American Indian Wars

The American Indian Wars (also known as the Indian Wars or the First Nations Wars; French: Guerres des Premières Nations) is the name for the various battles that were fought by European, American, and Canadian governments and colonists against various Native American and First Nation tribes.

American Indian Wars
An 1899 chromolithograph of US cavalry pursuing American Indians (artist unknown)
Date 1540–1924 (intermittent) Location United States, Canada Result Sovereignty of various combatants extended or lost Many treaties, truces, and armistices made and broken by combatants Indian reservations established in the United States and Canada
Belligerents
American Indians (1540–1924) First Nations (1540–1924) Inuit (1542–1924) Aleut (1743–1924) Yupik (1784–1924) State of Muskogee (1799–1803) Métis (1799–1924) Provisional Government of Saskatchewan (1885)	Spanish Empire (1540–1821)  Kingdom of France (1540–1763) Kingdom of England (1607–1707) Kingdom of Scotland (1621–1707) British Empire (1707–1907) Dutch Empire (1614–1664) Swedish Empire (1638–1655) Hudson's Bay Company (1670–1924) Russian Empire (1741–1867)  United States of America (1776–1924) Vermont Republic (1777–1791) North West Company (1779–1821) Republic of West Florida (1810) Republic of East Florida (1812) Danish Empire (1814–1924)  Mexico (1821–1867) Republic of Indian Stream (1832–1835) Republic of Texas (1836–1846) California Republic (1846) Confederate States of America (1861–1865)  Dominion of Canada (1867–1924)  Dominion of Newfoundland (1907–1924)

The conflicts happened in North America from the time of the earliest colonial settlements in the 17th century to the 1920s. The various Indian Wars resulted from a wide variety of factors, including cultural differences, land disputes, and crimes committed by both sides. The European powers and their colonies also enlisted Native tribes to help them in their wars against one another's colonial settlements.

After the American Revolutionary War, many conflicts were local to specific states or regions. The conflicts were usually about disputes over land use; some had cycles of violent actions. The Royal Proclamation of 1763, which is now part of the Canadian Constitution, banned white settlers from taking the lands of Natives unless treaties were signed with the British Crown. The 11 Numbered Treaties limited the number of conflicts.

As settlers went westward across North America after 1780, the size, length, and intensity of conflicts increased between settlers and Native tribes. The most important came during the War of 1812, which resulted in the defeat of major Indian coalitions in the Midwestern and Southern United States that were supported by the British.

Conflict with settlers happened less often, and treaties became more common. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 allowed the US government to remove natives from east of the Mississippi River to west of it, which the government believed to be empty American frontier. (Many tribes had a territory in the area, however.) The federal policy of removal was eventually changed in the West to relocating Native tribes to specially-designated and federally-protected reservations.