One of the most interesting facts brought out at the “Geronimo” exhibition at the Heard Museum concerns his life after raiding, running, and imprisonment. The canny man recognized his notoriety was capable of making him money. He sold the buttons from his clothes to souvenir hounds, and found other outlets for his new-found marketing and self-promotion skills. I see this aspect of his life as ironic and perhaps inevitable. Along with Pocahontas, Geronimo may rank as the best-known of all historical American Indians.Even Edward Curtis’s portrait of Geronimo in old age captures the iconic nature of the man—who knew he was an icon and just how much this could net him.

The U.S. government’s covert campaign to capture and take down Osama Bin Laden was code-named “Operation Geronimo.” This gesture was a belated token of respect for a Native man who kept the U.S. Army on the run for many years.

“Beyond Geronimo: The Apache Experience” runs through January 20, 2013.