Who's Who: More Native Americans Quiz

Answer: Osceola

Named Billy Powell at birth, it is believed that Osceola was born to a Scottish father and a mixed race mother, who was considered to be Creek and raised him in the Creek tradition. In the early 1800s he and his mother migrated to Florida after the Red Stick War occurred between groups within the Creek Nation.

There they joined with the Seminoles, who were a mixture of many different Native Americans, especially the Creek. By the late 1700s, however, Native Americans who lived in Florida had considered themselves to be Seminoles. During the Second Seminole War in 1836, when the United States government attempted to remove Seminoles from Florida, Osceola led a group of fighters and served as an advisor to the main chief.

A year later, while captured under a flag of truce, he died from complications of malaria and tonsillitis.

Answer: Samoset

The Abenaki tribe is a First Nation tribe who occupied territory in what eventually became the Northeastern United States, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Samoset, a lesser chief of the Abenaki, lived in the area around what is Maine today, and had long been acquainted with European fishermen. Imagine how startled the Pilgrims were when he walked into their camp and spoke English to them! He initiated trading relations between the Native Americans and Pilgrims, but, more importantly, introduced them to Squanto, whose invaluable assistance helped to guarantee the success of the Pilgrim settlement.

Answer: Red Cloud

Considered to be the most photographed Native American of the 1800s, Red Cloud was orphaned at a young age, and brought up by his mother's brother, who made sure that he gained training as a warrior. During Red Cloud's War (1866-68) he successfully led a group that defended Native American land in the Powder River Country in Wyoming and Montana against the United States Army. One battle of the conflict, called the Fetterman Fight (1866), saw the largest number of U.S. Army causalities, a total of 81, until the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Red Cloud was also involved in the acceptance of the Treaty of Ft. Laramie (1866), which created the Great Sioux Reservation, and attempted to help his people acclimate to a different life.

He did not participate in the Great Sioux War of 1876-77 because he believed the U.S. was too powerful to beat.

Answer: Cochise

The Chokonen-Chiricahua had been involved in a long struggle with Spain, who unsuccessfully used raids to try and take Apache land in the southwest United States. Spain eventually tried a different approach, called the Galvez Peace Policy, which attempted to make the Chokonen-Chiricahua dependent on their trade goods, but when Mexico gained independence from Spain, the raiding resumed. Cochise's father was killed in one such raid.

After the U.S. won New Mexico and Arizona during the Mexican War, peace briefly came to the Chokonen-Chiricahua, but Cochise became a leader during the Apache Wars (1861-72), when they were blamed for an incident that was actually caused by another group.

A treaty was negotiated in October 1872, and Cochise agreed to live on the Chiricahua Reservation, where he died in 1874.

Answer: Crazy Horse

A legendary leader and warrior, as a young man Crazy Horse went on a vision quest; he received a vision where a warrior was told that if he dressed plainly, did not take scalps or war trophies, and did not allow his tribesmen to touch him, that he would not be harmed in battle.

His father believed the warrior in the vision was Crazy Horse, and perhaps that was true. He was rarely harmed in battle, except for the times he took two enemy scalps and was held back by a tribesman when trying to stop a fight. During the Black Hills War, also known as the Great Sioux War of 1876, his group of ten warriors enticed members of the U.S. army into a battle (Fetterman Fight), where all the soldiers were killed. Eyewitnesses said that at the Battle of Little Bighorn, Crazy Horse was the greatest warrior, taking risks while riding close to the soldiers and shouting at them.

Many shot at him, but nobody ever hit him.

Answer: Metacom

Also known as King Philip, Metacom became a chief of the Wampanoag after his father's death. Initially the Wampanoag tribe tried to live peacefully with the colonists in Massachusetts; Metacom's father, Massasoit, had played a huge role in guaranteeing the success of the Plymouth colony. Metacom took a European name and even adopted English customs; over time, however, the number of European settlers in their territory became so great that it was difficult for the tribe to find food. King Philip's War (1675-78) was an attempt by the Wampanoag and their allies to drive the colonists from their land.

Although they destroyed about half of the colonial towns and killed an estimated 1,000 of the people, the Wampanoag suffered even greater losses, with many of their own people either killed, sold into slavery, or relocated.

The Wampanoag identity as a people, as well as their tribal lands, were lost forever.

Answer: Cornplanter

Also named John Abeel II, Cornplanter's father was a Dutch trader and his mother was a member of the Seneca tribe. Brought up by his mother, Cornplanter was a warrior chief of the Seneca who fought with the British during both conflicts, and later served as a diplomat for his people to the new government of the United States, even meeting with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

At first Cornplanter tried to convince the Seneca to assimilate with the white settlers, but after deciding that was not possible, his people stayed on a tract of Seneca land that they were given in Pennsylvania.

The United States declined Cornplanter's offer of assistance during the War of 1812.

Answer: Hiawatha

Hiawatha's lineage is a bit cloudy; while some sources say he was an Onondaga who was adopted into the Mohawk tribe, others say he was simply a leader of both groups. This discrepancy could be due to Longfellow's 1855 poem, "The Song of Hiawatha", which names real people who participated in fictional activities.

The real Hiawatha was a follower of the Great Peacemaker, and was a great speaker, who became an advocate of the formation of an Iroquois Confederation in an effort to end civil wars between the tribes.

After the murders of his wife and daughters, Hiawatha became the main orator for the Great Peacemaker, and convinced the tribes to merge. Little else is known of his life.

Answer: Morning Star

Also known as Dull Knife, Chief Morning Star is described by many as a modern day Rob Roy or William Wallace, both Scottish folk heroes. After the Great Sioux War of 1876, fought between the U.S. government and a Native American alliance, many of the Northern Cheyenne were forced to relocate in the Indian Territory, which is approximately the modern state of Oklahoma, where it was very difficult for them to live.

A leader of the resistance, Dull Knife eventually led his people back to Montana Territory and arranged for them to live on a reservation in the area of their original homeland.

Answer: Quanah Parker

Quanah Parker was the son of a Comanche warrior chief and the daughter of a white settler who had been captured and raised in a band of Comanches. Although he had quite a reputation as a warrior, Parker was never elected as a principal chief by his people.

He was appointed as a principal chief by the U.S. government after the Comanche were relocated to a reservation, representing them in peace talks and treaty negotiations. After settling with the Comanche on a reservation in southwestern Indian Territory, Parker became fairly wealthy - some sources claim the wealthiest Native American of his day - and even went hunting with President Theodore Roosevelt! The name, "Last Chief of the Comanche", is also used to describe Horseback, a Nokoni Comanche chief.