The indigenous people of North America were smaller scale cultures than the grand civilizations of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas. Although the population was large (10 million), there was little uniformity. Tribes were thinly spread throughout the Northwest (Nez Perce and Flathead), Southwest (Ute and Paiute), Midwest (Sioux, Cheyenne, Comanche), Southeast (Cherokee, Choctaw), and Northeast (Iroquois, Huron).

The tribes had different economies and languages, and some were warlike and others peace-loving. The Plains Indians were nomadic, using the tepee as a shelter, while the eastern Iroquois lived in far more substantial, permanent structures. This lack of unity among the tribes of North America certainly contributed to their inability to defend themselves from the European intruders. On some occasions tribes allied themselves with whites against other Native American nations. The French and Indian War (1754– 1763) saw the Huron tribes allied with the French and the federated Iroquois tribes siding with the British in the struggle for control of the North American continent. In most of these situations, Native Americans suffered the casualties of war without furthering their own long-term interests.