| List of Indian massacres in North America | |
|---|---|
 Mass grave of Lakota dead — after the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. |
AnIndian massacre is any incident in which a significant number ofIndigenous peoples of the Americas, as a group, killed or were killed outside the confines ofmutual combat inwar.
"Indian massacre" is a phrase whose use and definition has evolved and expanded over time. European colonists initially used the phrase to describe attacks by indigenous Americans which resulted in mass colonial casualties. While similar attacks by colonists on Indian villages were called "raids" or "battles", successful Indian attacks on white settlements or military posts were routinely termed "massacres". Knowing very little about the native inhabitants of the American frontier, the colonists were deeply fearful, and often, European Americans who had rarely – or never – seen a Native American read Indian atrocity stories in popular literature and newspapers. Emphasis was placed on the depredations of "murderous savages" in their information about Indians, and as the migrants headed further west, they frequently feared the Indians they would encounter.[1][2]
The phrase eventually became commonly used to also describe mass killings of American Indians. Killings described as "massacres" often had an element of indiscriminate targeting, barbarism, orgenocidal intent.[3]
According to historian Jeffrey Ostler, "Any discussion of genocide must, of course, eventually consider the so-called Indian Wars, the term commonly used for U.S. Army campaigns to subjugate Indian nations of the American West beginning in the 1860s. In an older historiography, key events in this history were narrated as battles. It is now more common for scholars to refer to these events as massacres. This is especially so of a Colorado territorial militia's slaughter of Cheyennes atSand Creek (1864) and the army's slaughter of Shoshones atBear River (1863), Blackfeet on theMarias River (1870), and Lakotas atWounded Knee (1890). Some scholars have begun referring to these events as “genocidal massacres,” defined as the annihilation of a portion of a larger group, sometimes to provide a lesson to the larger group."[4]
It is difficult to determine the total number of people who died as a result of "Indian massacres". InThe Wild Frontier: Atrocities during the American-Indian War from Jamestown Colony to Wounded Knee, lawyer William M. Osborn compiled a list of alleged and actual atrocities in what would eventually become the continental United States, from first contact in 1511 until 1890. His parameters for inclusion included the intentional and indiscriminatemurder,torture, or mutilation of civilians, the wounded, and prisoners. His list included 7,193 people who died from atrocities perpetrated by those of European descent, and 9,156 people who died from atrocities perpetrated by Native Americans.[5]
InAn American Genocide, The United States and the California Catastrophe, 1846–1873, historian Benjamin Madley recorded the numbers of killings of California Indians between 1846 and 1873. He found evidence that during this period, at least 9,400 to 16,000 California Indians were killed by non-Indians. Most of these killings occurred in what he said were more than 370 massacres (defined by him as the "intentional killing of five or more disarmed combatants or largely unarmed noncombatants, including women, children, and prisoners, whether in the context of a battle or otherwise").[6]
This is a listing of some of the events reported then or referred to now as "Indian massacre".
| Year | Date | Name | Current location | Description | Reported native casualties | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1325 | Crow Creek massacre | South Dakota | 486 known dead were discovered at an archaeological site nearChamberlain, South Dakota. The victims and perpetrators were both unknown groups of Native Americans. | 486 | [7] |
| Year | Date | Name | Current location | Description | Reported casualties | Claimants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1518–19? | Annihilation of the Otomi of Tecoac | Tecoac, modern dayMexico | The entireOtomi population of Tecoac was reportedly killed duringHernán Cortés's first expedition intoMexico | AllOtomis in Tecoac allegedly | [8][9][10][11] | |
| 1519 | Cholula massacre | Cholula, modern dayMexico | Cempoalans reported that fortifications were being constructed around the city and the Tlaxcalans were warning the Spaniards. Cortés ordered a pre-emptive strike, urged by the Tlaxcalans, the enemies of the Cholulans. Cortés confronted the city leaders in the main temple alleging that they were planning to attack his men. They admitted that they had been ordered to resist by Moctezuma, but they claimed they had not followed his orders. Regardless, on command, the Spaniards and Tlaxcalans seized and killed many of the local nobles to serve as a lesson. | 3,000 to over 30,000 | [12][13] | |
| 1520 | Alvarado Massacre | Tenochtitlan, modern dayMexico | The Massacre in the Great Temple, also called the Alvarado Massacre, was an event on May 22, 1520, in the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan during the Spanish conquest of Mexico, in which the celebration of the Feast of Toxcatl ended in a massacre of Aztec elites. | [14][15] | ||
| 1521 | Massacre after the fall of Tenochtitlan | Tenochtitlan, modern dayMexico | After theFall of Tenochtitlan the remaining Aztec warriors and civilians fled the city as the Spanish allies, primarily the Tlaxcalans, continued to attack even after the surrender, slaughtering thousands of the remaining civilians and looting the city. The Tlaxcalans did not spare women or children: they entered houses, stealing all precious things they found, raping and then killing women, stabbing children. The survivors marched out of the city for the next three days. One source claims 6,000 were massacred in the town of Ixtapalapa alone. | At least 40,000 civilians killed or enslaved, 100,000 to 240,000 warriors and civilians killed in the siege overall | [16][17][18][19][9] | |
| 1539 | Napituca Massacre | Florida | After defeating resistingTimucuan warriors,Hernando de Soto had 200 executed, in the first large-scale massacre by Europeans on what later became U.S. soil. | 200 | [20] | |
| 1540 | October 18 | Mabila Massacre | Alabama | TheChoctaw retaliated againstHernando de Soto's expedition,[21] killing 200 soldiers, as well as many of their horses and pigs, for their having burned downMabila compound and killed c. 2,500 warriors and theparamount chiefTuskaloosa, who had hidden in houses of a fake village. | 2,500 | [20][22][23] |
| 1540–42 | Mixtón War | Zacatecas, Mexico | TheCaxcan Indigenous people ofMexico resist encroachment by the Spanish colonists. | 4,500 | [24][25] | |
| 1541–42 | Tiguex Massacres | New Mexico | After the invading Spaniards seized the houses, food and clothing of the Tiguex and raped their women, the Tiguex resisted. The Spanish attacked them, burning at the stake 50 people who had surrendered.Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's men laid siege to the Moho Pueblo, and after a months-long siege, they killed 200 fleeing warriors. | 250 | [26][27] | |
| 1599 | January 22–24 | Acoma Massacre | New Mexico | Juan de Oñate led apunitive expedition against the natives in a three-day battle at theAcoma Pueblo, killing approximately 500 warriors and 300 civilians.KingPhilip III later punished Oñate for his excesses. | 300 | [28][29] |
| 1601 | Sandia Mountains | New Mexico | Founder of the colony of New Mexico,Juan de Oñate, retaliated for the killing of two Spaniards by sending Spanish troops to destroy 3 Indian villages in theSandia Mountains,New Mexico. According to one Spanish account, 900Tompiro Indians were killed. | 900 | [30] | |
| 1609 | Orpax Massacre | Jamestown, Virginia | DuringThe Starving Time atJamestown in theColony of Virginia,John Ratcliffe, president of the colony, and around 50 colonists went to meet with a group ofPowhatan Indians to bargain for food. However they were ambushed and only 16 survived. Ratcliffe was captured and later tortured to death. | 33 (colonists) | [31][32] | |
| 1610 | August 9 | Paspahegh Massacre | Virginia | Lord De la Warr sent 70 men to attack thePaspahegh Indians. They destroyed their main village nearJamestown, killing between 16 and 65 people. The wife and children of the village chief were captured and shortly afterwards put to death. | 16–65 | [33][34] |
| 1616-1620 | Tepehuan revolt | Durango, Mexico | In Durango, the Tepehuan revolted against Spanish rule. | 400 Spaniards and 1000 Indians died. | [35] | |
| 1622 | March 22 | Jamestown Massacre | Virginia | Powhatan (Pamunkey) killed 347 English settlers throughout the Virginia colony, almost one-third of the English population of theJamestown colony, in an effort to push the English out of Virginia. They then destroyed crops and livestock causing 500 more people to die of starvation, reducing the settler population to 180. | 847 (English) (500 died from starvation) | [36][37] |
| 1622 | Massacre of Matape | Sonora, Mexico | The Aibinos (Opatas) in 1622 stirred up opposition to the missionaries who were working on the middle Yaqui River among the Lower Pimas. The trouble was serious enough to cause Captain Hurdaide to send an expedition of two thousand soldiers to the vicinity of Matape, where they defeated the Indians in a bloody battle. This was followed by the entrance of two Jesuits who baptized some four hundred children at Matape and Tepupa. | An unknown number of Opatas (which left 400 children orphans) | [38][39] | |
| 1623 | Wessagusset affair | Massachusetts | SeveralMassachusett chiefs were lured toWessagusset under peaceful pretenses and put to death. Other Indians present in the village were also killed. | 4 (Native leaders) + unknown number of other Native Americans | [40][41] | |
