History typically portrays the Revolution as an American war for independence in which the colonists severed their ties with the mother country across the Atlantic and incidentally fought off Indian raids on the western frontier. Native Americans did little to affect the outcome of the Revolution so they are usually accorded a minimal role in its story. This chapter, in contrast, recognizes that Native peoples, and their lands, played a significant role in the causes and course of the Revolution and demonstrates that the Revolution mattered profoundly and had huge repercussions in Indian country. Rather than simply fulfilling the negative role prescribed for them in the Declaration of Independence, Native Americans waged their own wars of independence and fought to defend their lands, lives, and freedom.

This chapter presents several arguments concerning native and European colonial violence focusing on its ritual forms. Firstly, while Amerindian cannibalism and human sacrifice – particularly suited to the justification of conquest and colonial domination – were strongly reproached by the Europeans, some of their own behaviours resembled these practices more than they would admit. Secondly, while colonial discourse tended to construct a relatively homogeneous colonial ‘other’, native ritual violence differed considerably between and among the stratified and the egalitarian indigenous societies, that is, those without institutionalised forms of inequality beyond age and gender differences. Thirdly, Amerindians were differently affected by European conquest and colonial rule depending, among other things, on their form of political organisation. Fourthly, native and European (ritual) violent practices influenced each other to a certain extent. Finally, while Europeans condemned native ritual violence such as human sacrifice or the treatment of war captives as barbaric, their dealings with people considered inimical to the secular and godly order were by no means more humane. Given the umpteen variety of Amerindian cultures and colonial encounters, only some general trends and a few empirical examples can be discussed.