She used her skills and her gift entirely in the service of her community.

She did not fight for personal advancement, for territory, for recognition, or for any individual benefit.

She fought for her people’s survival and freedom, and when the fighting was no longer possible, she died as their prisoner.

Calling her a hero in the Western sense is not entirely wrong — what she did was heroic by almost any standard.

But understanding her as her own tradition understood her means understanding her as a warrior who fulfilled the highest obligations of the warrior path: complete, selfless commitment to the people she served.

This is what Victorio meant when he called her his shield.