Lozen was one of these individuals, and her specific contributions — whatever their precise nature — were part of the collective achievement of the Apache resistance.

Understanding the scale of that achievement is necessary for understanding why Lozen’s story deserves to be told and why history’s neglect of it was such a significant omission.

The Scouts and the Divided Community

One of the most painful dimensions of the Apache Wars was the role of Apache scouts in the United States Army’s campaigns against Apache resisters.

Throughout the conflict, Apache men from various bands served as scouts for the Army — tracking, interpreting, and in some cases fighting against other Apache.

This practice was rationalized by the Army on the grounds that Apache scouts, with their superior knowledge of the terrain and the tactics of the resisters, were essential to any hope of successfully pursuing the bands that had left the reservations.