How Many Native Americans Were Killed By The Us

So, you want the big number. How many Native Americans were killed by the US? Get ready, because the answer is messy, huge, and super controversial. It’s like asking how many toppings are on a pizza that’s been fed to a tornado.

First, a dirty little secret: no one knows the exact number. Seriously. Historians love guessing, but the records are often garbage. We’re talking colonial ledgers, war reports, and a lot of “we killed a bunch” scribbled on napkins.

The Big, Terrible Range

Most experts agree on a death toll between 5 million and 15 million people. That’s the population of New York City… several times over. The number spans from 1492 to 1900, so it’s not just the US, but the colonies that became the US.

But wait—disease is the real killer. Smallpox, measles, and flu wiped out up to 95% of some tribes. Did the US intend to give them blankets laced with smallpox? Yes, there’s evidence at Fort Pitt in 1763.

That’s not a “whoopsie.” That’s a bioweapon. Fun fact: the British officer who suggested it, Sir Jeffery Amherst, later had a town in Massachusetts named after him. Talk about a legacy.

Death by Bullets vs. Death by Government Cheese

Direct killings—battles, massacres, scalp bounties—account for maybe 100,000 to 500,000 deaths. That’s still a lot, but small compared to disease. The US Army fought over 1,500 battles with Native nations.

Here’s a quirky detail: the Mountain Meadows Massacre (1857) wasn’t even by the US military. A Mormon militia killed about 120 Arkansans traveling through Utah. They blamed the Paiute tribe. History is a game of finger-pointing.

Then there’s the Trail of Tears (1830s). About 4,000 Cherokee died on a forced march. Why? Gold was found on their land. The US government said, “Thanks for the gold, now walk to Oklahoma.” The Cherokee called it “The Trail Where They Cried.”

The Sand Creek Massacre 1864 - Defeat and demise of the Native

The Bizarre Math of Scalp Bounties

Colonial governments paid for scalps like they were Pokémon cards. Massachusetts offered £15 per male scalp in 1704. That’s about $3,000 today. A woman’s scalp? Half price. Capitalism, baby.

The weirdest part? Sometimes they couldn’t tell a Native scalp from a white settler’s. So they just took any scalp. Chaos. The Pennsylvania Gazette once ran an ad for “the best scalping knives.” Marketing was brutal.

But not all deaths were from guns or germs. The Buffalo was a silent assassin. The US Army authorized the mass slaughter of bison—from 30 million to fewer than 1,000 by 1900. No bison = no food = starvation. A man named William Cody (Buffalo Bill) shot over 4,000 bison in 18 months.

Why This Is Weirdly Fun to Talk About

Because the numbers are so absurd they feel like a dark joke. Did you know the US government once gave a tribe a medal for “good behavior” after forcing them off their land? That’s like getting a participation trophy for losing your home.

Or that Christopher Columbus was so bad at counting he claimed to have killed 20 people when historical records suggest he enslaved thousands? Math was not his strong suit.

Covid’s Toll on Native Americans - The New York Times

And the Indian Wars ended in a whimper: the last major battle was at Wounded Knee in 1890. About 300 Lakota were killed. The US soldiers got Medals of Honor for the massacre. Yep, 20 of them. Those medals are still awarded today.

The Takeaway? It’s a Lot of Zeros

So, final answer: millions. But here’s the fun part—you can play with the numbers. Some say 5 million. Others argue 15 million. It’s like arguing how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. The world may never know.

What we do know is that the US government signed 370 treaties with Native nations. It broke every single one. That’s a 100% failure rate. Impressive commitment, honestly.

Next time you’re at a party, drop this: “Did you know the US once paid for Native scalps with British pounds?” Watch people’s faces. It’s the most awkward icebreaker ever.

And if anyone asks for a precise number, just shrug. Say, “Between ‘a lot’ and ‘way too many.’” Then pass the guacamole. Guacamole is from the Aztecs, by the way. Another culture we borrowed heavily from.

Final quirky fact: The word “O.K.” comes from a Choctaw word, “okeh,” meaning “it is so.” So when you say “OK,” you’re using a surviving Native language. You’re welcome.