Native Americans and the American Revolution: Choosing Sides

American Indians faced numerous challenges to their survival as a people on their own lands in the eighteenth century. The French and British vied for control of the continent at mid-century while the American colonists continued to look to the interior for lands to expand their settlements. After the British victory in the Seven Years' War, Indigenous peoples found their diplomatic options more circumscribed. As North American colonists who were eager for land began to spill over the Appalachian Mountains in the 1750s, British concern and Native American anger over the expansion increased. The Royal Proclamation of 1763  attempted to restrict that expansion and alienated many American colonists. In the years after the French and Indian War, Britain's strategies to keep its Native American alliances sometimes backfired, as discussed in this article "The History of the Stamp Act Shows How Indians Led to the American Revolution." 

The outbreak of the American Revolution had great consequences for American Indians. Many saw the Revolution as a contest for Indigenous lands as well as for liberty. Some groups, such as the Cherokee warriors, defied their elders and attacked frontier settlements all along the southern frontier. The Cherokees took the offensive against the Americans early, only to be defeated by Patriot soldiers from the southern colonies.  

Many other tribal groups attempted to remain neutral. In the Ohio Valley, the Shawnees, led by Cornplanter, and the Delawares, led by White Eyes, worked hard to steer a course between the combatants. But hatred of Indigenous people among western colonists and hunters soon destroyed that peace. American militia killed White Eyes of the Delawares in 1778, and others slaughtered unarmed, converted, Moravian Indians at Gnadenhutten, Ohio, in 1782. The Ohio Valley tribes allied themselves with the British after these attacks. 

Many other Native Americans sided with the British in the hopes that a British victory would stem the flood of western expansion. The Iroquois Confederacy split. Joseph Brant, a well-educated Mohawk and a Free Mason, along with his sister Mary Brant, led his people away from a policy of neutrality and into an alliance with the British. The Stockbridge band of the Mohican tribe, however, joined their western Massachusetts neighbors, volunteering as minutemen even before fighting broke out. 

The Revolution resulted in the creation of the new republic but also a new reality for Indigenous Americans. When Great Britain handed over all of its territory east of the Mississippi and south of the Great Lakes to the United States at the Peace of Paris in 1783 without consulting their Indigenous allies, the Native Americans living in those lands found themselves under severe pressure from speculators and migrants interested in expanding the territory of their new nation either by treaty or by force.  

As a word of caution, teachers should make students aware of the issues involved in using primary sources of Native American speeches. These valuable but rare primary sources were usually transcribed by Europeans, and the documents often reflect European ideas of Native American speech. 

You might consider the following sources for further background on these events and best practices for teaching Indigenous perspectives. 

• The Digital History site provides a clear summary of Native American-European relations from the late-16th to the late-18th centuries. 

• Wilcomb E. Washburn's "Indians and the American Revolution" provides another summary of the complex situation. 

• For information on the importance of culturally-respectful terms, we recommend "The Impact of Words and Tips for Using Appropriate Terminology:  Am I Using the Right Word?” from the National Museum of the American Indian and the American Historian article “What We Say Matters: The Power of Words in American and Indigenous Histories.” 

NCSS.D1.1.9-12. Explain how a question reflects an enduring issue in the field.

NCSS.D1.4.9-12. Explain how supporting questions contribute to an inquiry and how, through engaging source work, new compelling and supporting questions emerge.

NCSS.D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts.

NCSS.D2.His.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.

NCSS.D2.His.3.9-12. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context.

NCSS.D2.His.4.9-12. Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during different historical eras.

NCSS.D2.His.5.9-12. Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

NCSS.D2.His.14.9-12. Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

NCSS.D2.His.15.9-12. Distinguish between long-term causes and triggering events in developing a historical argument.

NCSS.D2.His.16.9-12. Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources and interpretations into a reasoned argument about the past.

If students have not studied the Seven Years' War prior to this lesson, it will be helpful to review the role of Native Americans in that conflict. It will also be helpful if students have an understanding of the way European control of the land changed after that war. The British received all the French lands in Canada (except two small offshore islands) and all the French lands east of the Mississippi River. Spain took over Louisiana. Consider these resources for background as well as some primary voices that can be used in a more extensive review lesson of the Seven Years War: 

• Digital History's The Seven Years' War 
• "The History of the Stamp Act Shows How Indians Led to the American Revolution"  from NEH's Humanities magazine.

• South Carolina Governor Glen, "The Role of the Indians in the Rivalry Between France, Spain, and England, 1761" from History Matters. 

• Address by Minavavana, Chippewa Chief, to the British, 1761, on Digital History. 

• “Another Race of White Men Come Amongst Us”: Native American Views as British Replace the French in the Lower Mississippi Valley, 1765, on History Matters.

• Sir William Johnson, 1772, commenting on the behavior of settlers in the western territories, on History Matters.  

Students will also benefit from a geographical awareness when considering interactions among different groups of colonists and indigenous peoples. You might consider using this Map of Native American Tribes in 1783 from Mapping History. The page also provides other resources you might find helpful.  

Activity 1.

