The Indians’ perception of fighting was different as well, it was not considered heroic for a warrior to die in battle they thought this was senseless because all it would achieve was bringing hardship upon the band. Instead during the battle the warriors priority would be to stay alive because in his belief it was for the good of the band and his family so he could provide for them. For Indians bravery was not merely being a warrior but a hunter and aprovider as well. For an Indian personal glory was the greatest prze in war, this could be achieved through gaining the most ‘coups’ or scalps.
They would wear special clothing and jewellery during warfare. They believed some jewellery had special spiritual powers and would protect them during the battle they also painted their body in what they believed were magical colours for the same reason. They also wore clothes which could be decorated with scenes painted on to show his bravery in past battles or hunts, scalps from people he has killed could be used also to show his bravery during previous battles feathers could be used as well.
They would decorate their clothing and equipment with items like feathers (from an eagle normally) and scalps which they had earned in battle through acts of bravery and heroism.The Indians took the scalps off the heads of the people they had killed and then kept them as trophies .They also did this because they believed it would disable them in the afterlife so they did not have to fight them again. This was alos the reason for mutilation-the cutting up of the body of their deceased enemy and taking out parts of it.
To the Indians wars were not fought by hundreds of men until someone won or a peace treaty was signed.Wars were fought by small groups of warriors attacking the enemy 3/4 times a year.They were not fought for possesion of land but were normally for revenge, to steal horses, and sometimes to destroy their enemies.There was no official declaration of war, although by 1840 the Sioux Nation did have traditional enemies like the’Crow’, the ‘Pawnee’ and allies called the ‘Cheyenne’. Wars were only fought in summer because it was too cold in the winter and there was a lack of supplies.Although this changed when they started to fight the white men.
Individual warriors took part in warfare beacause it was an opportunity to prove their bravery and and for personal glory. This may enable them to get into the warrior society or to gain a wife. It was also a way of becoming wealthy by stealing horses and weapons. For leaders like ‘Sitting Bull’ and ‘Crazy Horse’ it was a chance to show their spiritual power and increase their standing in the group. For a leader this could be done by losing few men in battle and gaining captives.
The Indians were very religious and precise in the way that they fought nothing they did was for no reason at all, for example, they scalped their enemy because they believed it was the right thing to do. Although to us it sounds barbaric to them it was their belief and a way of life.The fact that they took fighting seriously by dressing up for it and doing a ritual dance does not mean that they enjoyed killing people.If they enjoyed killing people then why did they have beliefs about touching your enemy with a ‘coup stick’ was braver and better than killing them and then get rewarded for this? If they wanted to kill as many people as they could then how come even when the gun was introduced was there such a low death rate?