What was the primary motive of American Indians making war with the colonists?

The history of the colonists and the Native American tribes was one marked by cooperation and conflict. The Native Americans were important in the early survival of the colonists as they taught them how to grow food and survive. Over time, however, the colonists continued to expand their reach and encroached on Indian territory. The native tribes attempted diplomacy and cooperation on many occasions, but in time, they could not survive colonial territorial expansion.

As colonists moved west, the Indians had no choice but warfare. If they attempted to migrate west themselves, they risked fighting with other tribes. By moving into the Indian territory, the colonists were exhausting the resources and food supply of the tribes. The Native Americans, if they hoped to endure, had to fight the settlers. Warfare with the colonists by the Indians was done for survival and to keep their homelands.