This article covers the geographic areas known as the Mackenzie, the Northwest Coast, The California Basin and The Plateau. As with other Nations of Confederated tribes, such as the Muskogee and Seminoles, I will not identify and locate every tribe in a Nation. Being a military history survey, I will only list those major groups and specific tribes which has been cited as being involved in significant conflicts. The material is arranged according to regional sub-sections. The Mackenzie and the Northwest Coastal regions have been grouped together. I do not consider my work complete since I am located so far from this region which prevents me from viewing local histories and other sources which would provide me with more data on various conflicts especially intra-Native nation wars. Therefore I plan to provide future updates.

The Mackenzie region includes Alaska, the Northwest Territory of Canada and eastward to the Hudson Bay. The Northwest Coast region extends from the Aleutian Islands southward along the coast to Oregon and eastward to the Cascades Range. The Plateau extends east from the eastern edge of the Cascade mountain range to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountain range and northward from the southern Oregon border into Canada's British Columbia. The Plateau region is wedge shaped. The Californian Basin extends from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains and covers most of California, Nevada and Utah. As with other continental areas of the Native Nations, some tribes located on regional borders will affect multiple areas.

In the Mackenzie and Northwest Coastal regions geography played an important part in the cultural and military developments of the local Nations. The Mackenzie region of the Sub-Arctic was characterized by rough terrain, limited transportation systems (rivers) and severe weather which restricted the ability of warparties to raid. Still the very limited nature of the scarce resources in the area did mean that conflict, if for nothing more than acquiring goods to assist in survival, was a fact of life.

The Northwest Coastal region which had adundant resources also produced isolated communities because of the difficulty in traveling between islands and along the rocky coastline. Again the difficulty in transportation and isolated nature of the villages reduced the size of raiding parties. Both of these regions produced Nations of small highly independent, often single village oriented, tribes. Though confederacies, often among tribes of similar languages and /or culture, did exist, these were not binding as compared to the Northeastern Iroquois but were more like the loose ties among the Southeastern Muskogee and Seminoles. For example, when the Russians meet with Tlingit Confederation elders after an attack on Fort Archangel in 1802, the elders stressed the point that it was only the Sitka had attacked and that the other Tlingit members were not involved.

The fragmented nature of the culture in the regions resulted in not only independent villages but also Clans divisions within a tribe. Sometimes clan loyalty proved to be more important than tribal loyalty. Examples of Clan divisions can be seen by examining the Tsimshian. Among the fourteen Tsimshian tribes there existed four clans which were the Laxsgik (Eagle), Qanada (Raven), Gilpodnada (Blackfish/ Whale or Orca) and the Laxgebu (Wolf). In regards to societal culture, most Nations in these regions maintained a class system of Chief - Nobles - Commoners - Slaves. A warrior's ability played a significant role in maintaining status and a vast majority of the slaves were prisoners attained during raids.

More America's Far West

Introduction
Warfare among the Native Nations of the Mackenzie and Northwest Coast
Major Nations in the Mackenzie and Northwest Coast Regions
The Nations of the Plateau
Major Nations of the Great Basin
Major Nations of the California Region
Chronology of Conflicts