8 Native American Tribes (Pt 2)

This is the third post about Native Americans this month and the second half to my tribes post from two weeks ago. This list covers eight more tribes and follows the format of the first list. Just because these tribes were relegated to the second list, does not mean they were any less intriguing. Below are 8 more amazing Native American tribes. Enjoy.

8. Maya

Where they lived: SE Mexico and Central America.

Why they were awesome: They were far more advanced than most indigenous North American tribes. The Mayans had developed mathematics, the written word and a calender. The great mystery behind the Mayans is what could have happened to them given the fact that they were so advanced. Historians know that the great Mayan cities were abandoned in the 8th and 9th century. While the pre-Colombian empire has disintegrated, there are still Mayan people living in Mexico today.

Notable Members: Hunac Ceel. This guy was a Mayan general and helped wage war against the tribes that surrounded the Mayan empire. He conquered the neighboring Itzas and started his own Mayan dynasty known as the Cocom Dynasty. Hunac is also attached to a very cool myth. The Mayans claim that he was once captured and thrown in a well to die. They then say that Hunac scaled the walls of the well and began his conquest. Sounds a lot like the last Batman movie to me.

7. Modoc

Where they live: California

Why they are awesome: They made US military history. The Modoc were originally fur traders, but western expansion saw them on reservations by 1864. The government, ignorant of native ways, placed the Modoc in close proximity with their much hated enemies. This led Modoc leader Captain Jack to lead his people back to their native homeland in 1865. By 1870 the US military had been called upon to forcibly remove the Modoc people. The Modoc decided not to come quietly and 57 warriors held out for 6 months. During this time they killed 45 soldiers and a U.S. general, the only American general killed in combat during the Indian Wars (more on that in the next section). The men were eventually subdued and the ring leaders were hung.Not a great ending, but a cool bit of historical trivia.

Notable Members: Captain Jack. This is the guy who led the Modoc warriors against the US army. When he and his men were trapped by US forces, Captain Jack realized that there was no chance the Modoc would be given their land. Instead of going quietly, he set up an ambush under the guise of a peace conference. Both sides showed up armed, and Captain Jack is reported to haves asked General Edward Canby for the Modoc land one last time. When the General refused, Jack shot him in the head twice and cut his throat. Then he and his men escaped. Jack was caught and hung for his attack, but he managed to leave his mark on US military history.

6. Shawnee

Where they live: Today Oklahoma; Pre-Reservation they traveled up and down the east coast and as far west as Illinois.

Why they are awesome: They tried to lead a pan-tribal resistance against expansion. In the early 1800’s a couple Shawnee tribesmen (they will be covered below and next week) tried to bring a number of tribes together to fight unfair US treaties. The United States had taken to accepting native signatures for land that the signing natives did not own. It was basically a legal way to steal from natives. The Shawnee leaders tried to bring the tribes of Eastern America together. Ultimately, the US proved too powerful and the dream of a pan-tribal resistance fell apart. One of the better resistance stories out there, definitely worth a little further reading.

Notable Member: Tenkskatawa. This was one of the tribesmen I mentioned before. He was the brother of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh who I will discuss next Monday. Tenskatawa was an alcoholic turned prophet who claimed that American’s were demons and that natives must return to their ancestral ways to turn back the American advance. Tenskatawa created quite a following, but his ego got the better of him. His prophecies and demands cost the Shawnee a number of key battles and moments. He may not have helped his people as much as he wanted to, but he was a force to be reckoned with during his time.

5. Comanche

Where they live: Texas

Why they are awesome: They rode horses better than the Mongols. I know that sounds hard to prove, but that’s how a professor I had once put it. The Comanche road small, sturdy mustangs that were much faster and tougher than American steads. The average Comanche was accurate with a bow and spear from horseback. They raided the American plains for years and could even deflect early settlers bullets with their tough buffalo hide shields. The Comanche ruled the plains well into the 1800’s and were only defeated by experienced fighters like John Coffee Hayes of the Texas Rangers and military advances like repeating guns and long-range buffalo guns. The Comanche eventually came to the same fate as all native Americans, but they gave the US hell before they surrendered.

