American Indian Wars

The American Indian Wars, or Indian Wars, were the multiple armed conflicts between European governments and colonists, and later American settlers or the United States government, and the native peoples of North America. These conflicts occurred in the current boundaries of the United States from the time of earliest colonial settlements until 1924. In many cases, wars resulted from competition for resources and land ownership as Europeans and later Americans encroached onto territory which had been traditionally inhabited by Native Americans. Warfare and raiding also took place as a result of conflicts between European governments and later the United States. These governments enlisted Native Americans tribes to help them conduct warfare against each other's settlements and their Native American allies.

After 1776, many conflicts were local, involving disputes over land use, and some entailed cycles of reprisal. In the 1800s, conflicts were spurred by ideologies such as Manifest Destiny, which held that the United States was destined to expand from coast to coast on the North American continent. In the years leading up to the Indian Removal Act of 1830 there were many armed conflicts between settlers and Native Americans. Prior to the Act of 1830, some conflicts were resolved through sale or exchange of territory through treaties between the federal government and specific tribes. The 1830 act authorized the large-scale removal of indigenous peoples who lived East of the Mississippi River to the West. As United States citizens continued to settle areas towards the Pacific, conflicts continued. The policy of "removal" was refined to move some indigenous peoples to very specific reservations.