Did the red indians fight invading foreigners when the americas were discovered?

Question

was there ever a war between the two?

Answer 1

There were wars between the colonists and later the Americans continuing into the late 1800's as America moved west. These skirmishes with various tribes lasted move than 100 years. I live in a state with 22 tribes and a county with 10 tribes. My county has the most native languages of any county in the world.
Not all the aboriginal people were conquered. Most of the tribes are under the control of the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs), a notably corrupt federal agency. Five tribes, including the Apaches and the Seminoles, never signed a peace treaty and are not under federal control.
It is also incorrect to believe that Native people lost all these battles and were put on reservations. In about 1680, the New Mexico Pueblo Indians united and drove the Spanish out of New Mexico. When the Spanish finally returned, a rarity occurred in history--the Spanish changed their brutal approach to the New Mexico Indians and left them alone on their traditional lands. They remain in those pueblos on their traditional lands today. When New Mexico became part of the U.S. under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the treaty assured the Native lands would be forever protected and they have been.
I run a Native American Voting rights program; I represent the grandson of Geronimo (I'm now an attorney) and went to school with some of Geronimo's descendants from the Mescalero Apaches. This group of Apaches retreated into the mountains of southern New Mexico and never officially made peace with the U.S. Even today, the Apaches can do many things without government approval that is required of the other tribes. All the reservations are sovereign nations within the U.S. No matter where they are, state law does not apply to them; some federal law does; and they enjoy tax exempt status from all state taxes and many federal taxes. More than 10% of my state's population is Native American.

Answer 2

Of course there was some conflict between settling European immigrants and the indigenous, east coast tribes but it was mostly a trading relationship..

The Europeans bought many diseases previously unknown to the American continent, principally cholera, with disastrous effects upon the native population which numbered several million at that time.

This may have been an act of deliberate biological warfare in the case of the British who gave infected blankets away as presents. I am British and, if true, this is the most shameful act ever committed by my country.

These introduced diseases resulted in near genocide on the east coast tribes with the population dropping by an estimated 98%. Fighting any kind of defensive war was simply not possible.

Answer 3

Of course they did. Right from the start there was conflict with the Native Americans defending their homes and famillies against European invaders. The Spanish Conquistadors brutally conquered most of the Americas and brutally destroyed millions of people and their way of life. In North America similar things happened this time with first mostly British settlers and after 1776, US citizens massacring and commiting genocide against the Native Americans. The Natives resisted fiercely and won some great victories such as at Little Bighorn but they were too far behing in terms of technology and ultimately were defeated. It is ironic that Americans lecture the world on human rights after the way they treated the native American people

Answer 4

There were a number of skirmishes up and down the east coast during the post-contact columbian era indians. However, there were equally as many tribespeople who assimilated a great deal into the european style of living. The struggle was mostly internal for the individual tribes as they wanted to keep their way of life, which was mostly nomadic, as they only stayed sedentary for short periods of time. You'll find wars later as the settlers pushed westward, with one of the biggest battles remembered by history being between Custer's forces and the Nez Perce tribe.

Frankly, if I were with the indians I would have beaten the **** out of anyone who wanted to take my land. But that was their folly. Those tribes were not united, and they succumbed to europeanization and displacement. Their demise was just as much their fault as the europeans, regardless of the technology on either side. The Aztecs were great warriors and I truly believe they could have destroyed the conquistadores had their civilization not allowed itself to crumble from within.

Craig

Craig

Answer 5

As Native Americans were not united but rather divided into tribes and/or nations obviously those with differing political agendas took different views of the newcomers.

By the way this is not the xenophobic 1950s so you really should not be using the term "Red Indians"!

Answer 6

If you like reading find yourself a copy of a book written by Dee Brown called " Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee ". Gut wrenching, and absolutely enthralling account of the plight of almost all the major Native American tribes. You will have tears in your eyes before you have finished. It makes you wonder why the call us civilized.

Answer 7

You can only blame yourselves - the American people voted for successive governments that raised spending (which has to be paid for somehow). As to the United Nations, given how often the USA ignores its decisions, you can't really say that the UN are in charge of you.

Answer 8

A few of the tribes welcomed the foreign settlers and tried to establish peace, alot of tribes saw them as unwelcome settlers invading their territory and waged war.

By the way, not to be critical but "Red Indians" is considered inappropriate. :)

Answer 9

Which two? If there were people living in the Americas when the people from the east arrived, then they had obviously been 'discovered' previously.

Answer 10

Yes