| 1623 | May 12 | Pamunkey Peace Talks | Virginia | In revenge for the Indian massacre of 1622, English colonists served poisoned wine at a "peace conference" withPowhatan leaders, killing about 200; they physically attacked and killed another 50. | 250 | [23] |
| 1626 | Kalinago Genocide of 1626 | Bloody Point,Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2,000–4,000 Caribs were forced into the area of Bloody Point and Bloody River, where over 2,000 were massacred, though 100 settlers were also killed. One Frenchman went mad after being struck by a manchineel-poisoned arrow. The remaining Caribs fled, but by 1640, those not already enslaved, were removed to Dominica. | 2,000 | [42][43] | |
| 1637 | April 23 | Wethersfield Attack | Connecticut | During thePequot War, Wongunk chief Sequin attacked the Puritan townWethersfield, Connecticut withPequot help. Six men and 3 women were killed and 2 girls kidnapped. | 9 (settlers) | [44][45] |
| 1637 | May 26 | Mystic Massacre | Connecticut | In response to the Wethersfield attack, 90 English colonists commanded byJohn Mason, with 70Mohegan and 200Narragansett allies, launched a night attack on a largePequot village on the Mystic River in present-day Connecticut, where they burned the inhabitants in their homes and killed all survivors, for total fatalities of about 400–700. | 400–700 | [46] |
| 1637 | July | Execution of Pequot prisoners | Connecticut | Shortly after their capture, between 20 and 30 Pequot prisoners were taken offshore and deliberately drowned. Their families were subsequently sold into slavery. | 20–30 | [47][48] |
| 1640 | July | Staten Island | New York | 80 Dutch soldiers underCornelis van Tienhoven attacked a village ofRaritans on Staten Island over stolen pigs. Van Tienhoven intended only to demand payment, but his men wanted to massacre the Indians and he eventually consented. | [49] | |
| 1643 | February 25 | Pavonia Massacre | New York | In 1643 theMohawk attacked a band ofWappinger andTappan, who fled toNew Amsterdam seeking the protection ofNew Netherland governor,William Kieft. Kieft dispersed them toPavonia[50] andCorlears Hook. They were later attacked, 129 being killed. This prompted the beginning ofKieft's War, driven by mercenaryJohn Underhill. | 129 | [51][52] |
| 1643 | August | Hutchinson Massacre | New York | As part ofKieft's War inNew Netherland, near theSplit Rock (now northeasternBronx inNew York City), localLenape (orSiwanoy) killed settler Anne Hutchinson, six of her children, a son-in-law, and as many as seven others (servants).Susanna, one of Hutchinson's daughters, was taken captive and lived with the natives for several years. | 15 (settlers) | [53] |
| 1644 | Massapequa Massacre | New York | John Underhill's men killed more than 100 Indians near present-dayMassapequa. | 100+ | [54][55] | |
| 1644 | April 18 | Beginning of Third Anglo-Powhatan War | Virginia | Powhatan (Pamunkey) killed more than 400 English settlers throughout the Virginia colony, about 4 percent of the English population of theJamestown colony, in a second effort to push the English out of Virginia. | 400+ (English) | [37] |
| 1644 | March | Pound Ridge Massacre | New York | As part ofKieft's War inNew Netherland, at present dayPound Ridge,New York,John Underhill, hired by the Dutch, attacked and burned a sleeping village of Lenape, killing about 500 Indians. | 500 | [23][56] |
| 1655 | September 11–15 | Peach War | New York | In response toDirector-General of New NetherlandPeter Stuyvesant's attacks to their trading partners and allies atNew Sweden, united bands of natives attackedPavonia andStaten Island. | 40 | [57] |
| 1675 | July | Susquehannock Massacre | Virginia | After a raid byDoeg Indians on a plantation inVirginia, which killed 2 settlers, a party of militiamen crossed thePotomac intoMaryland and killed 14 members of the friendlySusquehannock tribe they found sleeping in their cabins. | 14 | [58] |
| 1675 | July | Swansea Massacre | Massachusetts | Wampanoag warriors attack the town ofSwansea, Massachusetts, killing 7 settlers. This attack marked the beginning of King Philip's War. | 7 (settlers) | [59] |
| 1675 | August | Lancaster Raid (1675) | Massachusetts | Nipmuc warriors attacked the town ofLancaster, Massachusetts, killing 7 inhabitants during King Philip's War. | 7 (settlers) | [60] |
| 1675 | September | Susquehannock chiefs massacre | Maryland | Following the massacre of 14 Susquehannock in July, fiveSusquehannock chiefs were executed after being invited to a parley by Maryland militia commanderThomas Truman. | 5 | [61] |
| 1675 | December 15 | Jireh Bull Blockhouse massacre | South Kingstown, Rhode Island | During King Philip's War, four days before theGreat Swamp Fight, Jireh Bull Block House was burned byNarragansett warriors, and fifteen of its inhabitants were killed. | 15 (settlers) | [62] |
| 1675 | December 19 | Great Swamp Massacre | Rhode Island | Colonial militia and Indian allies attacked aNarragansett fort nearSouth Kingstown, Rhode Island. At least 40 warriors were killed and 300 to 1,000 women, children and elder men burnt in the village. | 300–1,000 | [63][64] |
| 1676 | January | January 1676 Susquehannock raids | Virginia & Maryland | In a prelude toBacon's Rebellion,Susquehannock warriors attacked plantations in retaliation for earlier attacks by colonists. They killed 60 settlers in Maryland and 36 in Virginia. Other tribes joined in, killing more settlers. | 96+ (settlers) | [61] |
| 1676 | February 10 | Lancaster raid (1676) | Massachusetts | Four hundred Narragansett, Nipmuc, and Wampanoag warriors attacked the town of Lancaster, Massachusetts, killing 14 inhabitants and capturing 23 during King Philip's War. | 14 (settlers) | |
| 1676 | March 26 | Nine Men's Misery | Rhode Island | DuringKing Philip's War, warriors subjected nine captive soldiers with ritual torture and death. | 9 (settlers) | [65][66] |
| 1676 | May | Massacre at Occoneechee Island | Virginia | Nathaniel Bacon turned on hisOccaneechi allies and his men destroyed three forts within their village on Occoneechee Island, on theRoanoke River near present-dayClarksville, Virginia. Bacon's troops killed one hundred men as well as many women and children. | 100–400 | [67] |
| 1676 | May 10 | Turner Falls Massacre | Massachusetts | Captain William Turner and 150 militia volunteers attacked a fishing Indian camp at present-dayTurners Falls, Massachusetts. At least 100 women and children were killed in the attack. | 100 | [68] |
| 1676 | July 2 | Rhode Island | Rhode Island | Militia volunteers under Major Talcott attacked a band of Narragansetts onRhode Island, killing 34 men and 92 women and children. | 126 | [69] |
| 1676 | July 3 | Warwick Neck Massacre | Rhode Island | Disregarding the promise of safety made to Narragansett sachem Potuck, Major Talcott's troops attacked 80 of his followers who had given themselves up, killing 18 and wounding or capturing 49. Although Potuck had been granted safe conduct to go toNewport, Rhode Island to negotiate terms, he was arrested and subsequently executed. | 18 | [70][71][72] |
| 1676 | August | Dragon Swamp massacre | Virginia | During Bacon's Rebellion, Bacon's men, who were searching for Susquehannock, attacked friendlyPamunkeys inDragon Swamp, killing many and capturing 45 | Many killed + 45 captured | [61] |
| 1676 | August 13 | Woolwich massacre | Maine | During King Philip's War, Wabanaki fighters attacked Richard Hammond's fortified trading post in present-day Woolwich, Maine, killing fourteen and capturing others. | 14 (settlers) | [60] |
| 1680 | August 10 | Pueblo Revolt | New Mexico | Pueblo warriors killed 401 Spanish settlers, and 21 Franciscan priests, and drove other Spaniards from New Mexico. | 422 (Spaniards) | [73][74] |
| 1688 | December | Fort St. Louis massacre | Victoria County, Texas | AFrench settlement, founded by explorerRobert Cavelier de La Salle on theGarcitas Creek in 1685, was attacked byKarankawa Indians. Twenty settlers were killed and the five survivors were taken captive. | 20 (French) | [75] |
| 1688 | July 25 | Mototícachi massacre | Sonora | A Spanish force burns anO'odham village, kills all men of fighting age, and forcibly relocates the survivors | 42 | [76] |
| 1689 | August 5 | Lachine massacre | Quebec | 1,500Mohawk warriors attacked the small settlement ofLachine,New France and killed more than 90 of the village's 375 French residents, in response to widespread French attacks on Mohawk villages in present-day New York. | 90 (French) | [77] |
| 1689 | Zia Pueblo | New Mexico | GovernorJironza de Cruzate sacked and burnedZia Pueblo, New Mexico. 600 Indians were killed and 70 survivors were enslaved. | 600 | [78] | |
| 1689 | June 27–28 | Cochecho Massacre | New Hampshire | Members of the newly formedWabanaki Confederacy arrived atDover, New Hampshire led by ChiefKancamagus. They killed 23 residents and captured 29 beginningKing William's War. | 23 (English) | [79] |
| 1690 | February 8 | Schenectady Massacre | New York | As part of theBeaver Wars, French andAlgonquins destroyedSchenectady,New York, killing 60 Dutch and English settlers, including ten women and at least twelve children. | 60 (Dutch and English) | [80] |
| 1690 | March 27 | Raid on Salmon Falls | Maine | During King William's War, Joseph-François Hertel de la Fresnière, along withNorridgewock Abnaki chief Wahowa, led soldiers ofAcadia and the Wabanaki Confederacy to destroy the settlement of Salmon Falls (present-day Berwick, Maine), killing 34 settlers and captured 54. | 34 (English) | [81] |
| 1690 | May 16–20 | Raid on Falmouth | Maine | Joseph-François Hertel de la Fresnière andBaron de St Castin led soldiers ofNew France and the Wabanaki Confederacy to capture and destroyFort Loyal and the English settlement on the Falmouth during King William's War, killing 200 settlers. | 200 (English) | [82] |
| 1692 | January 24 | Candlemas Massacre | Maine | DuringKing William's War, 200–300 Abenaki and Canadiens killed 75, took 100 prisoner and burned the encroaching town ofYork,Maine district of theProvince of Massachusetts Bay | 75 (non-Indians) | [83] |
