The family and clan members of a murdered American Indian killed the murderer or a member of the murderer's family to avenge their deceased relative, which often sparked further revenge killings in response, sometimes spiraling into full-fledged war between different American Indian groups. Repeatedly, the need to avenge the deaths of murdered kinsmen also brought American Indians and Europeans into open conflict as European settlers fought with and killed American Indian warriors who were then avenged. Occasionally, American Indians fought against each other to protect or acquire resources, such as horses (valuable new animals introduced by Europeans) or game-rich hunting lands. After European diseases introduced into North America killed American Indians by the tens of thousands, American Indian groups like the Iroquois warred against other native peoples to acquire captives to adopt into their tribes and replenish their depleted populations. As American Indians fled these attacks or moved away from European settlements, they displaced other groups that frequently reacted by attacking the newcomers to their region.
All American Indian groups had traditional enemies by the time Europeans arrived on the scene, and they often attempted to recruit their new technologically advanced neighbors as allies in their preexisting disputes.
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