Notable Member: Buffalo Hump. Buffalo Hump was a Comanche war chief who set out to avenge a massacre that took place in Texas. Unarmed Comanches were shot down after refusing to accept an unfair treaty. Buffalo Hump led his tribe along the Texas cost and raided ports like Linville and even defeated the Texas Rangers, stealing many of their horses. Eventually Buffalo Hump surrendered and he and his band were forced to live on reservation. Buffalo Hump died in 1870 after years of watching his people’s way of life die.

4. Apache

Where they live: SW United States

Why they were awesome: They drive the Spanish out of their territory. When the early Spanish explorer’s reached Apache territory, they found a tribe of warriors unlike any they had yet encountered. The same guys who had conquered the Aztecs were totally unable to handle the Apache. The Spanish eventually left the Apache land for good, but not after losing 6,000 men and more than 350 settlements. The Apache eventually lost their lands to the US, but they left a mark on the minds of the Spanish empire back in the early days of colonization.

Notable Member: Geronimo. The story of Geronimo is a tragic one. His family was killed by Mexican soldiers and her vowed to take revenge on them. He spent his early years raiding Mexican settlements and eventually moving on the areas in Texas and the American southwest. He fought the US military during the Apache wars, but eventually surrendered in 1866 after being pursued for days. Because of his old age he was not killed or imprisoned, but did travel around in a number of fairs as a sort of attraction. This was a sad fate for such a proud warrior.

3. Mohawks

Where they live: New York

Why they were awesome: They were members of the early Iroquois Confederacy whose name is derived from their use of flint, not the modern hairstyle. They tried to ally themselves early on with the British and this tactic worked out well for a while. They fought on their side during the Revolutionary War and again in the war of 1812. They understood that life under British rule would be better than life under the expansion hungry colonists.Unfortunately they played for the wrong team one to many times, and they were not given great treatment by the new American government

Notable Member: Hiawatha. This guy is not a 100% historical figure. He is known to the Iroquois as one if the legendary founders of the Iroquois Confederacy. The was a group of tribes that operated together and worked towards each others interest. There is even evidence that they inspired parts of the American Constitution. Hiawatha supposedly worked with a holy man an persuaded the five original tribes of the Confederacy to join. He is an important part of the Iroquois oral history.

2. Inca

Where they live: Peru

Why they were awesome: They created the largest empire in the history of pre-Columbian America. The Inca are often overlooked because of their heart stealing and calender writing contemporaries, but the Inca were an interesting people themselves. The created large cities with stone buildings. Ever heard of Machu Pichu? That was the Inca as well. The empire was ruled by a god-king who controlled both the state and the state religion. They were a powerful force until they Spanish wiped them out in the early 1500’s.

Notable Member: Manco Inca. He was made emperor by Pizarro after the Spanish had conquered the Inca. He was supposed to be a puppet, but escaped the capital city and rounded up and army. They then returned and laid siege to the capital for ten months. The siege was unsuccessful due to disease within Manco’s ranks. Manco was forced to abandon the siege and spent the rest of his life fighting the Spanish and their allies. He was eventually murdered, but his resistance was valiant and impressive given his high status.

1. Creek

Where they live: Alabama and surrounding areas

Why they were awesome: They were a huge pain in Andrew Jackson’s ass. The Creek Wars pitted the Red Sticks (Creek traditionalists) against the US army (commanded by Andrew Jackson and featuring soldiers like Davy Crockett) and their Creek allies, the White Sticks. The war raged for a few years and the Creek warriors proved a formidable ally for Jackson. They had a number of great leaders and earned the respect of Jackson and his men, The Creek eventually surrendered and in a sad turn of events both the enemy Creeks and those who had helped the US were deported to reservations and had their land and property stolen.

Notable Members: White Stick bounty hunters. The White Sticks were the Creeks who decided to try to work with the US to protect their lands and rights. During the Creek war, many Red Sticks murdered American frontiersmen and their families. In some cases, White Stick bounty hunters would track down these men and kill them. This happened on a number of occasions and made the White Stick very unpopular among the rest of the Creek Nation. As I stated above, even though they helped the US track down its enemies, these bounty hunters suffered the same fate as the men they had been commissioned to hunt.

Thanks for reading one of my favorite posts. For more on Native American topics check out 7 Crazy Native American Drugs, 8 Ways to Experience Native American Culture Today, 9 Obscure Native American Mythological Figures and 9 Historical Native American Figures.