| 1693 | December 30 | Santa Fe reconquest | New Mexico | Diego de Vargas leading about 800 people, including 100 soldiers, and returned to Santa Fe on December 16, 1693. They were opposed by 70 Pueblo warriors and 400 family members within the town. De Vargas and his forces recaptured the town. 70 Pueblo warriors were executed on December 30, and their families were sentenced to ten years' servitude. | 70 | [84] |
| 1694 | July 18 | Oyster River massacre | New Hampshire | During King William's War,Claude-Sébastien de Villieu led 250 members of the Wabanaki Confederacy to attack and destroy the settlement of Oyster River (present-day Durham, New Hampshire). They killed 104 English settlers and captured 27. Much of the settlement was destroyed and pillaged. Crops were also destroyed and livestock killed, causing famine among the survivors. | 104 (English) | [85] |
| 1695 | June 9 | La Matanza | Sonora, Mexico | Spanish militia with Seri Indian auxiliaries killed 49 O'odham Indians (formerly known in the United States as Pima Indians) at peace conference at the El Tupo Cienega (also called San Miguel del Tupo)[86] two months after the Tubutama Uprising. The meadow became known as La Matanza - Place of The Slaughter. | 49 | [87] |
| 1696 | 1696 Pueblo revolt | New Mexico | In 1696, members of the fourteen pueblos attempted a second organized revolt, launched with the killing of five missionaries and thirty-four settlers and using weapons the Spanish themselves had traded to the natives over the years. | 39 (Spaniards) | [84] | |
| 1697 | March 15 | Raid on Haverhill | Massachusetts | During King William's War, in a raid ordered byLouis de Buade de Frontenac,Governor General of New France, Abenaki warriors led by ChiefNescambious, attackedHaverhill, killing 27 settlers and taking 13 captives. One of those captives,Hannah Duston, stated that the Abenaki killed her baby during the journey to an island in theMerrimack River. In April, Duston and two other captives killed and scalped ten of the Abenaki family holding them hostage. | 28 (English) | [88] |
| 1703 | August | Six Terrible Days | Maine | DuringQueen Anne's War , Alexandre Leneuf de La Vallière de Beaubassin led 500 members of the Wabanaki Confederacy and a small number of French soldiers. They attacked and destroyed English settlements on the coast of present-day Maine betweenWells andCasco Bay, burning more than 15 leagues of New England country and killing or capturing many English settlers. | 150 to 300 killed or captured (English) | |
| 1704 | Apalachee Massacre | Florida | 50 English colonists and 1,000Muscogee allies under former Carolina GovernorJames Moore launched a series of brutal attacks on theApalachee villages of Northern Florida. They killed 1,000 Apalachees and enslaved at least 2,000 survivors. | 1,000 | [91] | |
| 1704 | February 29 | Deerfield Massacre | Massachusetts | DuringQueen Anne's War, a force composed ofAbenaki,Kanienkehaka,Wyandot andPocumtuck, accompanied by a small contingent of French-Canadian militia and led byJean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville, sacked the town ofDeerfield, Massachusetts, killing 56 civilians and taking more than 100 as captives. | 56 (non-Indians) | [92] |
| 1711 | September 22 | Massacre atBath | North Carolina | The SouthernTuscarora, Pamplico, Cothechneys, Cores, Mattamuskeets and Matchepungoes attacked settlers at several locations in and around the city ofBath, North Carolina. Hundreds of settlers were killed, and many more were driven off. | Hundreds (settlers) | [93] |
| 1712 | Massacre at Fort Narhantes | North Carolina | The North Carolina militia and their Indian allies attacked the SouthernTuscarora at Fort Narhantes on the banks of the Neuse River. More than 300 Tuscarora were killed, and one hundred were sold into slavery. | 300 | [93] | |
| 1712 | May | Fox Indian Massacre | Michigan | During theFirst Fox War, French troops alongside their Indian allies killed around 1,000Fox Indians men, women and children in a five-day massacre near the head of theDetroit River. | 1,000 (including warriors) | [94] |
| 1712 | Tzeltal rebellion | Chiapas, Mexico | A number ofMaya communities in theSoconusco region ofChiapas rose in rebellion. | +1000 | [95] | |
| 1713 | March 20–23 | Fort Neoheroka | South Carolina | Colonial Militia volunteers and Indian allies under ColonelJames Moore attacked Ft. Neoheroka, the main stronghold of theTuscarora Indians. 200 Tuscaroras were burned to death in the village and 170 more were killed outside the fort while more than 400 were taken to South Carolina and sold into slavery. 900–1,000 were killed or captured in total. | 370 | [96][97][98] |
| 1715 | April 15 | Pocotaligo Massacre | South Carolina | Yamassee Indians killed 4 British traders and representatives of Carolina at Pocotaligo, near present-dayYemassee,South Carolina. 90 other traders were killed in the following weeks. | 94 (traders) | [99] |
| 1715 | April | Massacre at St Bartholemew's Parish | South Carolina | At the onset of theYamasee War, Yamasee Indians attacked St Bartholomew's Parish in South Carolina, killing over 100 settlers. Subsequent attacks aroundCharles Town killed many more, and in total, about 7% of the colony's white population perished in the conflict. | 100+ (settlers) | [100] |
| 1715 | May | Schenkingh Plantation | South Carolina | A band of Catawba and Cherokee warriors attacked Benjamin Schenkingh's plantation where about 20 settlers had taken refuge. All were killed. | 20 (settlers) | [100] |
| 1724 | August 24 | Norridgewock Massacre | Maine | CaptainsJeremiah Moulton and Johnson Harmon led 200 rangers to theAbenaki village ofNorridgewock,Maine to kill FatherSébastien Rale and destroy the Indian settlement. The rangers massacred 80 Abenakis including two dozen women and children and 26 warriors. The rangers suffered 3 dead. | 80 (26 warriors) | [101] |
| 1729 | November 29 | Natchez Revolt | Mississippi | Natchez Indians attacked French settlements near present-dayNatchez, Mississippi, killing more than 200 French colonists. | 200 (French) | [102] |
| 1729 | December 4 | Massacre of Chaouacha village | Louisiana | Governor Perier ordered 80 enslaved Blacks to attack the village of theChaouacha Indians. At least 7 Indians were killed. | 7 | [103] |
| 1730 | September 9 | Massacre at Fox Fort | Illinois | A combined force 1,400 French soldiers and their Indian allies massacred around 500 Fox Indians (including 300 women and children) as they tried to flee their besieged camp. | 500 (including 200 warriors) | [104] |
| 1736 | June 6 | Lake of the Woods Massacre | Minnesota | Sioux warriors ambushed and killed a group of 21 men, includingJean Baptiste de La Vérendrye andJean-Pierre Aulneau, soon after they leftFort St. Charles onLake of the Woods to go toFort Kaministiquia for provisions. | 21 (French) | [105] |
| 1745 | 1745 Massacre at Walden | New York | Upon hearing of an impending French and Indian attack upon the Ulster county frontiers, British colonists massacred several peacefulMunsee families nearWalden, New York. | Several families | [106][107] | |
| 1747 | October | Chama River | New Mexico | Spanish troops ambushed a group of Utes on theChama River, killing 111 Indians and taking 206 as captives. | 111 | [108] |
| 1751 | November | Pima Revolt | Arizona | During a revolt against Spanish rule byPima Indians, more than 100 Spanish settlers were killed. The uprising began on November 20 inSáric with the massacre of 18 settlers who had been lured to the home of the rebellion's leaderLuis Oacpicagigua, who had previously served as a provincial "Indian governor" for the Spanish. | 100+ (Spanish) | [109] |
| 1752 | June 21 | Raid on Pickawillany | Ohio | 14Miami killed, including their chiefMemeskia who was then boiled and eaten. Three English traders were also killed. | 17 | [110] |
| 1753 | February 21 | Attack at Mocodome | Nova Scotia | 6 Mi'kmaq were killed | 6 | |
| 1753 | April 21 | Attack at Jeddore | Nova Scotia | A British delegation met Mi'kmaq chiefJean-Baptiste Cope at the mouth of a river atJeddore, Nova Scotia, duringFather Le Loutre's War. The Mi'kmaq killed nine of the British delegates and spared the life of the French-speaking translator Anthony Casteel. | 9 (British) | [111] |
| 1755 | July 30 | Draper's Meadow massacre | Virginia | 1 soldier and 3 settlers killed, 2 wounded and 5 captured byShawnee Indians at Draper's Meadow,Virginia | 4 | [112] |
| 1755 | October 16 | Penn's Creek massacre | Pennsylvania | Lenape Indians attacked a settlement onPenns Creek. It was the first of a series of raids on Pennsylvania settlements by Native American tribes allied with the French in theFrench and Indian War. | 14 killed, 11 captured (German and Swiss settlers) | [113] |
| 1755 | Oct 31-Nov 2 | Great Cove massacre | Pennsylvania | 100 Lenape and Shawnee Indians, led by the Lenape war captainShingas, attacked a series of settlements in Great Cove and Little Cove and along the Conolloway Creeks near the Maryland border. This was a continuation of the hostilities by Native American tribes allied with the French in the French and Indian War that had begun with the Penn's Creek massacre, above. | 47 either killed or captured (Scotch and Irish settlers) in the Great Cove settlement; at least 10 more in Little Cove and the Conolloway Creeks | [114] |
| 1755 | November 24 | Gnadenhütten massacre (Pennsylvania) | Pennsylvania | Lenape Indians (Munsee) attacked a Moravian missionary settlement (including Lenape and Mahican converts) in present-dayLehighton, Pennsylvania. It was a continuation of a series of raids on Pennsylvania settlements by Native American tribes allied with the French in the early stages of theFrench and Indian War. | 11 killed, 1 captured and later died (German Moravian missionaries & families) | [115] |
