Top 10 Deadliest Native American Tribes

The Top Ten
1 Comanche

I find this article fascinating because my father's mother was part Apache and his father was part Comanche. We should be grateful to the Native Americans for preserving this beautiful country we all enjoy and some take for granted.

Try to put yourself in the Native Americans' shoes. Wouldn't you fight to your last gasping breath to save your home, your children, your parents, and all your relatives from invaders stealing your homeland, starving you out, and worse? They were such a beautiful, proud people who respected life-giving Mother Earth, wildlife, and honored their treaties with the foreign invaders.

It's a shameful chapter in the European conquest of Native American sovereignty. Don't take America for granted. Preserve it for future generations like the Native Americans did.

Henry Reedy, Cary, beautiful North Carolina.

I have been exposed to much literature that would lead me to believe the Comanches were, by far, the most fearsome adversary for the expanding United States, and as mentioned in other comments, the fledgling Mexican Army as well. I have been made aware of their superior horsemanship, their renowned ability to fight from horseback, and their practice of "Counting Coo" was certainly a testament to their bravery and fearlessness in battle.

I personally am in awe of the Native American cultures and find many of the Nations and Peoples both fascinating and equally as fearsome as the Comanche. It must have been a great time to live, prior to the White man's extermination of the Native American cultures. A shame I couldn't have seen the wonders of this great land before so many were destroyed.

But I digress, as stated, many Native tribes were quite fearsome in battle, and as I am just starting this top 10 list and haven't peeked ahead, I'm hoping to see the Sioux, the Shawnee, the Ottawa, and others included on this list, lending validity, in my humble opinion, to this list.

2 Apache

I'm very interested in learning about my heritage. I've heard some crazy stories about the tribes. Definitely the most dangerous group out there.

My biological father is half Apache Indian. My grandfather was full-blooded. I'm learning about my heritage. I know my ancestors were very brave. They weren't scared, and I look up to them. I'm still learning, hoping to find out more about my ancestors.

I am of Apache, Comanche, and Mohawk blood. Although I wasn't that big in high school (5'9, 140 lbs), no one in my school would mess with me. Even when visiting powwows, other tribes were careful around the Apaches and Comanches, basically saying we were the mean guys.

3 Lakota

I have waited a while to say this, but the Lakota (Sioux) are the most violent. Apache and Comanche are possibly part of the "Na-Dene" culture, Asian-Central Siberians who migrated here in the last 4000-6000 years. While the Comanche and perhaps Navajo peoples were ruthless and functionally imperialistic, the Lakota were "savage". Not unlike the plains war tribe in Game of Thrones (the Dothraki), tales of horrific rituals, sacrifices, and brutality are known about the Lakota, who terrified many peoples around them. The White Man was drawn in under the assumption his people would defeat the Lakota. I believe they are the most violent and the most historically menacing.

The Lakota defeated the army not once but twice. Comanche natives are famous only because they ran around down in Texas. The Lakota or the Sioux were not afraid of death. They kept fighting with bravery. The American flag was taken by this tribe. Not anyone could just do that.

4 Cherokee

I've been told that I'm one-tenth Cherokee, that my great-great-grandmother was full-blooded. For some ungodly reason, my family doesn't talk about our Indian heritage, and that's so sad to me! I want to know more, all I can about my Cherokee heritage. I'm very proud to be Cherokee! My husband is Choctaw.

I am a Cherokee princess. I was kidnapped by white folks and what they called adopted into their family along with my half-brother. Because of them, I no longer remember my native language fluently. I miss my family.

My great-grandmother, Grace, was full-blooded Cherokee Indian, and I couldn't be more proud to say that I am part Cherokee. Thanks to her, I bear not only her name but her physical features as well.

5 Dakota

I came from the Dakota tribe and I used to live in Montana. They were mean to me. I think these guys are the deadliest in the world! And I mean it.

6 Blackfeet

My grandmother on my mother's side is full-blooded Blackfeet. I carry my Native American bloodline with great pride and honor. I have been blessed with the honor of sitting down and having a conversation with the former Chief Long Standing Bear. He was a great man and would have made our forefathers proud of what he has done for our people today and how far they have come from the rickety shacks on the old reservations to the beauty of what they have now up near Yellowstone.

