Biography.guide
Home › People › Freedom fighter › Ulzana
Portrait of Ulzana

Ulzana

1821 – 1909

Tsokanende Apache war chief

Freedom fighter
Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Ulzana

Lived 1821 – 1909 (aged 87–88). Ulzana was an American freedom fighter.

Ulzana ( – 1909, also known as Josanni, Jolsanie or Ozaní’ – ″Tanned buckskin″ or Bį-sópàn – ″Big Buckskin″), was a Tsokanende Apache war chief, brother of Chihuahua.

Biography Ulzana is best known for leading a raid in 1885 (which inspired the film Ulzana's Raid (1972) ) through Arizona and New Mexico with only 11 Mogollon warriors, riding 1200 miles, killing 36 Pindah and Mexicans, killing many settlers, including women and children, stealing stock, and engaging in rape and mutilation of civilian captives.

One of the bandits was killed by San Carlos Apache, and went safely to Mexico in the last days of December. Ulzana surrendered, along with his brother Chihuahua and old Nana, on 3 March 1886, when 77 Apache (15 warriors, 33 women, and 29 children) made their entrance into Fort Bowie to be arrested.

Despite the crimes they had committed, they were not hanged, but rather were held in the reservation, and made no further attempts at escape. Ulzana died in 1909 in captivity, in what may have been considerable by Apache standards to have been a death in submission, having surrendered himself to captivity some years prior, even in light of the brutal raids they praised through their oral traditions.

Movies Ulzana's Raid (1972) Apachen (1973) Ulzana (film) a 1974 East German western film shot in Romania and Uzbekistan with Gojko Mitic

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1821, United States
Birth century
Occupation
Freedom fighter
Nationality

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Ulzana's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ulzana?

Tsokanende Apache war chief

When was Ulzana born?

Ulzana was born in 1821 in United States.

When did Ulzana die?

Ulzana died on 21 December 1909 in Fort Sill.

What was Ulzana's occupation?

Ulzana was a freedom fighter.

What nationality was Ulzana?

Ulzana was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Ulzana

· Wikidata: Q2477975

· DBpedia: Ulzana

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ulzana. https://biography.guide/ulzana/

MLA: "Ulzana." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ulzana/.

Chicago: "Ulzana." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ulzana/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:28 UTC