Begin with the Journals of the Continental Congress, Speech to the Six Nations, July 13, 1775. This document is a request made by the Americans to the Iroquois, asking for their neutrality. It is interesting that in this document, while the Americans are officially asking the Native Americans to stay out of the conflict, they dedicate a great deal of the speech to making their case for independence. The symbolism of the "family quarrel" is repeated throughout many of the documents. The language, including the idea of a "covenant chain" and addressing the Iroquois as "brothers," is significant.  

You may choose to introduce a section of the text without date or context to prompt inquiry. Consider the following passage: 

BROTHERS AND FRIENDS! We desire you will hear and receive what we have now told you, and that you will open a good ear and listen to what we are now going to say. This is a family quarrel between us and Old England. You Indians are not concerned in it. We don't wish you to take up the hatchet against the king's troops. We desire you to remain at home, and not join on either side, but keep the hatchet buried deep. 

While reading or during discussion, students might consider the following questions: 

• Who may have said this? 

• What is the message? 

• To whom was this request being addressed? 

• When and where was the message being delivered? 

Working in small groups or as a whole class, read and analyze the full text. This can provide a model for analysis as well as help in framing some of the questions different indigenous groups might have entertained. Ask students to speculate on the following: 

• Would you expect that Native Americans would get involved in the fighting of the American Revolution? Why or why not? 

• If you think that Native Americans would choose sides and fight, with whom do you think they would ally and why? 

Activity 2. 

Invite students to analyze several sources that document decisions made by Indigenous people to side with the British, ally with the Americans, or remain neutral. Students might complete this activity working in small groups, with each group investigating one or two documents, then come together as a whole class to compare findings.  

To support your students in this work, consider using Document Analysis Worksheets from the National Archives Educator Resources.   

The following documents offer a range of Native perspectives. Remind students that these primary sources were usually transcribed by Europeans, and the documents often reflect European ideas of Native American speech. 

• "The Oneida Indians to Governor Trumbull," 1776. The Oneida, one of the Six Nations, tried to remain neutral but eventually ended up on the American side, which split the Six Nations. This document is from early in the war and also refers to the conflict as a fight between brothers that does not concern Native Americans.  

• "The Disturbances in America give great trouble to all our Nations": Mohawk Joseph Brant Comes to London to See the King, 1776, on History Matters. This document has a helpful headnote. Mohawk leader Joseph Brant talks about the long-lasting alliance between the British and the Native Americans but also expresses the Mohawk feelings of anger and betrayal regarding the lack of British protection from the Americans. 

• "Conference with Indians at Fort Pitt," July 6, 1776. The Delawares and Shawnees focus on the issue of not allowing the combatants to march through Native American lands, not wanting the war to be fought on Native American land. 

• "Treaty with the Delawares: 1778." The treaty between the Delawares and the United States of North-America raises issues of fair trade, rights for armies to cross Native American land, the desire for peace, and other issues. 

• "Chickasaw Peace Treaty Feeler-1782." The Chickasaw Indians had a long alliance with the British. When the Spanish replace the British in West Florida, the Chickasaw send a peace feeler to the United States that uses the language of family. 

• Chickasaw Chiefs, Message to Congress, July 1783. In this message to Congress, the Chickasaw desire a halt to encroachments on their land and regular access to supplies in order to appease their belligerent young warriors; they discuss the difficulties that the war has posed for Native American communities.  

As a whole group or in smaller groups, review with the students their annotations and develop a Venn Diagram of key arguments for choosing sides. 

• What were the issues that the various Native American groups were facing? 

• Did they share common goals with other tribes? Varied ones? 

• Did the issues change over the course of the Revolutionary era? Why? 

• What arguments did they make? Why? 

As part of the discussion of these documents, help students to analyze and evaluate. The following questions might be used to guide this aspect of the discussion: 

• Who was the original source? 

• What do we know about this individual? His/her perspective? 

• Who made the record? What was his perspective? Why is it important to know who was responsible for making the record? 

• When was the record made? 

• What was the purpose of making the record? 

• What is the nature of the document: letter, oral history, government document? Was the source public or private? Why is this information important? 

• How might this background regarding the document influence our use of the information it contains? 

• How can we determine which record is more accurate when accounts conflict with one another? 

To demonstrate their understanding of the context surrounding the alliance decisions made by Indigenous peoples during the Revolutionary War, invite students to use the primary documents and their Venn diagrams to address the following questions: 

•  Why did some Native American groups become involved in the American Revolution—either on the British or American side? What roles did they play in the conflict and what were the consequences of their decisions? What conclusions can you draw based on these documents? 

Students should also be encouraged to consider what questions these documents do not answer. What information or perspectives are missing that would present a fuller understanding of these events? 

What happened to these Native American allies after the American Revolution? Students could explore the post-revolutionary experiences of the different Native American tribes in the United States and Canada. How did their experiences differ from what the treaties signed with the new United States had promised? What factors (i.e. location/geography, tribal leadership, their Revolutionary allegiances, relationships between the various Native American tribes) played a role in the post-Revolutionary experience of the different Native Americans? Students could take their research one-step further: where are those Native American groups today? See the U.S. Census Bureau's American Indians and Alaska Natives Map.  

The Continental Congress was quite involved in Native American affairs during the War.  The Library of Congress offers classroom materials on the Home Front during the Revolutionary War with several documents and discussion.