Never forget where we come from and that, regardless of what any white man says, this is and will always be OUR LAND and OUR COUNTRY. "Ours" as in The American Indian, regardless of tribe.

God's children keep him as the number one priority in our lives. Real warriors provide food, clothing, and shelter for their families and all our relations. We keep God, the creator of this universe, our number one priority each and every day, and he provides for all our needs for eternity.

7 Iroquois

Not to counter or belittle any opinions stated here, but the Iroquois Confederacy, or League, was a union of five, then six tribes, that dominated the upper Northeastern portion of what would become the United States for at least two centuries before the onset of early white settlers encroaching. The tribes included in this league were the Cayuga, the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, and the Seneca. In 1722, the Tuscarora joined this league, and thus it became known as the Six Nations.

There can be no doubt, or serious argument for that matter, that this league was truly feared like no other at the time of the white man's early expansion west. Many tribes surrounding this league simply complied and cowered to every demand made by the Iroquois. The early White Americans found their ability to wage war far in advance of the surrounding Native Americans. Certainly, their advanced political structure was also a great advantage for them.

I'm not sure that this Confederacy counts as a tribe, but after seeing other confederacies mentioned earlier on this list, I will assume that they do fall under that category. That being said, there is no doubt in my mind, and I think maybe anyone who lived east of the Mississippi River between 1600-1775, that this was unquestionably the fiercest "tribe" not only for that era but in any historical perspective. If not for infighting between the member tribes and split loyalties to the French and English factions dividing them, it is highly doubtful that any white army in the years mentioned above could have had any chance of defeating this powerful league. They truly were feared, and the mere mention of their name caused many adjacent tribes, and whites, to blanch in fear.

Now, it certainly can be argued that they would have stood no chance against the great horse cultures of the Plains, but the opposite is also true. The Plains tribes would stand no chance in the "guerrilla" warfare tactics in use at the time in... more

8 Chippewa

The Ojibwa defeated the Iroquois and expelled the Sioux from their homeland, occupying more land than any other tribe ever has, from Manitoba to Indiana. They also took over smaller tribes in their westward expansion. I still don't know of any other tribe that has accomplished this and is still known as a peaceful tribe. I am a 4th generation descendant of Cuthbert Grant Jr., who led the Battle of Seven Oaks, also known as the Massacre of Seven Oaks. This was a response to the massacre of a small camp of women, children, and the elderly. The survivors made their way to Cuthbert's camp, and he led his 3,000 men into battle, killing every one of those men. The Ojibwa rarely lost a battle.

It just baffles me that they are not ranked 3rd. How are we ranked after the Sioux/Dakota when we defeated them? My band is literally from North Dakota. Also, how is the Cherokee even on this list?

Little Shell Chippewa Woman from Montana, why are the government still afraid over two hundred years later? They still keep us in internment camps. Are you still afraid, White English? I just don't like to be classified with blood proof like dogs and horses. We are not cannibals. That was not sacred. Although most everything went in battle, in Vietnam, they strung ears on necklaces, the US soldiers. We had creative skills, wagons, designs, horse handlers, beautiful designs in beads, children's teachings, medicine teachings. You forget, are we so different? Not so.

9 Zuni

My boyfriend is Zuni and he's a very mean person, but still, I'm in love with this Native.

By far the best tribe in the world.

10 Mohawk

We used to rip people's beating hearts out then eat it as a way to gain their bravery in battle. We used to torture people in horrible ways, and force them to dance with us while we tortured them horribly. We would lock people in villages in war, then we'd burn down the buildings with hundreds of people inside of them. We also made over 12 native tribes extinct. We fought until there was basically none of us left surviving. There's a lot more.

They slaughtered people without fear. They were known for the centurion haircuts and stripe on the body. They butchered whole towns in the Mohawk Valley region of NY. They were not traveling beggars like the Cherokee. They stayed put and owned their lands.

Go tell the Warriors they wear pampers... you will not get the first word out before they decorate you for Creator... with a Red Necklace!

The Contenders
11 Sioux

They didn't rip his body apart just for the sake of it. I believe it had to do with crippling them in the afterlife so their spirit couldn't seek revenge. If anyone knows more about that, please educate me.

The Sioux Indians were one of the most feared tribes. When they went to war, they always won, especially when they went to war with General Custer. They literally slaughtered and ripped apart Custer's body.

