Native American Wars

Conflicts between the indigenous peoples of North America and Europeans began almost as soon as the two groups met. The Jamestown settlers and the Plymouth colonists in the early 1600s had conflicts, some violent, with the local indigenous tribes. During the American Revolution, both the Americans and the British had Native American allies who fought alongside them. However, it was not until the mid-1800s that the American government made a concerted effort to remove and, in some cases, exterminate indigenous tribes. These direct military conflicts are called the Native American Wars and involve some of North America's largest and more well-known tribes. What caused these wars? When did they start? How did they end, and who was victorious?

List of Native American Wars

Many battles with the indigenous tribes of North America and the United States overlapped in the timeframe as multiple campaigns coincided. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of conflicts and battles between indigenous nations and U.S. military units.

Native American Wars: Timeline

The timeline below lists only some significant campaigns during the Native American Wars.

Within each of these campaigns, there were several battles and conflicts between the United States military and the indigenous groups. As we look at these campaigns, we will focus on the Sioux Wars and the Apache Wars, as their conflicts represent the other significant campaigns and are good exemplars of the conflict's causes, effects, and details.

Wars Between Native American Tribes Pre-Colonization

Native Americans participated in many wars before colonization. Whether that was a war among different nations or indigenous people allying with various Europeans against other Europeans. War existed in North America before European contact. It was a way of life for many Native American groups, and warriors have valued members of society. War raged for various reasons; resources and territory are only two causes of Native American Wars.

Fig 1: This map shows different early localization of Native American groups in America. The different colors show different linguistic groups.

Native American Wars Between Tribes

Wars between different nations looked different across America. Popular among the Iroquois Nation, Mourning Wars were low-priority wars that could last generations. A mourning war might begin when someone in the nation dies of illness or is in battle. The warriors of that group would surprise attack another group to capture people. The captured people would then join the attacking tribe and family of the deceased person. The new person would replace the person who died.

Mourning wars were used to supplement the population of one indigenous group with people from another. It also gave young warriors a chance to prove themselves. The issue, of course, was that the other group now had fewer people. To solve this issue, they would attack the group who would attack them. This cycle would then continue.

Native American Wars (1840 to 1925)

What was the leading cause of the Native American Wars during this period? It is no coincidence that the battles generally began around 1840 to 1850. During that time, American settlers mass migrated into the western territories of the United States.

Fig 2: This John Gast's "Manifest Destiny" shows a humanization of manifest destiny as a white woman who brings education and technological advancements westward. This is a great example of the mindset of many Americans at the time, who believed it was their God-given right to expand.

Sioux Nation:

The "Sioux Wars" were a series of small wars grouped. This period began in 1850 and ended in 1890. The Sioux resisted American expansion into their territory and earned the reputation of Plains warriors. Americans wanted to expand into Sioux territory because gold was discovered in the Black Hills, present-day South Dakota.

The Great Sioux War (1876-1877)

Sioux Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse led hunting bands that refused to give up the traditional nomadic way of life. Opposing them were General William T. Sherman, General Philip H. Sheridan, and other officers under their command, including Lieutenant Colonel George Custer.

War broke out when the military ordered the hunting bands onto the reservation. When they refused, the Army pursued the Sioux over the winter of 1876. During that year, some of the most famous Native American wars battles took place. The first three battles were Sioux victories. The final five were victories for the U.S. Army and brought the resistance of the Sioux and other tribes to a close.

The Apache:

The Apache strongly resisted assimilation with European culture. They refused to give up their way of life as Europeans encroached upon Apache territory. The apache-European conflict began when the Spanish arrived in the 1500s and ended in the early 1900s.

Geronimo’s War (1881-1886)

Native Americans weren't allowed to leave the reservations. Geronimo led a final rebellion off the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. A shaman, who taught a new religion, died when U.S. soldiers attempted to arrest him in August 1881. The campaign was long, and there were multiple negotiations, but in 1884, Geronimo agreed to return to the reservation.

Fig 3: Geronimo

Another breakout was a reaction to banning an alcoholic beverage used in Apache ceremonies. The Apache resented the interference in their religion by the United States, and Geronimo led his forces off the reservation into the highlands of Mexico. While Geronimo agreed to surrender, he and his men secretly escaped and returned to the reservation. He led a guerilla campaign but was forced to surrender in 1886 because of weariness and hunger. The American soldiers sent Geronimo and his men to a reservation in Florida.

Last Native American War

After the Battle of Little Bighorn, a Sioux victory, there were very few Native American victories in the Native American Wars. Most of the conflicts after this battle became one-sided in favor of the U.S., as the indigenous people's lands, food sources, and populations became restricted, decimated, and forced onto reservations. The last conflicts of the Native American Wars were mainly between the U.S. forces and the Ute Tribe. With the final “war” began, Posey’s War, in 1923.

Fig 4: Battle of Little Big Horn

A minor conflict in Utah consisted mainly of Ute under the leadership of Chief Posey and Mormon settlers, with minimal intervention by the U.S. Army. Mormon settlers chased the Ute as they fled the territory for land away from the Mormons. The conflict ended in a brief skirmish with few casualties.

Native American Wars: Significance

The significance of the Native American Wars on the indigenous populations of North America, especially those of the Great Plains and the Southwest, cannot go understated. These societies had to deal with the devastating effects of diseases introduced by Europeans and Americans that ravaged their populations. Still, they also had to contend with and combat the destruction of Native American society through war, cultural immersion, and assimilation.

In numerous instances, the casualties were not just warriors but entire tribes, non-combatants, and innocents, such as in the Wounded Knee and Sand Creek massacres. The loss of territory was total. Few tribes could negotiate control of their homelands, with most forced to live on reservations hundreds to thousands of miles away from historical tribal lands. The loss of homelands, which for many tribes hold spiritual and ritual meaning, and the loss of population amount to the almost destruction of Native American society.

Only through tremendous efforts by the surviving members of these tribes did any of their indigenous religions, languages, and practices remain intact.

Fig 5: The above map shows Native American land loss from 1774 to 2022.