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The history of the American West is obviously never complete without the tales of the many Americans who first lived on these vast lands.

Here, you'll find summaries of many of the chiefs, heroes, warriors, and medicine men that history records as significant in the westward expansion of the United States.

Though there were literally thousands of men and woman that could be mentioned, this ever growing list of individuals, begins with those most famous.

"The American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region of forests, plains, pueblos, or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers, he belongs just as the buffalo belonged...."

 - Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux Chief

Ogalala Sioux at an oasis in the Badlands, photo by

Edward S. Curtis, 1905.

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

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Find a Native American

• Dull Knife - Northern Cheyenne Chief (18??-1879) - Placed on a reservation in Oklahoma, Dull Knife defied the authorities and led his people home in September, 1878.

• Chief Gall (1840-1895) - Lakota battle leader Lakota and one of the commanders who took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

• Geronimo (1829-1909) - Chiricahua Apache Chief who warred against the encroachment of settlers on his tribal lands and people for over 25 years.

• Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins (1841?-1891) - The first Native American woman known to secure a copyright and to publish in the English language. Her book, Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims, is an autobiographical account of her people during their first forty years of contact with explorers and settlers.

• Chief Joseph (1840–1904) - Nez Perce Chief who resisted forced removal of his band to a reservation in Idaho. For his principled resistance to the removal, he became renowned as a humanitarian and peacemaker.

• Kintpuash, aka: Captain Jack - (1840?–1873) - A Modoc subchief and warrior, Kientopoos was a leader in the Modoc War of (1872–73). After killing an unarmed General Edward Richard Canby at a peace negotiation meeting he was tracked down, captured and hanged in October, 1873.

• Chief Little Crow (1815-1863) - Sioux Chief who led the first major armed engagement between the U.S. and Dakota.

• Little Raven, aka: Hósa, "Young Crow" (18??-1889)  - The first Arapaho chief to sign peace treaties with the U.S. government, he kept the peace for most of his life and helped his tribe move forward to "civilization."

• Little Wolf (1818-1904) - With Dull Knife, Little Wolf led the Cheyennes from exile in Indian Territory back to their homeland in present-day eastern Montana during the late 1870s.

• George Lowrey - A cousin of Sequoya and second chief of the Eastern Cherokee under John Ross.

• Lozen, aka, "Dextrous Horse Thief" (1840-1887) - The sister of Apache Chief Victorio, Lozen was a skilled warrior and shaman. Her brother, Victorio is quoted as saying "Lozen is my right hand... strong as a man, braver than most, and cunning in strategy. Lozen is a shield to her people."

• Mangas Coloradas (1793?-1863) - Chiricahua Apache leader considered by many to be the most important of the 19th century, uniting the Apache nation against the United States.

• Naiche (1856?-1919) - Son of Cochise, led the Apache along with Geronimo in resisting white encroachment.

• Chief Ouray (1833-1880) – Born near Taos, New Mexico, Ouray was the leader of the Uncompahgre band of the Ute tribe and known as a man of peace.

• Chief Pohibit Quasha, aka: Iron Shirt (18??-1858) - Led a fearless bands of skilled Comanche warriors in Texas and Oklahoma in the 1850s.

• Rain-in-the-Face, aka: Ito-na-gaju, Exa-ma-gozua (1835?-1905) - On June 25-27, 1876, Lieutenant-Colonel George Custer, with thirteen commissioned officers, a surgeon, and 255 men were slaughtered in the Black Hills. Sitting Bull has received the notoriety and credit for this fight; but it was his cousin, Rain-in-the-Face, who planned and executed the battle. He, himself received a wound in the fight, which resulted in his having to use crutches for the rest of his life.

• Chief Red Cloud (1822-1909) One of the most capable chiefs who resisted white settlement. Led the successful resistence known as Red Cloud's War in 1866-1868.

• Roman Nose - (1835?-1868) - Cheyenne warrior and leader of the Plains Indian Wars of the 1860s.

• Chief John Ross (1790-1866) - John Ross was the first and only elected Chief of the Cherokee Nation from the time it was formed until his death in 1866.

• Sacagawea (1790?-1812?) ­ A Shoshone Indian woman who married French Canadian trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau, and became an integral part of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

• Sequoya, aka George Guess (1767?-1843) - Inventor of the Cherokee alphabet, silversmith, and politician.

• Satanta (1820-1878) - Known to his people as Set-Tainte, meaning "White Bear Person" to his Kiowa people Satanta was a great warrior who would later become the principal chief in the Kiowa Wars of the 1860s-1870s and was known as "The Orator of the Plains."

• Sitting Bull (1831-1890) - Lakota chief and holy man, most notable for his premonition of defeating the army at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

• Spotted Tail (18??-1881) - A contemporary of Crazy Horse, he fought white encroachment into the Black Hills.

• Chief Tecumseh (1768 - 1813) - Shawnee Chief Tecumseh created an alliance to stop white encroachment in Ohio and Indiana and fought with the British in the War of 1812.

• Tall Bull (1815?–1869) - A Southern Cheyenne Chief, Tall Bull was also the leader of the fierce Dog Soldiers during the 1850s and 1860s in the Plains states. he was killed at the Battle of Summit Springs.

• Chief Colorow Ignacio Ouray Walkara, aka: Wakara or Walker (1808?-1855) - The leader of the Ute Timpanogo band, Walkara had a reputation as a diplomat, horseman and warrior, and was the primary  leader in the Walker War.

• Chief Victorio (1825-1880) – Known as Bidu-ya or Beduiat to his Apache people, Victorio was a warrior and chief of the Chihenne band of the Chiricahua Apaches in what is now New Mexico. Becoming hate filled due to being forced onto an Arizona reservation and the subsequent ill treatment of his people, Victorio escaped the reservation and went on a rampage in 1879-1880. On October 14, 1880, he and his band were surrounded and killed by Mexican soldiers. More ...

• Fred Waite (1853-1895) - A Chickasaw Indian from Oklahoma, Waite joined up with Billy the Kid's Regulators during the Lincoln County War in New Mexico. Afterwards, he returned to Oklahoma where he lived an upstanding life and became a politician. He died on September 24, 1895 of unknown causes, just four days shy of becoming the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation.

• Wovoka, aka: The Cutter, Jack Wilson (1856?-1932) - A Paiute medicine-man, Wovoka originated the Ghost Dance which spread throughout the Native American tribes of the west, causing white settlers and officials a great deal of consternation.