The tribe that fought hardest to keep its independence and the biggest tribe

12 Omaha

We once had a chief poison an entire army for questioning his commands. He also scalped them. We scalped a lot of people.

13 Cheyenne

The Cheyenne were a very powerful tribe that dominated much of the Midwest all the way up to the Canadian border. They could not beat the Sioux when it came to tribal wars but were right by the Sioux's side at the Battle of Little Big Horn. Everyone knows what happened to Custer and his men. Game over...

They staked themselves to the ground, fought to the death, and killed any other tribe that relied on white man settlements, which was every tribe at the time. The Cheyenne (Tsistsistas) is the bravest and last warrior society to fight the U.S Army. They had war parties and raids that ran from Texas to Montana. They took warriors from every plains tribe to join their society or die. The Dog Men never signed a treaty.

The Dakota, Lakota, and Sioux are one tribe, called by different names according to their location. Sioux is what the French fur traders called them, but they never referred to themselves as that. I'm surprised no one has caught that. So, to be fair, all their votes should be combined.

14 Ottawa

The Odawa, not Ottawa, people were true badasses. In November, they would travel up to 4000 miles by birch bark canoe through Lake Michigan, Huron, then down the Saint Lawrence Seaway and enemy Iroquois territory to reach Montreal to fight with, not for, the French. These are a true forgotten people in American history for having twice fought in losing efforts, first with the French then the British, but they were no losers. History deems them barbarians, but they were more than that. They were a noble people who were known as traders and craftsmen with their own written history on birch scrolls.

Odawa warriors were the ninjas of the Midwest. They were part of the larger Ojibwe, Potawatomi clan. Because of their alliance and close bond, they were a true force to be reckoned with. But more importantly, they were trusted by both the French and Great Lake tribes as middlemen for trade, knowing when to fight and when not to. People have forgotten the importance of these peoples and region in establishing the first real economy in the New World (The Fur Trade). I am sick of the modern historians' failure to include these groups in their programs of Native peoples. They deserve better.

15 Crow

There is no doubt the Crows were among the fiercest on the Plains/Yellowstone regions. Excellent horsemen, horse raiders, great hunters, epic warriors, and iconic Chiefs. They were also among the wealthiest in terms of horse numbers. They fought every tribe on all sides to defend their hunting grounds and homelands with little to no "alliances" unlike the Lakota. And they are still the best today.

The Crow Tribe had the strongest and scariest warriors in Montana. They would win battles without even having an army, but when they did have an army, they'd easily defeat their enemies.

Harsh climate and would kill white men or other Indians just because.

16 Cree

The Iron Nations, with the Assiniboine and Saulteaux, controlled the Northern Plains and moved the Blackfoot, Shoshone, Nez Perce, Snake, and other tribes out of present-day Manitoba and Saskatchewan. They controlled the northern woodlands and waterways from Quebec to Alberta. Traders and warriors both.

Adapt well to other cultures, food, integration.

Can survive in any harsh, deadly conditions. Can hunt. I heart Jade. She is so cool!

17 Seminole

The Seminoles were the only tribe to not be conquered and/or relocated. This tribe fought the US the hardest. They won five out of eight engagements with the US Army, having been the only people to defeat Zachary Taylor in combat.

This list is bogus if the Seminoles stay down at number 20 (where it was when I voted). If all the natives were as tough as the Seminoles, the Europeans would never have been able to found colonies.

They are nothing to mess with. They will torture you, kill you. They just don't care. They scared everyone in Florida. They are just a tribe to never mess with.

18 Kiowa

They were the ones who started taking pelts off white men (scalps), true story. Also, the Kiowa is a part of a band trilogy called the K.C.A., made up of Kiowa, Comanche, Apache. And for this, they became immovable, and their home of South Oklahoma and Texas became no man's land and home to outlaws and Indians, and no place for polite white folk. Raymond Kaulaity of the Kiowa tribe.

Pound for pound, of all the tribes, the most vicious.

Kiowa are by far the boldest, most fierce, undefeated warriors ever.