| 1756 | March 2 | 1756 Massacre at Walden | New York | On March 2, 1756, white vigilantes murdered 9 friendlyMunsee Indians at Walden. | 9 | [106][107] |
| 1756 | June 11 | Fort Bigham attack | Fort Bigham, Pennsylvania | During the French and Indian War, Lenape warriors, led by Tamaqua, attacked Fort Bigham, killing or capturing 23 English civilians. | 23 (English) | [116] |
| 1757 | August 9 | Massacre at Fort William Henry | New York | Following the fall ofFort William Henry during the French and Indian War, Indians allied with the French killed between 70 and 180 British and colonial prisoners. | 70–180 (British) | [117] |
| 1757 | September 19 | Hochstetler massacre | Pennsylvania | Indians set fire to the Hochstetler homestead, killing 3 and capturing 3 others as they tried to escape. | 3 (German) | [118] |
| 1757 | October 1 | Bloody Springs massacre | Pennsylvania | Lenape warriors attacked two farmsteads, killing 6 members of the Spatz family. | 6 (German) | [119] |
| 1758 | March 16 | San Saba Mission Massacre | Texas | A large party of Comanche, Tonkawa and Hasinai Indians attacked themission of San Saba,Texas, killing 8 and burning down the mission. | 8 (missionaries) | [120] |
| 1759 | October 4 | St. Francis Raid | Quebec | During the French and Indian War, in retaliation for a rumored murder of a captured Stockbridge man and detention of Captain Quinten Kennedy of theRogers' Rangers, Major Robert Rogers led a party of approximately 150 Rangers, regular troops and British-alliedMahican into the village ofOdanak, Quebec. They killed up to 30Abenaki people, among them women and children, as confirmed via conflicting reports. | 30 | [121] |
| 1763 | May | Capture ofFort Sandusky | Ohio | DuringPontiac's War, a group ofWyandots entered the British outpost Fort Sandusky under peaceful pretexts. TheWyandots then seized the fort and killed its 15-member garrison along with several British traders. | 15+ (British) | [122] |
| 1763 | June 23 | Clendenin Massacre | West Virginia | Shawnee massacre of Clendenin adult males, captured women and children including John Ewing of Virginia. | ||
| 1763 | September 14 | Devil's Hole Massacre | New York | During the French and Indian War,Seneca allied with the French attacked a British supply train and soldiers just south of Fort Niagara. They killed 21 out of 24 teamsters from the supply train. | 21 teamsters + 81 soldiers (British) | [123] |
| 1763 | October 15 | First Wyoming (Mill Creek) Massacre | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania | A band of one hundred and thirty-five Native Americans killed about twenty settlers (of an estimated 100) from Connecticut, and burned their houses at Mill Creek. It was likely perpetrated by Captain Bull and his warriors after the report that colonists had murdered on April 16, 1763, his father,Teedyuscung, as well as the fact that the Wyoming lands (purportedly to be reserved for the Native Americans) were being possessed and settled by colonists. | 20 colonists from Connecticut | [124] |
| 1763 | December | Killings by the Paxton Boys | Conestoga Town &Lancaster, Pennsylvania | In response toPontiac's Rebellion, frontier Pennsylvania settlers killed 20 peaceful Susquehannock. | 20 | [125][126][127] |
| 1764 | May 26 | Fort Cumberland | Maryland | During Pontiac's War, 15 settlers working in a field near Fort Cumberland were killed by Native Americans. | 15 (settlers) | [128] |
| 1764 | June 14 | Fort Loudoun | Pennsylvania | During Pontiac's War, 13 settlers near Fort Loudoun were killed and their homes burned in an attack by Native Americans. | 13 (settlers) | [128] |
| 1764 | July 26 | Enoch Brown school massacre | Franklin County Pennsylvania | During Pontiac's War, FourLenape Indians killed a schoolmaster and 10 pupils. One pupil was scalped but survived. A pregnant woman had been killed by the same group of Lenape in a separate incident the day before. | 11 | [127] |
| 1765 | May 4 | Anderson's barn massacre | Staunton Virginia | Five Cherokee, allied with Col.Andrew Lewis (soldier), were treacherously killed by the "Augusta Boys", as a declared emulation of the 1763Paxton Boys lynch squad. | 5 | [129] |
| 1771 | July 17 | Bloody Falls massacre | Kugluktuk, Nunavut | The Bloody Falls massacre was an incident believed to have taken place duringSamuel Hearne's exploration of the Coppermine River for copper deposits. According to HearneChipewyan and"Copper Indian" Dene men led by Hearne's guide and companionMatonabbee attacked a group ofCopper Inuit, killing over 20 men, women and children. | 20+ | [130][131] |
| 1774 | September | Spanish Peaks | New Mexico | Spanish troops surprised a large fortified Comanche village near Spanish Peaks (Raton, New Mexico). They killed nearly 300 Indians (men, women and children) and took 100 captives. | 300 | [132] |
| 1774 | April 30 | Yellow Creek Massacre | Hancock County, West Virginia | Daniel Greathouse killed members ofChief Logan's family. | 12 | [133] |
| 1778 | July 3 | Battle of Wyoming | Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania | During theAmerican Revolutionary War, following a battle with rebel defenders ofForty Fort,Iroquois allies ofLoyalist forces hunted and killed those who fled; they were later accused of using ritual torture to kill those soldiers who surrendered. These claims were denied by Iroquois and British leaders at the time. | 340 (colonists) | [134][135][136] |
| 1778 | August 31 | Stockbridge Massacre | Massachusetts | An ambush by theQueen's Rangers during theAmerican Revolutionary War that left nearly 40Stockbridge Militia dead. | 40 | [137] |
| 1778 | November 11 | Cherry Valley Massacre | New York | British andSeneca forces attacked the fort and village at Cherry Valley, New York, killing 16 rebel troops and more than 30 settlers. | 46 (settlers) | [138] |
| 1780 | June 27 | Westervelt Massacre | Kentucky | Seventeen Dutch settlers killed and two taken captive out of a caravan of 41. The settler caravan was traveling between Low Dutch Station, Kentucky and Harrod's Town, Kentucky. The victims were all scalped and sold to the British for a bounty. | 17 (Dutch) | [139] |
| 1781 | September 1 | Dietz Massacre | New York | During the Revolution, Iroquois allied with the British attacked the home of Johannes Dietz,Berne, New York, killing and scalping Dietz, his wife, their daughter-in-law, four children of their son's family, and a servant girl. | 8 (Dutch) | [140][141] |
| 1781 | September 13 | Long Run Massacre | Jefferson County, Kentucky | Thirty-two settlers killed by 50Miami people while trying to move to safety, additionally approximately 15 settlers and 17 soldiers were killed attempting to bury the initial victims. | 64 (settlers) | [142][143] |
| 1782 | March 8 | Gnadenhütten massacre | Gnadenhutten, Ohio | During the Revolution, Pennsylvania militiamen massacred nearly 100 non-combatant ChristianLenape, mostly women and children; they killed and scalped all but two young boys. | 100 | [144][145] |
| 1784 | August 14 | Awa'uq Massacre | Sitkalidak Island, Alaska | 200 to 3000Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) people were killed at Refuge Rock nearKodiak Island byRussianfur traderGrigory Shelekhov and 130 armed Russian men andcannoneers of hisShelikhov-Golikov Company. | 200–3,000 | |
| 1788 | Kirk Family Massacre | Tennessee | A party of Indians killed 11 members of the Kirk family (1 woman and 10 children) on Nine Mile Creek 12 miles south of present-dayKnoxville. | 11 (settlers) | [147] | |
| 1788 | Massacre of the Old chiefs | Tennessee | In retaliation to the Kirk Massacre,Old Tassel and 4 other chiefs of theCherokee peace faction were lured into a trap and axed under a flag of truce inChilhowee. | 5 | [148] | |
| 1791 | January 2 | Big Bottom massacre | Ohio | 14 settlers were killed by an Indian war party inStockport,Morgan County, Ohio. | 14 (settlers) | |
| 1791 | November 4 | Fort Recovery Massacre | Ohio | At present dayFort Recovery, Ohio, an army of 1,500 Americans led byArthur St. Clair, was ambushed by an army ofMiami Indians led by chiefLittle Turtle. 200 to 250 civilians were killed. | 200–250 (Americans) | [149] |
| 1793 | September 25 | Cavett's Station massacre | Tennessee | During theCherokee–American wars, settlers at Cavett's Station were surrounded by Cherokee and Muscogee warriors. They agreed to surrender following negotiations with one of the leading warriorsBob Benge, who promised no captives would be harmed, however a group led byDoublehead began killing the settlers. One of the Cherokee leaders,James Vann tried unsuccessfully to save two children. | 13 (settlers) | [150] |
| 1794 | November 11 | Sevier's Station massacre | Clarksville, Tennessee | During the Cherokee–American wars,Chickamauga Cherokee warriors attacked Sevier's Station and killed fourteen of the inhabitants.Valentine Sevier was one of the few survivors of the attack. | 14 (settlers) | [151] |
| 1803 | March 22 | Yuquot massacre | Yuquot, British Columbia | Nuu-chah-nulth, led by chiefMaquinna, attacked and killed most of the crew of the American trading ship "Boston" . They had boarded the ship under a pretense to trade. Only two of the crew survived, including John R. Jewitt who wrote a famous captivity narrative about his nearly 3 years in captivity. | 26 (sailors) | [152] |
| 1805 | January | Canyon del Muerto | Arizona | Spanish soldiers led byAntonio Narbona massacred 115Navajo Indians (mostly women, children and old men) in Canyon del Muerto, northeasternArizona. | 115 | [153] |
| 1811 | June 15 | Battle of Woody Point | Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia | Nuu-chah-nulth, led by chiefWickaninnish, attacked and captured of the crew of theTonquin, an Americanmerchant ship of theAstor Expedition which was there to trade for furs. They attacked because the ship's lieutenant had insulted the chief the day before. The one surviving sailor on the ship then destroyed the ship the day after the massacre by detonating the powdermagazine, killing over 100 people plundering the ship. Four sailors who had escaped in a skiff during the initial attack were pushed ashore by a storm and captured and tortured to death in revenge for the explosion. | 29 (sailors) | [154][155] |
