The American Indian Wars (also known as the Indian Wars or the First Nations Wars; ) is the name for the various battles that were fought by European, American, and Canadian governments and colonists against various American Indian and First Nation tribes. These conflicts happened in North America from the time of the earliest colonial settlements in the 17th century until the 1920s. The various Indian Wars resulted from a wide variety of factors, including cultural differences, land disputes, and crimes committed by both sides. The European powers and their colonies also enlisted Indian tribes to help them do war against each other's colonial settlements.