LOZEN, APACHE WARRIOR-PSYCHIC
1840s - 1890s
Beginning in 1869, the Warm Springs band of Chiricahua Apache first faced hostile Mexican soldiers, then the aggressive U.S. Army. The Chiricahua chose to fight rather than give up their ancient Arizona homeland for a new reservation in New Mexico.
In a battle against extermination, they roamed Colorado to Mexico, raiding white settlements for horses.
Under this pressure, great Chiricahua leaders developed. One was Lozen, cousin of the Apache warrior chief Victorio. Lozen was sixteen when a Seneca leader lodged with her band while seeking a refuge for his New York tribe.
Grey Ghost had a mission to perform and continued on his way, leaving Lozen with a broken heart. She vowed to dedicate her life to her tribe's survival.
For two decades, she rode with Victorio and Geronimo, displaying great courage. During one battle, she darted into enemy fire to retrieve a sack of bullets dropped by a runner.
She was especially valuable for her ability to sense the whereabouts of enemies. In 1887, Lozen and her surviving band were taken prisoners of war. They were herded to Florida, Alabama, and finally Oklahoma. Each site was a death sentence for more of Lozen's people.
At Mt. Vernon Barracks, Alabama, Lozen herself died from tuberculosis. Her people buried her anonymously, according to custom, and waited almost a century before repeating her oral history to outsiders.
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