Native American fighting styles
Native American fighting styles helped the
indigenous people on the
North American continent repel, unsuccessfully, the encroachment of the European expansion into the territories. Many Native American tribes viewed warfare as both a physical and spiritual experience. The killing of an enemy warrior was considered, generally, to be the least important part of battle (being more ritual than predatory). Native American ritual fighting with enemy tribes was not expensive in terms of lives lost nor was it composed of a search for destructive weaponry.
Some of the Native American fighting styles could be regarded today as forms of guerrilla warfare, in the French and Indian War for example. Over 400 years, the experiences of other Native Americans, such as the Seneca Indians with Europeans resulted in decades of conflicts, but typically were ultimately disastrous for the Native Americans. The Native Americans performed well during earlier conflicts against European advances. The Native American fighting styles also influenced the English settlers.
In the 15th century, Europeans introduced the horse to the Americas and the Native Americans became excellent horse back warriors. The introduction of the horse had a most profound impact on Native American cultures in the Great Plains of North America. This new mode of transportation made it possible for some tribes to greatly expand their territories. Later, the United States military had several wars with the of Native American tribes (in particular, the Great Plains and Prairie tribes), learning the concepts of asymmetric warfare of the native peoples (i.e., war parties).
General styles
War chiefs lead war parties because they, usually, had proved themselves in prior combat. Sometimes, these leaders had special medicine by supernatural forces (such as a medicine bag). Individual warrior braves also had personal medicine. On the warpath, war parties used stealth and utilized various methods of communication. Native American Indian's weapons of war included clubs, hatchets, bows (arrows), lances, knives. Later they became marksmen with guns. War parties used surprise as a main weapon and they used the principles of force concentration. In the face of superior force, retreating was not a dishonor. Native American Indian warriors, also, made every attempt to remove their wounded from the field of battle and to recover their dead.
Training for their martial arts differ between Indian tribes or peoples.
It is also generally thought that Indians learned scalping from Americans who, at times, collected them for bounties.
There are 17 general different regional fighting styles of the Native Americans:
- Alaska Native:
- Warriors in Alaska relied of the dog-sledge. Weapons were ornate, with feature elaborate and colorful designs and had feathers, and ivory.
weapons used: spears, Bows
- Arctic:
- Warriors in Arctic relied of the dog-sledge. Weapons were ornate, with feature elaborate and colorful designs and had feathers, and ivory. The Arctic armor was of high technical standards and artistry. Helmets usually possessed expressive grimacing face (depicting terrifying animals or men). Warriors in Arctic employed psychological warfare through their helmets. A thick face guard of bent wood just below the helmet protected the warriors, with a small gap for vision. Helmets were also used as crest hats (emblems of the family status). The noblemen warriors wore these helmets and wooden slat armor. With the introduction of firearms, the wooden armor became impractical.
weapons used: Bows, Shield, warclub. spears
- West coast:
- Klamath Warrior's Head-Dress used material of tule stems weaved by atwined process. Account of West coast' aggressive activities including intertribal conflicts and they did influence Spanish culture. Some West coast women warriors were renown for defending their communities.
- Seneca used a form of body hardening technique, that allow them to take many strong blows. This is an extension of their rituals for planting.
weapons used: Bows, Shield, Slings
- Eastern Woodlands:
- [inset styles]
- Cherokee Indians developed the throwing hatchet style of the Tomahawk. This method of fighting was lost in the Trail of Tears. Basically an Indian could hunt with a special balanced hatchet. Up to a range of 30 feet A Cherokee welding a Tomahawk could split a coconut. In a melee, Cherokee welding this hatchet were able open up the chests of those they attacked with a single blow. Today the Cherokee have no use for such fighting methods, and have no one that can fight in this style.
weapons used: Bows,
Shield, Pipe
Tomahawk, Warclub, Gunstock Club, Warclub with
Slingshot Head
weapons used:
- Plains - Prairies:
- The Plains Indians had a system of graded war honors for acts of bravery. Taking of coup was regularly practised and had spiritual connotations. The object of taking coup was to touch an enemy (with a special stick) or a hand. Another form of taking coup was to capture an enemy’s weapon or to steal horses.
- Noted Sioux Indian warriors such as Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse were able to defeat the 7th US Army Calvary in South Dakota in the battle of Little Big Horn, otherwise known as Custers last stand, by changing their fight techniques. The weakness to the hotchkiss machine gun apparently is that it cannot be turned around fast enough. Using a special techniques of the ritual martial arts of "dog soldier", they were able to completely destroy 7th US Army Calvary. This techniques of the "dog soldiers" were widely lost in the Wounded Knee Massacre. Sioux teton lances are typically 44 inches in length, and were primarily designed for hunting bison. In the hands of the Dog Soldiers, they were used to pierce the body straight through. On horseback, the teton lance could go through several people standing in a row.
- weapons used: Atlatl, Lance, Bows, Shield, Warclubs, spears
- weapons used:
- Southeast:
- [inset styles]
- Hopi Indians are primarily an agricultural, usually peaceful. They however have learned to use some Aztec warfare styles in their combat formations. They have learned to use leather shields as part of both their rituals, and fighting. These shields are known as Mandellas.
weapons used:
Atlatl, bows
weapons used:
weapons used:
- Mesoamerican
- In Latin America, a number of guerrilla strategies were used to try to repel the spainish conquistadors (which provoke a harsh reaction by the Spainish military).
weapons used:
Atlatl, Bows, spears
weapons used:
weapons used:
weapons used:
weapons used:
- Eastern and Southern Amazon
weapons used:
weapons used:
Fiction
Stereotypes of Native American Indian fighting styles exist in Spaghetti Western. The Western genre has shoot 'em up, often fighting American Indians of the Plains or Southwest. The mistreatments of the Native American warriors include examples of the War chief and braves. Other recurring themes of westerns include treks travelling into "Injun territory" and groups of Indians terrorizing small towns. Indian Fighting Styles are also portrayed in present stereotypes of the bloodthirsty savage attacking the colony or the wagon train and, most recently, the warrior in para-military dress, wielding a gun.
See also: United States,
Strategy,
Native Americans