List of Indian massacres in North America facts for kids

In the history of European settlement in the Americas, an Indian massacre describes times when many people from one group were killed by another. This happened between European settlers and Native American groups, outside of regular battles in a war.

Understanding the Term "Indian Massacre"

The meaning of "Indian massacre" has changed over time. When Europeans first arrived, they used this term to describe attacks by Native Americans that caused many settler deaths. If settlers attacked Native American villages, these events were often called "raids" or "battles."

Early European settlers knew little about the Native Americans living on the frontier. They were often very afraid. Many European Americans read scary stories about "murderous savages" in books and newspapers. As people moved west, they often feared the Native Americans they might meet.

Later, the term "massacre" also started to describe large killings of Native Americans. These events often involved attacking people without choosing specific targets. Sometimes, they showed a desire to wipe out entire groups.

Important Events

Here are some important events that have been called "Indian massacres."

Early Conflicts (1500–1830)

• 1519 – Cholula Massacre: In what is now Mexico, Hernán Cortés and his Spanish soldiers, along with their Native American allies, attacked the city of Cholula. They killed many local leaders and people. Estimates of deaths range from 3,000 to over 30,000.
• 1521 – Fall of Tenochtitlan: After the Spanish took over the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, their Native American allies continued to attack. They killed thousands of Aztec civilians, including women and children. Many survivors were also taken as slaves.
• 1539 – Napituca Massacre: In Florida, the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto defeated Timucuan warriors. He then ordered about 200 of them to be killed. This was one of the first large-scale killings by Europeans in what became the U.S.
• 1599 – Acoma Massacre: In New Mexico, Juan de Oñate led a Spanish attack on the Acoma Pueblo. In a three-day battle, about 500 warriors and 300 civilians were killed.
• 1622 – Jamestown Massacre: In Virginia, Powhatan warriors killed 347 English settlers. This was almost one-third of the English population in the Jamestown colony. They hoped to force the English to leave Virginia.
• 1623 – Wessagusset Affair: In Massachusetts, several Massachusett chiefs were tricked into coming to Wessagusset for peace talks. They were then killed. Other Native Americans in the village were also killed.
• 1626 – Kalinago Genocide: On the island of Saint Kitts and Nevis, between 2,000 and 4,000 Carib people were forced into one area. Over 2,000 were killed by European settlers. The remaining Caribs fled or were enslaved.
• 1637 – Mystic Massacre: During the Pequot War in Connecticut, English colonists and their Native American allies attacked a large Pequot village. They burned homes and killed all survivors, leading to 400–700 deaths.
• 1643 – Pavonia Massacre: In New York, Mohawk warriors attacked Wappinger and Tappan people. These groups fled to New Amsterdam for safety. However, Dutch forces later attacked them, killing 129 people. This started Kieft's War.
• 1675 – Great Swamp Massacre: In Rhode Island, colonial soldiers and their Native American allies attacked a Narragansett fort. At least 40 warriors were killed. Between 300 and 1,000 women, children, and elderly men were burned in the village.
• 1676 – Turner Falls Massacre: In Massachusetts, Captain William Turner and 150 militia volunteers attacked a Native American fishing camp. At least 100 women and children were killed in this attack.
• 1680 – Pueblo Revolt: In New Mexico, Pueblo warriors killed 401 Spanish settlers and 21 priests. They forced other Spanish people to leave New Mexico.
• 1689 – Lachine Massacre: In Quebec, 1,500 Mohawk warriors attacked the French settlement of Lachine. They killed over 90 of the 375 French residents. This was a response to earlier French attacks on Mohawk villages.
• 1690 – Schenectady Massacre: In New York, French and Algonquin forces destroyed Schenectady. They killed 60 Dutch and English settlers, including women and children.
• 1704 – Apalachee Massacre: In Florida, English colonists and their Creek allies launched attacks on Apalachee villages. They killed 1,000 Apalachees and enslaved at least 2,000 survivors.
• 1704 – Deerfield Massacre: In Massachusetts, a force of Native Americans and French-Canadian militia attacked Deerfield, Massachusetts. They killed 56 civilians and took over 100 as captives.
• 1712 – Fox Indian Massacre: In Michigan, French troops and their Native American allies killed about 1,000 Fox people, including men, women, and children. This happened over five days near the Detroit River.
• 1713 – Fort Neoheroka: In South Carolina, colonial volunteers and their Native American allies attacked the main fort of the Tuscarora Indians. They burned the village, killing 200 Tuscaroras in the fire. Another 170 were killed outside the fort. Over 400 were enslaved.
• 1724 – Norridgewock Massacre: In Maine, rangers attacked the Abenaki village of Norridgewock. They killed 80 Abenakis, including women, children, and warriors.
• 1729 – Natchez Revolt: In Mississippi, Natchez Indians attacked French settlements. They killed more than 200 French colonists.
• 1782 – Gnadenhütten Massacre: In Ohio, Pennsylvania militiamen killed nearly 100 peaceful Christian Lenape people. Most were women and children. Only two young boys survived.
• 1784 – Awa'uq Massacre: In Alaska, Russian fur traders and armed men attacked Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) people at Refuge Rock. Between 200 and 3,000 Alutiiq people were killed.

