)[1] otherwise known as She-towitch, or Susan, was a Native American woman who was a part of the Tabeguache (Uncompahgre) Ute tribe and sister to Chief Ouray.

[2] She is known for her capture by the Cheyenne and Arapaho in 1860 or 1861, her protection and care for Arvilla and Josephine Meeker during their captivity, as well as her role within the politics of her tribe as a female leader alongside her sister-in-law, Chipeta.

[3] Shawsheen was born either on the Western Slope of Colorado, or in northern New Mexico and historians believe that she spent most of her childhood in the Uncompahgre Valley.

Like many young Ute girls, she would have learned the arts of bead work and weaving in order to trade with other Native Americans and settlers.

Historian Brandi Dennison describes the scene: "The cavalry successfully located the raiding party along the Cache la Podure River just as the Cheyenne bound Susan to an unlit pyre.

"[3] The troops rescued Shawsheen and she was sent to live with Simeon Whitley, a former agent of the Grand River Ute Agency, whom she stayed for a few months before returning home.

[5] Her status within the tribe as a slave meant that she was forced into hard labor and menial tasks until her eventual escape.