| 1812 | August 15 | Fort Dearborn Massacre (Battle of Fort Dearborn) | Illinois | During theWar of 1812, Indians allied with the British killed American soldiers and settlers evacuatingFort Dearborn (site of present-day Chicago, Illinois). In all, 26 soldiers, two officers, two women and 12 children, and 12 trappers and settlers hired as scouts, were killed. | 54 (non-Indians) | [156] |
| 1812 | September 3 | Pigeon Roost Massacre | Indiana | During the War of 1812, twenty four settlers, including fifteen children, were massacred by a war party of Native Americans (mostly Shawnee, but possibly including some Lenape and Potawatomis) in a surprise attack on a small village located in what is today Scott County, Indiana. | 24 (settlers) | [157] |
| 1813 | January 22 | River Raisin Massacre | Michigan | During the War of 1812, Indians allied with the British killed between 30 and 60 Kentucky militia after their surrender. | 30–60 (Americans) | [158] |
| 1813 | August 30 | Fort Mims Massacre | Alabama | After a Muscogee victory at theBattle of Burnt Corn, a band of MuscogeeRed Sticks attacked Fort Mims, in what today isAlabama, killing 400–500 settlers, slaves, militiamen, and Muscogee loyalists and taking 250scalps. This action brought the US into the internalCreek War, at the same time as the War of 1812. | 400–500 (settlers) | [159] |
| 1813 | September 1 | Kimbell-James Massacre | Mississippi | Immediately after departing Fort Mims,Red Sticks warriors led by Josiah Francis (Prophet Francis) attacked the Kimbell and James families seeking refuge near Fort Sinquefield. At least 15 were killed, mostly women and children. | 15 (settlers) | [160] |
| 1813 | November 3 | Battle of Tallushatchee | Tennessee | 900 Tennessee troops under GeneralJohn Coffee, and includingDavy Crockett, attacked an unsuspecting Creek town. About 186–200 Creek warriors were killed, and an unknown number of women and children were killed, some burned in their houses. | 180-300 (including warriors) | [161][162][163] |
| 1813 | November 18 | Hillabee Massacre | Alabama | Tennessee troops underGeneral White launched a dawn attack on an unsuspecting Creek town (the village leaders were engaged in peace negotiations with General Andrew Jackson). About 65 Creek Indians were shot or bayoneted. | 65 | [164] |
| 1813 | November 29 | Autossee Massacre (Battle of Autossee) | Alabama | Georgia MilitiaGeneral Floyd attacked a Creek town on Tallapoosa River, inMacon County,Alabama, killing 200 Indians before setting the village afire. | 200 (including warriors) | [165] |
| 1814 | San Nicolas Island Massacre | San Nicolas Island, California | A party ofAleut otter hunters working for theRussian-American Company (RAC) arrived on the island and massacred most of theNicoleño islanders after accusing them of killing an Aleut hunter. | |||
| 1817 | November 30 | Scott Massacre | Florida | In retaliation for the sacking of a Mikasuki village,Seminole Indians ambushed a US army boat under the command of Lt. Richard W. Scott on theApalachicola River. There were ca. 50 people on the boat, including forty soldiers (of which twenty were sick), seven wives of soldiers and possibly four children. Most of the boat's passengers were killed. One woman was taken prisoner, and six survivors made it to Fort Scott. | 41–45 (settlers and soldiers) | [167][168] |
| 1822 | March | Jemez Pueblo Massacre | New Mexico | 24 Navajo emissaries travelling to a peace conference in Santa Fe were murdered by Mexican soldiers inJimez Pueblo, New Mexico. | 24 | [169] |
| 1823 | February | Skull Creek Massacre | Texas | After Coco Indians killed two colonists under unclear circumstances, the colonists got together twenty-five men and found aKarankawa people village on Skull Creek. They killed at least nineteen inhabitants of the village before the rest could flee, then stole their possessions and burned their homes to the ground. | 19+ | [170] |
| 1823 | June 2 | General Ashley's 1823 expedition massacre | South Dakota | Arikara warriors killed 12 trappers working for GeneralWilliam Henry Ashley'sRocky Mountain Fur Company on theMissouri River. Many others were wounded, with the survivors, includingHugh Glass,Jedediah Smith, andJim Bridger fleeing down river. The Arikara had recently traded with the trappers but were angry with them because weeks earlier they had rescued several Sioux who were being hunted by the Arikara. The attack led to theArikara War. | 12 (trappers) | [171][172] |
| 1824 | March 22 | Fall Creek Massacre | Indiana | Six settlers inMadison County, Indiana killed and robbed eightSeneca. One suspect escaped trial and two others was a witness at subsequent trial. The remaining four suspects were all convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. One man was executed on January 12, 1825, and two others were hanged on June 2, 1825. The last defendant, a teenager, was pardoned moments before he could be hanged. The court had recommended a pardon for him due to his age and the influence of his codefendants, which included his father and uncle, whose executions he'd just witnessed. | 8 | [173] |
| 1824 | February 21 | Battle of Mission Santa Inés | Solvang, California | Arevolt byChumash Indians erupted, with the takeover and burning ofMission Santa Inés. Mexican reinforcements arrived the next day and forced the rebels out. 15 Chumash women and children were killed at the mission on the first day of the revolt. | 15 | [174] |
| 1826 | Dressing Point Massacre | Texas | A posse of Anglo-Texan settlers massacred a large community ofKarankawa Indians near the mouth of the Colorado River inMatagorda County, Texas. Between 40 and 50 Karankawas were killed. | 40–50 | [175] |
| Year | Date | Name | Current location | Description | Reported casualties | Claimants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | June | 1830 Prairie du Chien massacre | Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin | Dakotas (Santee Sioux) andMenominees killed fifteenMeskwakis attending a multi-tribal treaty conference, mediated by the American government, at Prairie du Chien. | 15 | [176] |
| 1831 | July | 1831 Prairie du Chien massacre | Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin | In retaliation to the earlier 1830 massacre at Prairie du Chien, a party of Meskwakis and Sauks killed twenty-six Menominees, including women and children at Prairie du Chien in July 1831. | 26 | [176] |
| 1832 | May 20 | Indian Creek Massacre | Illinois | A party ofPotawatomi, with a fewSauk allies, killed fifteen men, women and children and kidnapped two young women, who were later ransomed. | 15 (settlers) | [177] |
| 1832 | August 1 | Battle of Bad Axe | Wisconsin | Soldiers underGeneral Henry Atkinson, armed volunteers and Dakota Sioux killed around 150Fox and Sauk men, women and children near present-dayVictory,Wisconsin. The US suffered 5 dead. | 150 (including warriors) | [178] |
| 1833 | Exact date unknown | Cutthroat Gap Massacre | Oklahoma | The Osage tribe attacked a Kiowa camp west of theWichita Mountains insouthwest Oklahoma, killing 150 Kiowa Indians. | 150 | [179] |
| 1836 | May 19 | Fort Parker Massacre | Texas | Comanche killed seven European Americans inLimestone County, Texas. The five captured includedCynthia Ann Parker. | 7 (Europeans) | [180] |
| 1837 | Amador Massacre | California | Mexican colonists underJose Maria Amador captured an entire rancheria of friendlyMiwok Indians inNorthern California and killed their 200 prisoners in two mass executions. | 200 | [181] | |
| 1837 | April 22 | Johnson Massacre | New Mexico | At least 20 Apaches were killed near Santa Rita del Cobre,New Mexico while trading with a group of American settlers led by John Johnson. The Anglos blasted the Apaches with a cannon loaded with musket balls, nails and pieces of glass and finished off the wounded. | 20 | [182] |
| 1837 | August 8 | Santa Fe massacre | Santa Fe, New Mexico | During the start of a popular revolt against New Mexico GovernorAlbino Pérez, 22 government officials, including Perez and former GovernorSantiago Abréu were captured and killed, some by mutilation, bySanto Domingo Pueblo who had joined the rebellion. | 22 (Mexicans) | [183] |
| 1838 | October 5 | Killough Massacre | Texas | A party ofCherokee massacred eighteen members and relatives of the Killough family in Texas. | 18 (settlers) | [184] |
| 1838 | April | Ambush Park | Minnesota | A group of nineOjibwe led by chiefHole in the Day were welcomed as guests into a camp of Dakota, who served them a meal. During the night the Ojibwe attacked the sleeping Dakota, killing seven, wounding two more, and taking a third captive. | 7 | [185] |
| 1838 or 1839 | Exact date unknown | Webster Massacre | Texas | The Comanche killed a party of settlers attempting to ford the Bushy Creek near present-dayLeander, Texas. All of the Anglo men were killed and Mrs. Webster and her two children were captured. | 10 (settlers) | [186] |
| 1840 | March 19 | Council House Massacre | Texas | The 12 leaders of a Comanche delegation were shot inSan Antonio, Texas while trying to escape the local jail. 23 others including 5 women and children were killed in or around the city. 65 Comanche including 35 women and children were present. 7 Texas militia were also killed at the court house mostly from friendly fire. 13 captives were killed in retaliation by the Comanche. | 35 (Indians) + 13 (Whites) | [187] |
| 1840 | August 7 | Indian Key Massacre | Florida | During the Seminole Wars, so called "Spanish Indians" attacked and destroyed the settlement on Indian Key, killing 13 inhabitants, including noted horticulturist Dr.Henry Perrine. | 13 (settlers) | [188] |
| 1840 | August 7 | Linnville Raid | Texas | During theGreat Raid of 1840, Comanche warriors attacked the settlements of Victoria and Linnville killing 14 Whites, 8 Blacks and 1 Mexican. | 23 (settlers) | [189] |
