The American Indian Wars were numerous armed conflicts fought by governments and colonists of European descent, and later by the United States federal government and American settlers, against various indigenous peoples within the territory that is now the United States. These conflicts occurred from the 16th century to the 20th century and in all parts of the country, beginning with the Tiguex War in 1540 in present-day New Mexico and ending with the Renegade period of the Apache Wars in 1924 in the Southwestern United States.
According to a dataset of conflicts between Native American communities and colonial powers, the frequency of conflict increased dramatically in Mexico and the United States during the second half of the 19th century, as contact between the two groups became more frequent.[1]
| Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle of Mabila (Oct 1540) | Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto | Mississippian culture | Death of chief Tuskaloosa, over 2,500 Indians and 200 Spaniards |
| Tiguex War (winter 1540 - 41) | Spanish conquistador | Puebloan | |
| Mixtón War (1540-1542) | Caxcanes | Assimilation or enslavement of all Caxcan natives, Spanish access to northern silver deposits | |
| Chichimeca War (1550–90) | New Spain Tlaxcaltec Caxcanes | Chichimeca Confederation | Changes to Spanish indigenous policies, pursuit of voluntary conversion instead of forced conversions |
| Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Anne's War (1702 - 13) |
Wabanaki Confederacy | (until 1707)[2]
(from 1707) | |
| Tuscarora War (1711 - 15) |
| ||
| Fox Wars (1712 - 33) | France | Fox
| |
| Yamasee War (1715 - 17) | Colonial militia of:
| Yamasee Ochese Creeks Catawba (until 1715) Cherokee (until 1716) Waxhaw Santee |
|
| Chickasaw Wars (1721 - 63) | Chickasaw | Choctaw Illini | |
| Dummer's War (1722 - 25) | New England Colonies Mohawk | Wabanaki Confederacy Abenaki Pequawket Mi'kmaq Maliseet |
|
| King George's War (1744 - 48) |
Iroquois Confederacy | ||
| Father Le Loutre's War (1749 - 55) | |||
| Seven Years' War (1754 - 63) |
| ||
| French and Indian War (1754 - 63) Part of the Seven Years' War | |||
| Anglo-Cherokee War (1758 - 61) Part of the Seven Years' War | Cherokee | ||
| Pontiac's War (1763 - 66) | Ottawa Ojibwe Potawatomi Huron Miami Wea Kickapoo Mascouten Piankeshaw Delaware Shawnee Wyandot Mingo Seneca |
| |
| Lord Dunmore's War (1774) | Colony of Virginia | Shawnee Mingo | |
| American Revolutionary War (1775 - 83) |  United StatesFrance  SpainVermont-------- Iroquois | Loyalists German Auxiliaries---- Iroquois |
|
| Cherokee–American wars (1776 - 94) Part of the American Revolutionary War | United States | Cherokee | |
| Second Cherokee War (1776) Part of the Cherokee–American wars | |||
| Northwest Indian War (1785 - 95) | United States Chickasaw Choctaw | Western Confederacy Great Britain |
|
| Oconee War (1785 - 94) | European Colonists | Muscogee | |
| Conflict | Combatant 1 | Combatant 2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crazy Snake Rebellion (1909) | | Creek | |
| New Mexico Navajo War (1913) | |||
| Bluff War (1914 - 15) Part of the Navajo and Ute Wars | United States | Ute Paiute | |
| Colorado Paiute War (1915) | |||
| Posey War (1923) Part of the Ute Wars | United States | Ute Paiute | |
Mexico
