I would hardly call the indians “bystanders”. They were right there in the thick of it shifting alliances right along with the Europeans. Each individual tribe or group of indians went with who ever offered the best deal at the moment.
One of the pivotal events that led to the revolution in my book was the British decree that there would be no expansion west beyond the appalachians. The brits didn’t do it out of love for the indians, they did it as a means of gaining indian support and as a means of keeping the colonies. After the revolution, all best we off and several different factions fell into decades of fighting. The fighting in the midwest was especially brutal due to the strategic importance of the midwest.
Well, that’s a fair point. Pawns maybe, instead of bystanders. But really, none of the Europeans intended to honor any deals with the Indians. They were just being used. My point remains: the conflict was between European powers, who were not acting in concert against the Indians, but were rather in conflict with each other. That they played the Indians for suckers, and that the Indians tried to choose sides as a means of survival, doesn’t change the fact. It’s a fair enough point. They got mixed into the politics for their own reasons, but really, they never had a prayer.