| 1840 | October 24 | Red Fork of the Colorado River | Texas | Volunteer Rangers, consisting of 90 Texans and 17 Lipan Apaches, under ColonelJohn Moore, attacked a Comanche village on the Colorado, killing 140 men, women and children and capturing 35 others (mostly small children). | 140 | [190] |
| 1840 | Exact date unknown | Clear Lake Massacre | California | A posse led by Mexican Salvador Vallejo massacred 150Pomo andWappo Indians onClear Lake,California. | 150 | [191] |
| 1844 | February 9 | Fort Mackenzie Massacre | Montana | White traders fired a small cannon on a group of unsuspecting Blackfeet approaching the gates ofFort Mackenzie for trade. They finished off the dying with daggers. Up to 30 Blackfeet were killed. | 30 | [192] |
| 1846 | April 6 | Sacramento River massacre | California | CaptainFrémont's men attacked a band of Indians (probablyWintun) on the Sacramento River inCalifornia, killing between 120 and 200 Indians. | 120–200 | [193] |
| 1846 | May 12 | Klamath Lake massacre | California | CaptainFrémont's men, led byKit Carson attacked a village ofKlamaths on the banks of Klamath Lake, killing at least 14 Klamath people. | 14+ | [194] |
| 1846 | June | Sutter Buttes massacre | California | CaptainFrémont's men attacked a rancheria on the banks of the Sacramento River near Sutter Buttes, killing several Patwin people. | 14+ | [194] |
| 1846 | July 6 | Kirker Massacre | Chihuahua | Irish-born American Scalp hunterJames Kirker was hired by the Mexican government to kill or captureApache Indians. Alongside local Mexican citizens, he lured a band ofChiricahua Apaches intoGaleana, Chihuahua and got them drunk. After the "festivities", Kirker's men killed and scalped 130 men, women and children. | 130 | [195] |
| 1846 | December | Pauma massacre | California | 11Californio were killed byLuiseño Indians atPauma Valley north ofEscondido, California. | 11 (settlers) | [196] |
| 1846 | December | Temecula massacre | California | A combined force of Californio militia andCahuilla Indians killed 33 to 40 Luiseño Indians inTemecula, California in revenge for the Pauma Massacre. | 33–40 | [196] |
| 1847 | February 3–4 | Storming of Pueblo de Taos | New Mexico | In response to a New Mexican-instigated uprising in Taos, American troops attacked the heavily fortified Pueblo of Taos with artillery, killing nearly 150 rebels, some being Indians. Between 25 and 30 prisoners were shot by firing squads. | 25–30 | [197] |
| 1847 | March | Rancheria Tulea massacre | California | White slavers retaliate to a slave escape by massacring five Indians in Rancheria Tulea. | 5 | [194] |
| 1847 | March 29 | Kern and Sutter massacres | California | In response to a plea from White settlers to put an end to raids, U.S. Army Captain Edward Kern and rancher John Sutter led 50 men in attacks on three Indian villages. | 20 | [194] |
| 1847 | late June/early July | Konkow Maidu slaver massacre | California | Slavers kill 12–20 Konkow Maidu Indians in the process of capturing 30 members of the tribe for the purpose of forced slavery. | 12–20 | [194] |
| 1847 | November 29 | Whitman massacre | Washington | Cayuse andUmatilla warriors killed the missionaries Dr.Marcus Whitman, Mrs. Narcissa Whitman and 12 others atWalla Walla, Washington, in retaliation for the belief that Whitmans were responsible for the deaths of 200 natives from measles, triggering theCayuse War. Subsequently, the U.S. hanged 5 Cayuse, including the Waiilatpu Leader Tiloukaikt. | 14 (missionaries) | [198] |
| 1848 | April | Brazos River | Texas | A hunting party of 26 friendlyWichita andCaddo Indians was massacred by Texas Rangers under Captain Samuel Highsmithe, in a valley south ofBrazos River. 25 men and boys were killed, and only one child managed to escape. | 26 | [199] |
| 1849 | March 5 | Battle Creek massacre | Utah | In response to some cattle being stolen, GovernorBrigham Young sent members of theMormon militia to "put a final end to their depredations". They were led to a band, where they attacked them, killing the men and taking the women and children as captives. | 4 (more by some accounts) | [200] |
| 1850 | Feb 8 | Battle at Fort Utah | Utah | GovernorBrigham Young issued a partial extermination order of theTimpanogos who lived inUtah Valley. In the north, the Timpanogos were fortified. However, in the south, theMormon militia told them they were friendly before lining them up to execute them. Dozens of women and children were enslaved and taken toSalt Lake City, Utah, where many died. | 102 + "many" in captivity | [201] |
| 1850 | May 15 | Bloody Island Massacre | California | Nathaniel Lyon and his U.S. Army detachment of cavalry killed 60–100Pomo people on Bo-no-po-ti island nearClear Lake, (Lake Co., California); they believed the Pomo had killed twoClear Lake settlers who had been abusing and murdering Pomo people. (The Island Pomo had no connections to the enslaved Pomo). This incident led to a general outbreak of settler attacks against and mass killing of native people all over Northern California. Site is California Registered Historical Landmark #427 | 60–100 | [202][203][204] |
| 1851 | January 11 | Mariposa War | California | The gold rush increased pressure on the Native Americans of California, because miners forced Native Americans off their gold-rich lands. Many were pressed into service in the mines; others had their villages raided by the army and volunteermilitia. Some Native American tribes fought back, beginning with theAhwahneechees and theChowchilla in theSierra Nevada andSan Joaquin Valley leading a raid on theFresno River post ofJames D. Savage, in December 1850. In retaliationMariposa County Sheriff James Burney led local militia in an indecisive clash with the natives on January 11, 1851, on a mountainside near present-dayOakhurst, California. | 40+ | |
| 1851 | March | Oatman Massacre | Arizona | Royce Oatman's emigrant party of 7 was killed byMohave orYavapai Indians. The survivors,Olive andMary Ann Oatman were enslaved. Olive escaped five years later and spoke extensively about the experience. | 7 (settlers) | [205] |
| 1851 | Old Shasta Town | California | Miners killed 300Wintu Indians nearOld Shasta, California and burned down their tribal council meeting house. | 300 | [206] | |
| 1852 | Hynes Bay Massacre | Texas | Texas militiamen attacked a village of 50Karankawas, killing 45 of them. | 45 | [207] | |
| 1852 | April 23 | Bridge Gulch Massacre | California | 70 American men led byTrinity County sheriff William H. Dixon killed more than 150Wintu people in the Hayfork Valley of California, in retaliation for the killing of Col. John Anderson. | 150 | [208] |
| 1852 | November | Wright Massacre | California | White settlers led by a notorious Indian hunter named Ben Wright massacred 41 Modocs during a "peace parley". | 41 | [209] |
| 1853 | Howonquet Massacre | California | Californian settlers attacked and burned theTolowa village of Howonquet, massacring 70 people. | 70 | [210] | |
| 1853 | Yontoket Massacre | California | A posse of settlers attacked and burned aTolowa rancheria atYontocket, California, killing 450 Tolowa during a prayer ceremony. | 450 | [211][212] | |
| 1853 | Achulet Massacre | California | White settlers launched an attack on aTolowa village near Lake Earl in California, killing between 65 and 150 Indians at dawn. | 65–150 | [213] | |
| 1853 | Before December 31 | "Ox" incident | California | U.S. forces attacked and killed an unreported number of Indians in the Four Creeks area (Tulare County, California) in what was referred to by officers as "our little difficulty" and "the chastisement they have received". | [214] | |
| 1854 | January 28 | Nasomah Massacre | Oregon | 40 white settlers attacked the sleeping village of the Nasomah Indians at the mouth of theCoquille River inOregon, killing 15 men and 1 woman. | 16 | [215] |
| 1854 | February 15 | Chetco River Massacre | Oregon | Nine white settlers attacked a friendly Indian village on theChetco River inOregon, massacring 26 men and a few women. Most of the Indians were shot while trying to escape. TwoChetco who tried to resist with bows and arrows were burned alive in their houses. Shortly before the attack, the Chetco had been induced to give away their weapons as "friendly relations were firmly established". | 36+ | [216] |
| 1854 | May 15 | Asbill Massacre | California | Six white settlers from Missouri attacked previously uncontacted Indians in theRound Valley, massacring approximately 40 of them. | 40 | [217] |
| 1854 | August 20 | Ward Massacre | Idaho | Shoshone killed 18 of the 20 members of the Alexander Ward party, attacking them on theOregon Trail in westernIdaho. This event led the U.S. eventually to abandonFort Boise andFort Hall, in favor of the use of military escorts for emigrant wagon trains. | 18 (settlers) | [218][219][220] |
| 1854 | Dec 25 | Fort Pueblo Massacre | Colorado | 16 settlers were killed by Utah & Apache | 16 (settlers) | |
| 1855 | January 22 | Klamath River massacres | California | In retaliation for the murder of six settlers and the theft of some cattle, whites commenced a "war of extermination against the Indians" inHumboldt County, California. | [221] | |
| 1855 | September 2 | Harney Massacre | Nebraska | US troops under Brigadier GeneralWilliam S. Harney killed 86Sioux, men, women and children at Blue Water Creek, in present-day Nebraska. 27 US soldiers also died in the skirmish. About 70 women and children were taken prisoner. Women and children accounted for about half of the Sioux deaths. | 86 (including warriors) | [222] |
| 1855 | October 8 | Lupton Massacre | Oregon | During theRogue River Wars, a group of settlers and miners launched a night attack on an Indian village near Upper Table Rock,Oregon, killing 23 Indians (mostly elderly men, women and children). | 23 | [223] |
