Since declaring independence in 1774, the United States had been at war with Native American tribes intermittently, engaging in dozens of battles over more than a century, until the wars finally ended in 1890. From the summer of 1776 to the fall of 1778, Native Americans in the western frontier launched attacks on settler communities because these settlers had entered Native lands and hunting grounds, threatening their survival.

Native Americans also assisted the British in combat. Notably, in July 1778, during the Wyoming Massacre, a force mainly composed of Native Americans killed nearly 400 peaceful residents who supported independence. In central Kentucky, the Revolutionary forces were almost entirely engaged against Native Americans, who killed nearly a thousand pro-independence settlers. To retaliate against Native attacks, in May 1779, Washington had to concentrate forces to strike back at the Native Americans.

In November 1782, the brave Shawnee tribe destroyed a unit of the Revolutionary forces, which led General Clark to defeat the tribe and drive them westward. During the War of 1812 (1812–1815), the British had fewer than 20,000 troops, and Native Americans aided them. In 1812, Native Americans captured Detroit, taking 2,500 American soldiers prisoner. In 1813, Native Americans fought alongside the British, repelling multiple American counterattacks on Detroit and annihilating an entire American brigade. The British handed over 900 American prisoners to the Native Americans, who killed them all. In the South, the Creek Indians assisted the British in raiding Mims, Alabama, killing over 500 new settlers. Subsequently, U.S. forces under Jackson retaliated, fighting six engagements from November 1813 to April 1814, defeating the Creek and forcing them to surrender.

In 1824, President Monroe announced the establishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and adopted a policy of relocating Native Americans to reservations. In 1830, the U.S. government passed the Indian Removal Act, mandating that Eastern tribes move entirely to reservations west of the Mississippi River, implementing a form of racial segregation. In northern Illinois in 1832, the Black Hawk War broke out. Chief Black Hawk displayed courage and cunning, striking U.S. forces repeatedly and causing heavy casualties. Ultimately, Black Hawk was defeated and captured but became an American hero. A modern armed helicopter, the Black Hawk, is named after him, and his tactics are part of the mandatory curriculum at West Point.

During the Seminole Wars in Florida, the U.S. mobilized 5,000 soldiers plus 20,000 volunteers to forcibly relocate the Seminoles. The Native Americans used swamps and forests to fight in the riverine terrain, inflicting heavy losses on U.S. forces. Over ten years, more than 2,000 soldiers died, and costs exceeded $50 million. Sporadic Native resistance in Florida continued until 1939, yet they were never fully forced to relocate. Beginning in 1850, four-fifths of U.S. troops were tied down in the West by Native resistance. The war lasted ten years, with 22 battles taking place. By the mid-19th century, almost all Eastern Native Americans had been relocated west of the Mississippi. The government assigned land to the tribes and labeled compliant groups as “civilized,” meaning they were obedient and unlikely to cause trouble. Many of these “civilized” Native Americans also adopted the lifestyle of white settlers.

The Native Americans of the western plains refused to abandon their traditional way of life. They depended on hunting buffalo and had to migrate constantly with the herds. At that time, there were still millions of buffalo in the West. They did not want whites to pass through their hunting grounds and often attacked wagon trains moving west. The U.S. Army was tasked with maintaining local peace, building roads and forts on the plains, protecting westward-moving settlers from Native attacks, and preventing whites from encroaching on Native lands. Soldiers engaged in multiple battles with Native Americans.

The U.S. government agreed to pay annual compensation to Native Americans. However, in the summer of 1862, the federal government failed to make timely payments, leading to hunger and anger among Native Americans, who then launched attacks on white settlements, killing many merchants. The governor of Minnesota dispatched troops to suppress the uprising, killing hundreds of Native Americans, and the unrest was quickly subdued. Over the next two years, government forces and Native Americans fought with heavy casualties on both sides. The federal government proposed reconciliation, which the tribes accepted.

The U.S. government decided to designate a specific piece of land for each tribe, known as a reservation. Each tribe would reside on its own reservation. Under this new policy, Native Americans could no longer freely roam to hunt buffalo, instead living in one fixed location and receiving food and money from the government. They were also allowed to hunt buffalo on large areas outside the reservations. Native Americans agreed to give up their original lands and live peacefully on the reservations. The government promised to provide all food, clothing, and other necessities, and also pledged to build schools and hospitals. Some Native Americans were reluctant to abandon their traditional way of life, but they had no choice.

In 1873, in Dakota, General George Custer led 212 soldiers to capture Native leader Crazy Horse, but thousands of Native Americans launched an attack. Custer’s forces were surrounded, and within less than three hours, Crazy Horse and his warriors killed Custer and all of his troops.

After the two wars with Britain, the United States simultaneously developed the West and consolidated control over the East. Laws encouraged Eastern tribes to relocate westward, offering double the land as incentives. Tribes that complied with the relocation orders received support and larger land allotments. By 1860, the Native American population in North America had decreased from approximately one million at the founding of the United States to fewer than 500,000.

During the Civil War, Native Americans largely sided with the South, fighting fiercely against the Northern forces. The U.S. Army’s Apache helicopter is named after this courageous tribe. Since the founding of the United States, most Native tribes opposed the government, first siding with Britain and later with Southern slaveholders, which caused resentment among Americans. Living near Native Americans made many Eastern settlers feel unsafe, motivating them to move Native tribes to the sparsely populated West. After defeating the South, the United States resolved to deal with the Native American question. A few tribes sided with the United States, joining the army, and in some units, Native Americans even made up more than half of the forces.

By 1890, the U.S. Army had fought 1,067 times against Native American tribes. The wars between the U.S. Army and Native tribes continued until the Battle of Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. In that battle, 25 U.S. soldiers and 150 Native Americans were killed. This marked the end of the last armed conflict with Native Americans.

In the 1880s, a new religious leader among the Western tribes, Wovoka, promoted the Ghost Dance, claiming it could restore lost lands and resurrect the dead. Many Native Americans danced all day in hope. Wovoka told his followers: “The path our ancestors walked is full of weeds and sand. We can no longer find it. Today, I want you to walk a new path—the only path we can take—which is the path of the white man.”

By the early 20th century, the Native population had dwindled to just over 300,000. In 1924, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act, granting citizenship to all persons born in the United States. In 1934, under President Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Indian Reorganization Act allowed Native Americans to establish their own governments, stopped the redistribution of reservation lands, and ended forced assimilation of Native cultures and religions, greatly improving their situation.

In April 2012, coinciding with Washington D.C.’s annual Cherry Blossom Festival, the federal government concluded 22 months of negotiations with Native tribes, agreeing to pay $1 billion to 41 original tribes, finally resolving long-standing legal disputes.