the man called Goyathlay became known to his enemies as Geronimo.
By the middle of the 19 th century, the Mexicans had ceded large portions of the Southwest to the United States. This change of hands, however, meant nothing to Geronimo and his followers. The way of life of these new settlers was opposed to that of the Apache. Apart from disrupting the Apache’s established way of life, the American settlers also set limits on the places where they could live, thus restricting their freedom of movement. When Geronimo’s tribe was removed in 1876 to the San Carlos Reservation in eastern Arizona, the warrior fled with a handful of men into Mexico. He was soon arrested in the following year and brought back.
Geronimo escaped again in 1881, and for the next five years waged what was to become the last of the Indian Wars against the United States. Geronimo finally surrendered in 1886 to General Nelson Miles, on the condition that his followers would be allowed to disband and return home to their families. The United States, however, reneged on its promise, and sent the men to Fort Pickers, whilst the accompanying women and children were sent to Fort Marion. Geronimo was later transferred to Fort Sill, where he became a local celebrity. Among other things, Geronimo charged visitors to Fort Sill to have their photos taken with him, took part in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Circus, was a huge attraction at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, and rode in President Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural parade in 1905.
Despite this fame, Geronimo was still a prisoner of war, even until his death from pneumonia in 1909. He was never allowed to return to his homeland, and was buried in a cemetery in Fort Sill. One of the most bizarre episodes happens to Geronimo’s remains years later. It has been alleged that the skull and femurs of Geronimo were removed from his grave, and are now in the possession of a secret society known as the Skull and Bones Society, an organization of privileged Yale students whose alumni include Prescott Bush (the grandfather of George W. Bush) and John Kerry. It is not clear whether the society really have the skull and femurs of Geronimo. Nevertheless, in 2009, 20 descendants of Geronimo filed a lawsuit against the secret society seeking to repatriate their ancestor’s remains and rebury them near his birthplace, though there has been a lack of hard evidence to support the case.
At Peace or in War, the Apache Indian Tribes Have Been a Proud People
The Apache Indian tribes believed in a time when there were many birds, beasts and monsters but no sun. The night showed no stars nor moon. The world existed in darkness. It was too dangerous for all but a few humans or deities. People would get eaten as soon as the monsters found them.
Finally, a boy defeated the dragon that was eating all the people. His uncle, Usen (God), helped him establish a world where humans could exist. The story goes :
“This boy’s name was Apache. Usen taught him to prepare herbs for medicine, how to hunt and how to fight. He was the first chief of the Indians and wore the eagle’s feathers [signifying] justice, wisdom and power. To him and to his people, as they were created, Usen gave them homes in the land of the West.”
Geronimo, a great leader of the Apaches, was born in 1829 and died 79 years later. Geronimo told the story of this people.
The Apache sometimes call their six main tribes that survive the Inde or Diné, meaning the People. But many Apaches refer to themselves as Apache even when they are speaking their own language.
Apaches, Originally Athabascans from the Far North
The Apache or Diné are Athabascan people who lived in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The Athabascan family of languages is large and has speakers in Alaska and Canada as well as Northern Mexico, and Central Texas stretching to Central Arizona,
The Apache are divided into Eastern and Western groups, and the Rio Grande River is the dividing line. The Apache arrived in the Southwest sometime between 1000 and 1400 AD
“The Apaches were nomadic and lived almost completely off the buffalo. They dressed in buffalo skins and lived in tents made of tanned and greased hides, which they loaded onto dogs when they moved with the herds.
They were among the first Indians, after the Pueblos, to learn to ride horses. Learning from runaway or captured Pueblos, the Apaches quickly adapted to their use of horses.
Formerly peaceful trade relationships with the Pueblos deteriorated, however, as the Spanish discouraged trade with the Apaches and forced the Pueblos to work their farms. When the Pueblos became unwilling or unable to trade with the Apaches, the nomadic Indians turned their new equestrian skills to raiding for horses and supplies.”
Apache Foods: Farming, Hunting, Gathering
The Apaches’ food source was agricultural for some tribes as well as hunting various game and gathering. Some Apaches grew beans, corn, pumpkins, and watermelon. Agriculture hurt those bands in one way because the Comanches, who also lived in the region, knew right where to find the Apache during planting in the spring and harvesting in the fall, and they launched raids.
The Comanches pushed the Apaches into New Mexico and Arizona and south into Central Texas and northern Mexico. The Apaches encountered the Spaniards, who were encroaching north into Texas. The next years saw peace between some Apache Indian tribes and the Spanish, and some war and raiding among other Apache groups.
Many Apache Indian Tribes or Bands Make for a Complicated History
It is complicated to describe the Apache people’s interactions between other native peoples and the Spanish and later other Europeans because some Apache bands had peace treaties, and others were at war.
The Apache tribes and Spanish and later the non-Native groups from more northerly parts enjoyed peace some of the time. But long after the Spanish arrived, in 1873, Colonel Ranald S. Mackenzie was at the head of 400 soldiers who went into Mexico to raze the villages of the Lipan Apache tribes. He captured or killed almost all of the Lipans. Those who survived were said to have been sent to a reservation in New Mexico and Before the Apaches were decimated, they were of 11 big tribes: Chiricahua, Coyotero, Arivaipa, Faraone Gileno, Mescalero, Llanero, Mimbreno, Naisha, Tchikun, Mogollon, and Tchishi.
Today the total Apache population numbers about 5,000.
Apache Warriors had a Reputation of Being Fierce
The Apaches were known as strong warriors . Indians.com states : “The United States Army found them to be very fierce warriors and knowledgeable strategists. The last of the Apache tribe, the Chiricahua, surrendered in 1886. They were deported to Florida and Alabama prisons.”
Apache Religion was Informal
Apache religion was not the same for every tribe or band. However, the Apaches had two culture heroes who slew monsters and made the world safe for people. Some groups have creation stories of emergence from another place, but some do not. They also had medicine men who directed the rites and led prayers.
View of a Native American Apache camp, Arizona, shows a Chiricahua Apache medicine man with his family inside a brush wickiup
“Our life also had a religious side. We had no churches, no religious organizations, no sabbath day, no holidays, and yet we worshipped. Sometimes the whole tribe would assemble to sing and pray; sometimes a smaller number, maybe two or three. The songs had a few words but were not formal.”
Geronimo said they prayed silently at times, other times aloud. Sometimes they prayed all together, or an aged person prayed for everyone. “At other times one would rise and speak to us of our duties to each other and to Usen. Our services were short.”
The Apaches also enjoyed dancing and playing sophisticated games. They would gather occasionally for four days and nights of feasting, dancing, and game playing.
Top image: Apache Indian tribes were known as good fighters and strategists. Some fought the encroachment of Europeans onto their lands, and others tried to get along with them. They did not have horses until shortly after the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the 1500s, but once they adopted them they became great horsemen.
Apache playing cards (either Chiricahua or Western), ca. 1875-1885, rawhide, Arizona, collection of the National Museum of the American Indian.
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