| 1855 | October | Gold Beach Massacre | Oregon | During the Rogue River Wars, in response to the Lupton massacre, Indians killed 27 settlers in what later becameGold Beach. | 27 (settlers) | [224] |
| 1855 | December 23 | Little Butte Creek | Oregon | Oregon volunteers launched a dawn attack on aTututni andTakelma camp on the Rogue River. Between 19 and 26 Indians were killed. | 19–26 | [225] |
| 1856 | June | Grande Ronde River Valley Massacre | Oregon | Washington Territorial Volunteers under Colonel Benjamin Shaw attacked a peacefulCayuse andWalla Walla Indians on theGrande Ronde River inOregon. 60 Indians, mostly women, old men and children were killed. | 60 | [226] |
| 1856 | March | Shingletown | California | In reprisal for Indian stock theft, white settlers massacred at least 20Yana men, women and children nearShingletown, California. | 20 | [227] |
| 1856 | March 26 | Cascades Massacre | Oregon/Washington | Yakama,Klickitat and Cascades warriors attacked white soldiers and settlers at theCascades of theColumbia River for controlling portage of the river and denying them their source of nutrition. Nine Cascades Indians who surrendered without a fight, including Chenoweth, Chief of the Hood River Band, were improperly charged and executed. | 17 (settlers) | [228] |
| 1857 | Mar 8–12 | Spirit Lake Massacre | Iowa | Thirty-five to 40 settlers were killed and 4 taken captive bySantee Sioux in the last Indian attack on settlers inIowa. | 35–40 (settlers) | [229] |
| 1857 | Sep 7-11 | Mountain Meadows Massacre | Utah | Between 14 and 200 Paiutes (perhaps reluctantly) participated in an attack staged by the Mormon Militia against the Baker-Fancher wagon train from Arkansas. The Mormons of the area erroneously feared that the settlers were part of a plot by the US Army to invade Utah. The settlers surrender after a few days but are subsequently massacred by members of the Militia who suspected that the settlers had recognized that some of the attackers were non-Indians in disguise. | 120 to 140 settlers killed. 17 younger children were passed out to local families, later repatriated to their families back in Arkansas. | |
| 1856–1859 | Round Valley Settler Massacres | California | White settlers killed over a thousand Yuki Indians in Round Valley over the course of three years in an uncountable number of separate massacres. | 1000+ | [230][231] | |
| 1858 | Aug 9–17 | Fraser Canyon War | British Columbia | Settlers killed dozens ofNlaka’pamux non-combatants and burned five villages. | 36+ | [232] |
| July 1859 to January 1860 | Jarboe's War | California | White settlers calling themselves the "Eel River Rangers", led by Walter Jarboe, kill at least 283 Indian men and countless women and children in 23 engagements over the course of six months. They are reimbursed by the U.S. government for their campaign. | 283+ | [230] | |
| 1859-1860 | Mendocino War | California | Settler intrusion and slave raids on native lands and subsequent native retaliation resulted in the deaths of hundreds ofYuki. | 400+ | [233] | |
| 1859 | Spring Valley Massacre | Nevada | In late summer or early autumn of 1859, a US Army company led by GeneralAlbert Sidney Johnston tracked down and attacked an encampment of theWestern Shoshone north of theBahsahwahbee area. US army interpreter and guideElijah Nicholas Wilson estimated that 350 men were killed, as well as many women and children. | 350 men 175–350 women and children | [234] | |
| 1859 | September | Pit River | California | White settlers massacred 70Achomawi Indians (10 men and 60 women and children) in their village onPit River inCalifornia. | 70 | [235] |
| 1859 | Chico Creek | California | White settlers attacked aMaidu camp near Chico Creek inCalifornia, killing indiscriminately 40 Indians. | 40 | [236] | |
| 1860 | Exact date unknown | Massacre at Bloody Rock | California | A group of 65 Yuki Indians were surrounded and massacred by white settlers at Bloody Rock, inMendocino County, California. | 65 | |
| 1860 | February 26 | Indian Island Massacre | California | In three nearly simultaneous assaults on the Wiyot, atIndian Island,Eureka,Rio Dell, and nearHydesville, California white settlers killed between 80 and 250Wiyot inHumboldt County, California. Victims were mostly women, children and elders, as reported byBret Harte atArcata newspaper. Other villages massacred within two days. The main site is National Register of Historic Places in the United States #66000208. | 80–250 | [237][238][239][240] |
| 1860 | December 18 | Battle of Pease River | Texas | Texas Rangers under CaptainSul Ross attacked a Comanche village inFoard County, Texas, killing at least 14 unarmed people. | 14 | [241] |
| 1860 | September 8 | Otter Massacre | Idaho | Near Sinker Creek Idaho, 11 persons of the last wagon train of the year were killed by Indians and several others were subsequently killed. Some that escaped the initial massacre starved to death. | 11+ (settlers) | [242] |
| 1861 | Horse Canyon Massacre | California | White settlers and Indian allies attacked aWailaki village in Horse Canyon (Round Valley, California), killing up to 240 Wailakis. | 240 | [243] | |
| 1861 | February | Bascom affair | Arizona | Lt.George Nicholas Bascom incorrectly believed Chiricahua Apache had kidnapped a twelve-year-old boy. Boscom tried to imprison their leaderCochise during a meeting. Cochise escaped, however others were captured. Two days later, Cochise captured and killed nine Mexicans. Three Americans who were also captured as hostages for negotiations, but they were killed after negotiations failed. Six of the captive Apache were later hung, including Cochise's brother and nephews. | 12 (Mexicans/Americans) + 6 (Apache) | [244] |
| 1861-1863 | Cookes Canyon Massacres | New Mexico | Apaches massacred as many as 100 Americans and Mexicans in Cooke's Canyon, New Mexico between 1861 and 1863. | 100 (Americans and Mexicans) | [245] | |
| 1861 | September 21 | Fort Fauntleroy Massacre | New Mexico | Soldiers massacred between 12 and 20Navajos at Fort Fauntleroy, following a dispute over a horse race. | 12–20 | [246] |
| 1862 | Upper Station Massacre | California | California settlers killed at least 20 Wailakis inRound Valley, California. | 20 | [247] | |
| 1862 | Big Antelope Creek Massacre | California | California settlers led by notorious Indian hunter Hi Good launched a dawn attack on aYana village, massacring about 25 Indians. | 25 | [248] | |
| 1862 | August | Kowonk Massacre | California | A posse of 25 California settlers killed 45 Konkow Indians on their reservation inRound Valley, California. | 45 | [249] |
| 1862 | August–September | Dakota War of 1862 | Minnesota | As part of theU.S.-Dakota War, theSioux killed as many as 800 white settlers and soldiers throughoutMinnesota. Some 40,000 white settlers fled their homes on the frontier.[250] | 450–800 (settlers) 38 Sioux executed after the war[251] | [252] |
| 1862 | October | Massacre at Gallinas Springs | New Mexico | Soldiers under Capt. James Graydon's shot an aged Mescalero leader who was approaching with his hand up as a sign of peace. 11 other Mescaleros were also killed, including a woman. | 12 | [253] |
| 1862 | October 24 | Tonkawa Massacre | Oklahoma | During the U.S. Civil War, a detachment ofirregularUnion Indians, mainlyKickapoo,Lenape andShawnee, accompanied byCaddo allies, attempted to destroy theTonkawa tribe inIndian Territory. They killed 240 of 390 Tonkawa, leaving only 150 survivors. | 240 | [254] |
| 1863 | January 29 | Bear River Massacre | Idaho | Col. Patrick Connor led aUnited States Army regiment killing up to 280Shoshone men, women and children nearPreston, Idaho. 21 US soldiers were also killed in the fight. | 246–280 (including warriors) | [255][256] |
| 1863 | April 19 | Keyesville Massacre | California | American militia and members of the California cavalry, under the command of CaptainMoses A. McLaughlin, killed 35Tübatulabal men inKern County, California. | 35 | [257] |
| 1863 | May 3 | Swamp Cedars Massacre | Nevada | Cavalry company led by Captain S. P. Smith, under orders of ColonelPatrick Connor ofFort Ruby, massacred 24Goshute in their sleep on May 3 and 5 more the next day, followed by a massacre of 23 Indians in the Swamp Cedars of Spring Valley. | 52 | [234] |
| 1863–1865 | Mowry massacres | Arizona | 16 settlers were killed in a series of Indian raids atMowry,Arizona Territory | 16 (settlers) | [258] | |
| 1864 | Cottonwood | California | 20Yanas of both sexes were killed by white settlers in the town ofCottonwood, California. | 20 | [259] | |
| 1864 | Massacre at Bloody Tanks | Arizona | A group of white settlers led byKing S. Woolsey killed 19 Apaches at a "peace parley". | 19 | [260][261] | |
| 1864 | Oak Run Massacre | California | California settlers massacred 300Yana Indians who had gathered near the head ofOak Run, California for a spiritual ceremony. | 300 | [259] | |
| 1864 | Skull Valley Massacre | Arizona | A group ofYavapai families was lured into a trap and massacred by soldiers under Lt. Monteith in a valley west ofPrescott, Arizona (Arizona). The place was named Skull Valley after the heads of the dead Indians left unburied. | [262][263] | ||
| 1864 | November 29 | Sand Creek Massacre | Colorado | Members of theColoradoMilitia, in retaliation for theft and violence by Cheyenne Indians against settlers, attacked a village ofCheyenne, killing up to 600 men, women and children at Sand Creek inKiowa County. | 70–600 | [264][265] |
| 1865 | January 14 | American Ranch Massacre | Colorado | During theColorado War, Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attacked a ranch near present-daySterling, Colorado where they killed all of the male settlers and took three captives, one of whom was later killed. | 8 (settlers) | [266] |
| 1865 | March 14 | Mud Lake Massacre | Nevada | US troops under Captain Wells attacked aPaiute camp nearWinnemucca Lake, killing 32 Indians. One soldier was slightly wounded during the attack. | 32 (including warriors) | [267] |
