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You are here: Home / History / Why did Native Americans fight in the American Revolution?

Why did Native Americans fight in the American Revolution?

August 3, 2020 by Karen Hill

Many Native Americans stayed neutral in the American Revolution, because they disliked both the English and the American colonists rebelling against them.

However, some groups, such as the six Iroquois tribes, took sides. When the war began in 1776, the influential Mohawk chief Joseph Brant allied his people with the English.

The Onondaga, Seneca, and Cayuga followed his lead, but the Oneida and Tuscarora decided to fight on the side of the Americans. For the first time in the history of the Iroquois Confederacy, Iroquois of one tribe were fighting those of another.

In addition to nearly destroying the confederacy, the war caused the Iroquois to lose large amounts of land. Soon after the revolution ended in 1783 with an American victory, the United States took over much of their territory in what is now New York State.

It even confiscated land from the Oneida and Tuscarora, who had helped the new country win the war.

Related Facts

  • What was the Iroquois Confederacy and When was the Five Nations formed?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • How did the Iroquois fight other Native American tribes?
  • How did the Civil War of 1861 affect Indian Territory and Why did Native Americans join the Confederacy?
  • Why was contact with non-Native Americans good for Northwest Native Americans?

Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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