The following is a representative survey of conflicts between Native Americans and Europeans over three centuries.
| Conflict | Dates | Location | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17th Century | |||
| Powhatan Confederacy | 1622-44 | Virginia | Following an initial period of peaceful relations, a 12-year conflict left many natives and colonists dead, but the remaining colonists were victorious. |
| Pequot War | 1637 | Connecticut and Rhode Island | The death of a colonist eventually led to the immolation of 600-700 natives. The remainder were sold into slavery in Bermuda. |
| King Philip's War | 1675-78 | Massachusetts and Rhode Island | Philip's attempt to drive out the settlers, beginning at Swansea, Massachusetts, led to slaughter on both sides and his own death. |
| Pueblo Revolt | 1680-92 | Arizona and New Mexico | Led by Popé, Pueblo Indians threw off the Spanish yoke and lived independently for 12 years. The Spanish reconquered in 1692. |
| French and Indian War | 1689-1763 | Eastern Woodlands | A contest between France and Britain for possession of North America. For various motivations, most Algonquian tribes allied with the French; the Iroquois with the British. |
| 18th Century | |||
| Tuscarora War | 1711 | Northern Carolina | The Tuscarora under chief Hancock attacked several settlements, killing settlers and destroying farms. In 1713, James Moore and Yamasee warriors defeated the raiders. |
| Yamasee War | 1715-1718 | Southern Carolina | An Indian confederation led by the Yamasee came close to exterminating white settlement in their region. |
| Pontiac's Conspiracy | 1763 | Ohio River Valley | Warrior chief Pontiac and a large alliance drove out the British at every post except Detroit. After besieging the fort for five months, they withdrew to find food for the winter. |
| Lord Dunmore's War | 1774 | Southern Ohio River Valley | Alarmed tribes raided a wave of traders and settlers. Dunmore, governor of Virginia, sent in 3,000 soldiers and defeated 1,000 natives. |
| Old Northwest Warfare | 1790-94 | Ohio and Indiana | Following two humiliating defeats at the hands of native warriors, the Americans won a decisive victory under "Mad Anthony" Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. |
| 19th Century | |||
| Battle of Tippecanoe | 1811 | Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers, Indiana | The Prophet, brother of Shawnee chief Tecumseh, attacked Indiana Territory Gov. William Henry Harrison's force at dawn. After hand-to-hand combat, the natives fled. |
| Creek War | 1814 | Georgia and Alabama | Militiamen under Andrew Jackson broke the power of Creek raiders who had attacked Fort Mims and massacred settlers. They relinquished a vast land tract. |
| First Seminole War | 1816-18 | Florida | The Seminole, defending runaway slaves and their land in Florida, fought Andrew Jackson's force. Jackson failed to subdue them, but forced Spain to relinquish the territory. |
| Black Hawk War | 1832 | Northern Illinois and Southwestern Wisconsin | The last native conflict in the area, led by Chief Black Hawk. An unsuccessful attempt by the Sauk and Fox tribes to move back to their homeland. |
| Second Seminole War | 1835-42 | Florida Everglades | Under Chief Osceola, the Seminole resumed fighting for their land. They retreated into the Everglades; Osceola was captured. They were nearly eliminated. |
| Navajo Conflicts | 1849-63 | Arizona and New Mexico | Persistent fighting between the Navajo and the U.S. Army led to their expulsion and incarceration on an inhospitable reservation far from their homeland. |
| Sioux Wars | 1854-90 | Wyoming, Minnesota and South Dakota | Moved across the Mississippi into "Indian Country," the Sioux under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse resisted waves of settlers and prospectors, to keep their hunting grounds. |
| Rogue River War | 1855-56 | Southwestern Oregon | Attacks on Rogue River Valley Indian people were meant to start a war that would employ miners unable to work because of a drought. Indian survivors were forced out to reservations. |
| Third Seminole War | 1855-58 | Florida Everglades | Under Chief Billy Bowlegs, the Seminole mounted their final stand against the U.S. Bowlegs surrendered; he and others were deported to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. |
| Apache Attacks | 1861-1900 | New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and Mexico | Rejecting reservation life, Apaches under Geronimo, Cochise and others staged hundreds of attacks on outposts. Geronimo finally surrendered in 1886; others fought on until 1900. |
| Ute Wars | 1865-68, 1879 | Utah | The Ute nation rose episodically against the whites. Mormon settlers were relentlessly overtaking Ute lands and exhausting their resources and wildlife. |
| Modoc War | 1872-73 | Northern California and Southern Oregon | Captain Jack and followers fled from their hardscrabble reservation to the lava beds of Tule Lake, where they held out against soldiers for six months. He was hanged. |
| Red River War | 1874-75 | Northwestern Texas | William T. Sherman led a campaign of more than 14 battles against the Arapaho, Comanche, Cheyenne and Kiowa tribes, who eventually surrendered. |
| Battle of the Rosebud | 1876 | Rosebud Creek, Southern Montana | Lakota and Cheyenne under Crazy Horse turned back soldiers commanded by General George Crook, thereby cutting off reinforcements that might have aided Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. |
| Battle of the Little Bighorn | 1876 | Southern Montana | George A. Custer and 250 soldiers under his immediate command confronted Sioux warriors on the Little Bighorn River and were wiped out in the ensuing fight. |
| Nez Percé War | 1877 | Oregon, Idaho, Montana | After fighting to keep their home in Wallowa Valley, Chief Joseph led his people on a 1,700-mile retreat to Canada. They surrendered near the border to Nelson Miles' soldiers. |
| The Wounded Knee Massacre | 1890 | South Dakota | Following the killing of Sitting Bull , Big Foot took command of the final band of fighting Lakota (Sioux). They were trapped at Wounded Knee Creek and destroyed by the U.S. Army. |