Allred, Robert American Indians at War

The Tribes and their Battles

Native American peoplesdiverse across many cultures yet sharing certain common traitsfought one another for land and honor, and battled intruders for survival. This book examines the earliest known conflicts involving Native Americans through the centuries and into the modern era, as well as their methods of warfare and the weapons they employed. Before the Spanish reintroduced the horse to the Americas, all Native American warfare was conducted on foot; the famous Plains Indians of North America did not develop their characteristic mounted warfare until the 16th century. Some Native American groups also waged war from canoesparticularly those in what would become the northwestern United Statesnations that also gave the world their iconic totem poles as symbols of their culture and traditions. This book explores the deadly intertribal warfare, ranging from the canoe-faring tribes of the Pacific coast to the Pueblo peoples, cliff dwellers, and stone-masonry cultures of the American Southwest. The shared threat posed by European settlers to these diverse nationsa threat that united many of them in the fight against the invadersis a widely known story and forms the central theme of this book. While the inspiring tales of famous warriors like Geronimo and Sitting Bullwho defeated Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighornare examined here, the significant roles Native Americans played in the Seven Years' War, the War of Independence against Great Britain, and the American Civil War often go unrecognized; Native Americans fought for both the Union and the Confederacy, and even sided with the United States during the "Indian Wars." As Native Americans and other Americans became more integrated in the 20th century, Native Americans served their country in both World War I and World War IIamong them the famous Code Talkers. "American Indians at War" is a comprehensive study of this fascinating subject.