| 1865 | July 18 | The Squaw Fight/The Grass Valley Massacre | Utah | While searching forAntonga Black Hawk, theMormon militia came upon a band ofUte Indians. Thinking they were part of Black Hawk's band, they attacked them. They killed 10 men and took the women and children captive. After the women and children tried to escape, the militia shot them too. | 10 men + unknown women and children | [268] |
| 1865 | Owens Lake Massacre | California | Following the murder of Mrs. McGuire and her son atHaiwai Meadows, White vigilantes tracked the attackers from the meadows to aPaiute camp onOwens Lake in California. They attacked it killing about 40 men, women and children. | 40 | [269] | |
| 1865 | Three Knolls Massacre | California | White settlers massacred aYana community at Three Knolls on the Mill Creek,California. | [270][271] | ||
| 1865 | September 12 | Thacker Pass Massacre | Nevada | Led by Capt. Payne and Lt. Littlefield, the 1st Nevada Cavalry murdered at least 31Paiute men, women, and children. | 31+ | [272][273] |
| 1865 | September | Bloody Point Massacre | Oregon | A wagon train of 65 settlers was massacred by Modoc Indians near Lake Tule in Oregon. One man survived and alerted the Oregon militia who buried the bodies. | 65 (settlers) | [274] |
| 1866 | April 21 | Circleville Massacre | Utah | Mormon militiamen killed 16Paiute men and women atCircleville, Utah. 6 men were shot, allegedly while trying to escape. The others (3 men and 7 women) had their throats cut. 4 small children were spared. | 16 | [275] |
| 1867 | Aquarius Mountains | Arizona | Yavapai County Rangers killed 23 Indians (men, women and children) in the southern Aquarius Mountains,Arizona. | 23 | [276] | |
| 1868 | Campo Seco | California | A posse of white settlers massacred 33 Yahis in a cave north of Mill Creek,California. | 33 | [277][278] | |
| 1868 | September 24 | Massacre at La Paz | Arizona | A group of teamsters attacked a sleepingYavapai camp in the outskirts ofLa Paz, Arizona, killing 15 Indians. | 15 | [279] |
| 1868 | November 27 | Washita Massacre (Battle of Washita River) | Oklahoma | During theAmerican Indian Wars, Lt. Col.G.A.Custer's7th U.S. Cavalry attacked a village of sleepingCheyenne led byBlack Kettle. Custer reported 103 – later revised to 140 – warriors, "some" women and "few" children killed, and 53 women and children taken hostage. Other casualty estimates by cavalry members, scouts and Indians vary widely, with the number of men killed ranging as low as 11 and the numbers of women and children ranging as high as 75 and as low as 17. Before returning to their base, the cavalry killed several hundred Indian ponies and burned the village. 21 US soldiers were also killed. | 17–75 | [280][281][282][283][284][285][286][287][288][289] |
| 1870 | January 23 | Marias Massacre | Montana | US troops killed 173Piegan, mainly women, children and the elderly after being led to the wrong camp by a soldier who wanted to protect his Indian wife's family. | 173–217 | [290] |
| 1871 | Kingsley Cave Massacre | California | 4 settlers killed 30Yahi Indians in Tehama County, California about two miles from Wild Horse Corral in the Ishi Wilderness. It is estimated that this massacre left only 15 members of theYahi tribe alive | 30 | [291] | |
| 1871 | April 30 | Camp Grant Massacre | Arizona | Led by the ex-Mayor of Tucson, William Oury, eight Americans, 48 Mexicans and more than 100 alliedPima attacked Apache men, women and children at Camp Grant,Arizona Territory killing 144, with 1 survivor at scene and 29 children sold to slavery. All but eight of the dead were Apache women or children. | 144 | [292][293] |
| 1871 | May 5 | Salt Creek massacre | Texas | Kiowa warriors attacked a corn wagon train, killing and mutilating seven of the wagoneer's bodies. Three of the attack leaders were later arrested atFort Sill:Satanta,Satank, andAdo-ete. Satank was later killed during an escape attempt, while the other two wereconvicted of murder. | 7 (settlers) | [294] |
| 1871 | November 5 | Wickenburg massacre | Arizona | Indians attacked an Arizona stagecoach, killing the driver and his five passengers, leaving two wounded survivors. | 6 (settlers) | [295][296] |
| 1872 | December 28 | Skeleton Cave Massacre | Arizona | U.S. troops and Indian scouts killed 76Yavapai Indians men, women and children in a remote cave in Arizona's Salt River Canyon. | 76 | [297] |
| 1873 | June 1 | Cypress Hills Massacre | Saskatchewan | Following a dispute over stolen horses, Americanwolfers killed approximately 20Nakoda inSaskatchewan. | 20 | [298] |
| 1873 | August 5 | Massacre Canyon | Nebraska | A largeOglala/Brulé Sioux war party, numbering over 1,500 warriors led byTwo Strike,Little Wound, andSpotted Tail attacked a band ofPawnee during their summerbuffalo hunt, killing more than 150 Pawnees, including 102 women and children. Some the dead were mutilated and set on fire. | 156–173 (including warriors) | [299] |
| 1874 | August 24 | Lone Tree Massacre | Kansas | Surveyors under Captain Oliver Francis Short were ambushed by a group of 25Cheyenne, near the lone Cottonwood tree by the Crooked Creek, near present-dayMeade Kansas. | 7 | [300] |
| 1875 | April | Sappa Creek Massacre | Kansas | Soldiers under Lt Austin Henly trapped a group of 27Cheyenne, (19 men, 8 women and children) on the Sappa Creek, in Kansas and killed them all. | 27 | [301] |
| 1877 | August 8 | Battle of the Big Hole | Montana | US troops under ColonelJohn Gibbon attacked aNez Perce encampment on theNorth fork of the Big Hole river inMontana Territory during theNez Perce War. They killed 70 to 90 including 33 warriors before being repulsed by the Indians. 31 US soldiers were killed. | 70–90 (33 warriors) | [225][302] |
| 1879 | January 9–21 | Fort Robinson Massacre | Nebraska | Northern Cheyenne underDull Knife attempted to escape from confinement inFort Robinson, Nebraska; U.S. Army forces hunted them down, killing between 64 and 77 of them. The remains of those killed were repatriated in 1994. 12 U.S. soldiers were also killed. | 64–77 (including warriors) | [303][304] |
| 1879 | September 30 | Meeker Massacre | Colorado | In the beginning of theUte War, the Ute killed the US Indian AgentNathan Meeker and 10 others. They also attacked a military unit, killing 13 and wounding 43. | 11 | [305][306] |
| 1880 | April 28 | Alma Massacre | New Mexico | The Apache chiefVictorio led warriors in an attack on settlers atAlma, New Mexico. On December 19, 1885, the Apache killed an officer and four enlisted men of the8th Cavalry Regiment near Alma. | 35–41 (settlers) | [307] |
| 1882 | April 16 | Stephens Ranch massacre | Arizona | The Apache chiefGeronimo asked for food at a sheep herder camp nearBryce, Arizona. After promising the sheep herders they would not be harmed, Geronimo and his band were fed. Geronimo then ordered the family and sheep herders to be killed. | 16+ (settlers) | [308] |
| 1885 | April 2 | Frog Lake Massacre | Frog Lake, Alberta | During theCree uprising in theNorth-West Rebellion, Cree men, Led byWandering Spirit, killed 9 officials, clergy and settlers in the small settlement of Frog Lake in theDistrict of Saskatchewan. | 9 (settlers) | [309] |
| 1885 | June 19 | Beaver Creek Massacre | Colorado | White cattlemen killed six Ute Mountain Utes at a camp on Beaver Creek, about 16 miles north of Dolores in present Montezuma County. | 6 | [310] |
| 1889 | February 14 or 15 | Jim Jumper massacre | Florida | Jim Jumper, a biracial-Seminole, killed at least sixSeminoles when his request to marry a Seminole woman was refused. Jumper was then killed by another Seminole. | 7 or more | [311] |
| 1890 | December 10 | Buffalo Gap Massacre | South Dakota | Several wagonloads ofSioux were killed by South Dakota Home Guard militiamen near French Creek,South Dakota, while visiting a white friend in Buffalo Gap. | [312] | |
| 1890 | December 16 | Strong Hold | South Dakota | South Dakota Home Guard militiamen ambushed and massacred 75Sioux at the Stronghold, in the northern portion ofPine Ridge Indian Reservation. | 75 | [312] |
| 1890 | December 29 | Wounded Knee Massacre | South Dakota | Members of the U.S.7th Cavalry attacked and killed between 130 and 250Sioux men, women and children atWounded Knee, South Dakota. | 130–250 | [313][314] |
| 1897 | Unknown | Swamp Cedars Massacre of 1897 | Nevada | A group of vigilantes targeted a Shoshone gathering, killing all in attendance, mainly women, children, and elders, except two young girls. | [234][315] | |
| 1911 | January 19 | Last Massacre | Nevada | A group ofShoshone killed four ranchers inWashoe County, Nevada. On February 26, 1911, an American posse killed eight of the Shoshone suspects and captured four children from the band. | 5 (4 ranchers & 1 policeman) + 8 (Indians) | [316][317][318] |
| 1915 | December 2 | Massacre of San Pedro de la Cueva | Sonora, Mexico | During theMexican Revolution, on the morning of December 2, 1915, after the disastrous campaign of his army in the state of Sonora,Pancho Villa angrily arrived inSan Pedro de la Cueva and ordered the mass execution of all the residents of the town. He blamed them for the deaths of five of his men. An outpost under the command of one of her colonels, Margarito Orozco, had apprehended 300 men, women and children, training them in front of the church. When Villa ordered his officers to initiate the executions, Colonel Macario Bracamontes, who was active in his ranks, convinced him to spare the lives of a hundred women and children. Immediately, the rest of the prisoners, who numbered 112 men, were lined up against one of the walls of the Catholic church to be put under arms; at the beginning of the executions, the village priest, Andrés A. Flores Quesney, pleaded three times for the lives of the condemned, including his father, but Villa ended up killing him with a shot. The killing continued. | Around 91 people between residents, Opatas, foreigners (4) and Chinese (3) | [319] |
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