1860s – 1890
A catalogue umbrella for many distinct wars, invasions, massacres, and campaigns between the United States and sovereign Native nations in the West, not a single continuous or unified conflict. U.S. expansion repeatedly violated or compelled treaties and sought Native land, while Indigenous peoples pursued different strategies of armed resistance, diplomacy, migration, and accommodation. Federal forces and settler militias destroyed villages and food systems and confined survivors to reservations; disease, starvation, forced removal, and attacks on civilians made the human cost far larger than recorded battlefield deaths.
Chapter-by-chapter narrative with maps, primary sources, and key events.
Explore battles on a live map with a timeline slider and territory overlays.
Deep-dive into every major engagement — commanders, casualties, significance.
Biographical flip cards with real portraits, facts, and full biography pages.
Trace each figure's full life journey — birth, education, battles, and death — on a live map.
Scroll-driven visualization of casualties — each dot a thousand lives.
Weapons, war machines, and the military innovations that defined how this conflict was fought.
Cause-and-effect chains tracing the war's long shadow on history.
War crimes, massacres, and the darkest chapters of this conflict — documented for history.
A catalogue umbrella for many distinct wars, invasions, massacres, and campaigns between the United States and sovereign Native nations in the West, not a single continuous or unified conflict. U.S. expansion repeatedly violated or compelled treaties and sought Native land, while Indigenous peoples pursued different strategies of armed resistance, diplomacy, migration, and accommodation. Federal forces and settler militias destroyed villages and food systems and confined survivors to reservations; disease, starvation, forced removal, and attacks on civilians made the human cost far larger than recorded battlefield deaths.
The American Indian Wars was fought from 1860s to 1890.
The American Indian Wars was fought between United States and Native Nations.
An estimated 103,000 people died in The American Indian Wars, including roughly 53,000 military and 50,000 civilian deaths. Figures are scholarly estimates and vary by source.
Major engagements included Battle of Little Bighorn, Wounded Knee Massacre, Sand Creek Massacre, and Battle of Bear Paw Mountain.