Captives in American Indian Wars facts for kids
Captives in American Indian Wars were people taken by opposing sides during conflicts in North America. Both Native American tribes and European settlers captured people. How these captives were treated depended on who captured them and the specific war.
Sometimes, captives were held as prisoners of war, like soldiers captured in battle. Other times, they were taken as hostages to force the other side to agree to something. Some were even enslaved, meaning they were forced to work without pay and treated as property.
Contents
History of Captives
Native American Customs
Before Europeans arrived, Native American tribes had their own ways of dealing with captives. These customs varied a lot from tribe to tribe.
For example, some tribes might kill captives. Others would keep them alive and welcome them into the tribe, making them a new family member. Some tribes also enslaved captives.
When Europeans started settling in North America, Native Americans often used these same traditions for the European settlers they captured. Europeans also took Native Americans captive. Many stories called captivity narratives were written by Europeans who had been captured and later returned home.
King Philip's War Captives
During King Philip's War (1675-1678), a big conflict between Native Americans and English colonists in New England, many captured Native Americans faced a harsh fate. The colonists often sold them into slavery. These enslaved people were then sent far away to places like the West Indies. Even some Native Americans who were friendly with the colonists were enslaved and sent away.
Different Tribal Traditions
The way captives were treated often depended on the culture of the capturing tribe.
In the Eastern Woodlands (a large area covering the eastern half of what is now the United States and parts of Canada), tribes often either adopted captives or executed them.
- Adoption: Many captives, especially children and teenage girls, were adopted into the captor's tribe. This meant they would often be given the name of a tribe member who had died. They would then become part of that family and tribe.
- Execution: Adult male and female captives, as well as teenage boys, sometimes faced death.
However, tribes on the Northwest Coast (along the Pacific Ocean in what is now Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska) had different customs. They often enslaved war captives. These slaves were very valuable and were traded. They were also given as gifts during special ceremonies called potlatches. Giving slaves as gifts showed how important and wealthy the gift-giver was.
Pontiac's War and Returned Captives
In 1764, during Pontiac's War, a British officer named Henry Bouquet demanded that Native American tribes in the Ohio region return all their captives. Many of these captives had been taken during this war or even earlier, during the French and Indian War.
More than 200 captives were returned. It was a difficult moment because many of these captives, both Native American and European, had been adopted into Native families. They had built new lives and were often sad to leave their new families. Because not all captives could be returned at once, the Native Americans had to give up some people as a promise that the rest would be returned later. This led to a peace agreement in 1765.
See also
