It is clear that an objective understanding of tribal motivations, still does not exist among researchers and wargamers. By scanning a few books, shallow readers would get the impression that the Indians were not trustworthy and would desert if they did not get their gifts. This opinion is only partially true.

As with many militia units, their willingness to fight varied with the situation. Sometimes they would depart early when the gain was minimal. Yet at other times, they fought far longer than their Tory allies. A better understanding of tribal needs and culture is required before trying to understand the actions of its warriors.

By the 1770s European manufactured goods had become a symbol of success among some tribes and necessary for survival among others. Those tribes whose lands bordered colonies had especially grown dependent on trade goods. As one Chickasaw chief explained "A warrior cannot hunt for pelts to trade if he is patrolling the Mississippi for the Crown. And if he has no pelts, then his family will grow poorer and not be able to survive." In retrospect it only makes sense that warriors would expect compensation for their services.

Nobody served without being paid, not Patriots, Hessians, Loyalists nor British soldiers. Therefore why should it be a surprise that the receiving of trade goods as payment for services would be a key part of any military treaty between Native Nations and the Patriot and/or European governments.

The type of trade goods bartered included any item which would make life easier. Notes and letters on various shipments comment on mirrors, woven fabric, cookware, barrels, beads, blankets, farming tools, rum, gunpowder, muskets and shot. It must be remembered that the Eastern Indians lived in permanent towns. Therefore the above items do not seem so strange. In fact, reports on the Patriot raids against the Cherokee and Iroquois states that the militiamen were often loaded down with booty taken from the destroyed towns.

If Indian towns and items had been as primitive as modern perception suggests, then the militia would not have taken much in the way of booty. The Americans in particular relied heavily on rum as a trade item. In fact their policy was often referred to as the "rum and good words" approach. In regards to muskets and powder, any ally would expect to be supplied with the necessary arms to conduct war. As with the militia men, the Indians believed that to the victor belongs the spoils. One aspect that warriors strongly considered was the ability to gain from their services. At the very least, they expected to have the powder and shot which they used replaced by their allies.

Many factors other than trade goods also affected the Indians willingness fight. Various tribes were divided in their support for the whites. Different tribes continued to focus on old feuds and were hesitant to weaken their home defenses by sending warriors off to fight. Revenge over the murderous acts by colonists often caused a tribe to change sides or a neutral tribe to go to war.

Their opinion about the honor of a commander or agent would influence their willingness to fight. If they felt that they had not been treated fairly, then their response to a later call for aid would be slow at best. (This view on fair treatment lead directly to the fall of British Pensacola to the Spanish.) When the above facts are considered, the actions of the Indians are really no different than their colonist militia counterparts. The needs of the home and family comes first. Such a view should be considered primitive, selfish, untrustworthy or cowardly.