19 Navajo

I am a Native Northern or Southern America Indian by 4/4 blood Dene. It matters not to me, but what does matter is how we present our identity and the choices we make. It's not your fancy clothes or how much money you have. It's how you change the lives of others. To give, help, teach, and truly find the authenticity value by searching your soul for who you really are, find that character.

Sure, my father (USMC) and his forefathers were fierce warriors. Our family served, and surely there's going to be more that will step forward for our freedom. Your sense of dignity and self-respect, combined with significant faith, is unlimited! We are all one native family. Thank you, brothers and sisters.

Navajo are Dene people in Canada's western Arctic. The Sahtu Dene speak Dene as a first language still today. In Deline, Northwest Territories, the Dene tradition is unadulterated due to their isolation. Google Deline Dene prophet Aya, beautiful women, a beautiful people. Southern Dene / Navajo should come to the cultural gathering in August in Deline. Drum dance. Hear the prophecies. Speak Dene. Meet your cousins in the western Arctic.

20 Nez Perce

The Nez Perce were a smaller tribe than many of those in consideration. However, Chief Joseph led them on the most historically successful insurrection against the US Government, besides Little Big Horn. Their traditions didn't involve as much warfare as some other tribes, but the skill of the Nez Perce warrior was revered by everyone from Sitting Bull to Gen. William T. Sherman, two men that knew a thing or two about skilled fighters.

I am 1/8 Nez Perce and grew up on a ranch breeding Appaloosas, carrying on the tradition.

Brilliant horsemen as well, founders of the Appaloosa bloodlines.

21 Chickasaw

My mom is 1/2 Indigenous Native and 1/2 Negro, and my dad is Caucasian. My mother was something to be reckoned with. I don't know if she was full of sin and hate or just bitter because of her mixture. Even though we are called the Spartans of Mississippi, this anger can ruin you. Being Chickasaw nation is a beautiful heritage, but having a root of bitterness can ruin you faster. Seek Ababanili (Father in heaven), and he will heal all your wounds and give you a forgiving heart.

The Chickasaw tribe was regarded as one of the deadliest tribes, according to some or most of the tribes even here! They fought and won all of their battles, and even wiped out full tribes! This shows how dangerous and ruthless they are, and how they are the best out of all of these. I'm of Chickasaw heritage, and I want to explore a lot more about it.

I learned a bit of history about the Chickasaw Tribe. During the French and Indian War, the English nicknamed us the Spartans of the Southeast. Every day, I am honored and grateful to be Chickasaw.

22 Shawnee

In the Ohio River country, these warriors were supreme. Their government was organized, and their leaders respected. Even the great Iroquois League chose to let them be rather than fight them. They were the main roadblock to the western expansion of the time. Study the dark and bloody river's (Ohio) history, and you will find some of the most devastation to enemies, both red and white, of any time in the young nation's history.

Tecumseh, Cornstalk, and Blue Jacket are some of their more famous leaders. If you look through American history for the battle between Native Americans and whites where the most American soldiers were killed, it was with the Shawnee and some of their allied tribes. General St. Clair's defeat was the most severe loss ever inflicted upon an American army by Native Americans. The American casualty rate was 69%, based on the deaths of 632 out of 920 soldiers and officers, with 264 wounded. Nearly all of the 200 unarmed camp followers were slaughtered, for a total of about 832 deaths, "the highest United States losses in any of its battles with Native Americans." They resisted white expansion along the Ohio River longer than any other tribe managed to.

23 Micmac

I am part Micmac and would not like to battle my mirror image or other Micmac. They can be very fierce indeed. A very hardy people who could adapt and survive the elements, when even the Vikings could not.

The Mi'kmaq militias deployed effective resistance for over 75 years before treaties were created and the Burial of the Hatchet Ceremony took place (1761).

The English feared the Mi'kmaq so much they offered bounties for their scalps, man, woman, or child. They expelled the Acadians because of their close ties to Mi'kmaq by intermarriage and alliance.

24 Sac and Fox

My great grandfather was Sac and Fox and born on the Indian reservation.

25 Ute

Having lived in the part of Utah where the Utes used to reign, you learn to respect these fierce warriors, hunters, and horsemen. Any mistake made by a man who stumbles onto Ute territory by accident will most certainly be their last.

Most feared tribe of the intermountain region. Utah Colorado area raids on neighbors.

Badasses of the mountains. Greatly feared by my ancestors.

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