This is a list of [Amerindian Aborigines in the United States|Native American]] leaders who participated in the American Indian Wars, which occurred throughout the early 17th century until the early 20th century. This list includes both chiefs and others.
| Name | Life | Years Active | Tribe Of Origin | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Elk | 1863–1950 | 1870–1890s | Lakota | A prominent Wichasha Wakan of the Oglala Lakota, he was a combatant at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. During the late 1880s, he was involved in the Ghost Dance movement and was injured at the Wounded Knee Massacre. | |
| Black Hawk | 1767–1838 | 1810s–1830s | Sauk | Sauk chief who led the Sauk ant Fox tribes against the United States off and on during the early 19th century, from the War of 1812 until his eventual defeat following the Black Hawk War. | |
| Black Kettle | c. 1803–1868 | 1850s–1860s | Cheyenne | Cheyenne chief who resisted the American settlement of the Kansas and Colorado territories during the 1860s. After his village was destroyed during the Sand Creek massacre, he participated in the Colorado War with the Comanche and Kiowa negotiating several treaties with the United States before his death at Battle of Washita River. | |
| Blue Jacket | c. 1743 – c. 1810 | 1770s–1800s | |||
| Billy Bowlegs | c. 1810–1859 | 1830s–1860s | Seminole | ||
| Joseph Brant | c. 1743–1807 | 1750s–1800s | Mohawk | ||
| Buckongahelas | c. 1720–1805 | 1770s–1800s | Lenni-Lenape | ||
| Lone Horn | c. 1790–1877 | 1810s–1870s | Minneconjou Teton Lakota | ||
| Captain Jack | c. 1837–1873 | 1860s–1870s | Modoc | ||
| Mangas Coloradas | c. 1793–1863 | 1820s–1850s | |||
| Cochise | c. 1805–1874 | 1860s–1870s | Apache | ||
| Cornplanter | c. 1750s–1831 | 1816–1831 | Seneca | ||
| Cornstalk | c. 1720–1777 | 1760s–1770s | Shawnee | ||
| Crazy Horse | c. 1840–1877 | 1850s–1870s | Lakota | ||
| Geronimo | 1829–1909 | 1850s–1880s | Apache | ||
| Chief Joseph | 1840–1904 | 1870s | Nez Perce | Chief Joseph led his people on a 1700 mile trail to escape the US army.[1] | |
| Chief Logan | c. 1725–1780 | 1770s | Mingo | Mingo chief who took part in Lord Dunmore's War. | |
| Lozen | c. 1840 – after 1887 | 1840s–1880s | Apache | Sister of Chihenne-Chiricahua Apache chief Vittorio, Lozen was a prominent prophet and warrior against Mexican incursions into the southwest United States. | |
| Neolin | fl. 1761–1763 | 1760s | Lenni-Lanape | Known as the "Delaware Prophet", he founded a movement during the mid-18th century to reject European goods and a return to traditional way of life. His teachings would later be adopted by a number of tribal chief, most notably Pontiac. | |
| Opchanacanough | c. 1554–1646 | 1500s–1600s | Pamunkey | Pamunkey chief after the death of his brother, Chief Powhatan. He led the Indian massacre of 1622. | |
| Osceola | 1804–1838 | 1830s | The principal leader of the Second Seminole War, he led a small band successfully resisting the U.S. Army for over two years before his capture in 1837. | ||
| King Philip | c. 1639–1676 | 1660s–1670s | The second son of Massasoit, Metacomet (or King Philip) led an open rebellion against the English Massachusetts Bay Colony known as King Philip's War. | ||
| Pontiac | c. 1720–1769 | 1760s | Odawa | Odawa chief who resisted British settlement of the Great Lakes region during the Pontiac's Rebellion. | |
| Rain-in-the-Face | c. 1835–1905 | 1860s–1870s | Hunkpapa Lakota | A war chief of the Lakota, he took part in Red Cloud's War and Black Hills War. | |
| Red Cloud | 1822–1909 | 1860s–1890s | Oglala Lakota | A chief of the Oglala Lakota, he was one of several Lakota leaders who opposed the American settlement of the Great Plains winning a short-lived victory against the U.S. Army during Red Cloud's War. | |
| Red Jacket | c. 1750–1830 | 1770s–1790s | Seneca | ||
| Major Ridge | c. 1771–1839 | 1790s–1830s | Cherokee | ||
| Sakayengwaraton | 1792–1886 | 1810s | Mohawk | ||
| Shingas | fl. 1740–1763 | Lenape | |||
| Chief Seattle | c. 1780–1866 | Suquamish-Duwamish | |||
| Sitting Bull | c. 1831–1890 | 1870s–1890s | Lakota | ||
| Spotted Elk | c. 1826–1890 | 1870s–1890s | Lakota | Son of Miniconjou Lakota chief Lone Horn, he was an ally of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse although he himself saw no action during the Black Hills War. A major figure of the Ghost Dance movement of the late 1880s,[2] he was one of several chiefs killed during the Wounded Knee Massacre.[3] | |
| Tamanend | c. 1628 – c. 1701 | 1680s–1690s | |||
| Tecumseh | c. 1768–1813 | 1800s–1810 | Shawnee | Shawnee chief who attempted to organize a vast alliance of Native American tribes in the eastern United States during the early 19th century. Siding with Great Britain during the War of 1812, he led the Shawnee against the United States until his death at the Battle of the Thames. | |
| Tenskwatawa | 1775–1834 | 1800s–1830s | Shawnee | Shawnee chief known as "The Prophet" who was an ally of his brother Tecumseh, together founding Prophetstown. | |
| Touch the Clouds | c. 1838–1905 | 1851–1904 | Minneconjou | ||
| Wovoka | c. 1856–1932 | 1880s | Northern Paiute | Paiute spiritual leader and prophet; founder of the Ghost Dance movement whose religious teachings became popular among the tribes of the Great Plains and western United States until the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. |