Later Conflicts (1830–1915)

• 1832 – Battle of Bad Axe: In Wisconsin, U.S. soldiers and volunteers killed about 150 Fox and Sauk men, women, and children. This happened near present-day Victory.
• 1836 – Fort Parker Massacre: In Texas, Comanche warriors killed seven European Americans. Five others were captured, including Cynthia Ann Parker.
• 1837 – Amador Massacre: In California, Mexican colonists captured an entire village of friendly Miwok Indians. They then killed all 200 prisoners in two large killings.
• 1840 – Council House Massacre: In Texas, 12 leaders of a Comanche group were shot while trying to escape jail. 23 others, including women and children, were killed in San Antonio, Texas. The Comanche later killed 13 captives in return.
• 1850 – Bloody Island Massacre: In California, U.S. Army soldiers killed 60–100 Pomo people on Bo-no-po-ti island. They believed the Pomo had killed two settlers who had been mistreating Pomo people. This event led to many attacks on Native Americans in Northern California.
• 1853 – Yontoket Massacre: In California, settlers attacked and burned a Tolowa village during a prayer ceremony. They killed 450 Tolowa people.
• 1855 – Harney Massacre: In Nebraska, U.S. troops killed 86 Sioux people, including men, women, and children. About half of those killed were women and children.
• 1857 – Mountain Meadows Massacre: In Utah, a group of Mormon militiamen, with some Paiute people, attacked a wagon train of settlers. After the settlers surrendered, many were killed by the militiamen. Between 120 and 140 settlers died.
• 1860 – Indian Island Massacre: In California, white settlers attacked several Wiyot villages. They killed between 80 and 250 Wiyot people, mostly women, children, and elders.
• 1862 – Dakota War: In Minnesota, Sioux warriors killed between 450 and 800 white settlers and soldiers. About 40,000 white settlers fled their homes.
• 1862 – Tonkawa Massacre: During the U.S. Civil War, a group of Union-allied Native Americans attacked the Tonkawa tribe. They killed 240 of 390 Tonkawa people, leaving only 150 survivors.
• 1863 – Bear River Massacre: In Idaho, U.S. Army soldiers killed up to 280 Shoshone men, women, and children.
• 1864 – Sand Creek Massacre: In Colorado, members of the Colorado Militia attacked a village of Cheyenne people. They killed between 70 and 600 men, women, and children.
• 1868 – Washita Massacre: In Oklahoma, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's U.S. Cavalry attacked a village of sleeping Cheyenne led by Black Kettle. Many Cheyenne, including women and children, were killed. The cavalry also killed hundreds of horses and burned the village.
• 1870 – Marias Massacre: In Montana, U.S. troops killed between 173 and 217 Piegan people. Most of those killed were women, children, and the elderly.
• 1871 – Camp Grant Massacre: In Arizona, a group of Americans, Mexicans, and Pima allies attacked Apache men, women, and children at Camp Grant. They killed 144 people. All but eight of the dead were Apache women or children.
• 1873 – Massacre Canyon: In Nebraska, a large Oglala/Brulé Sioux war party attacked a group of Pawnee during a buffalo hunt. They killed more than 150 Pawnees, including 102 women and children.
• 1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre: In South Dakota, members of the U.S. 7th Cavalry attacked and killed between 130 and 250 Sioux men, women, and children.

See also

• American Indian Wars
• Genocide of indigenous peoples
• Genocides in history (before World War I)
• History of Native Americans in the United States
• Indigenous survival against colonization
• List of conflicts in Canada
• List of conflicts in the United States
• List of ethnic cleansing campaigns
• List of genocides
• List of massacres in Canada
• List of massacres in the United States
• Native American genocide in the United States
• Population history of the indigenous peoples of the Americas
• Racism against Native Americans in the United States
• Racism in the United States#Native Americans