If all of the tribes had decided to remain neutral during the Civil War, do you believe any fighting would have occurred in Indian Territory?

The Confederacy took an interest in the territory, seeking a possible source of food in the event of a Union blockade, a connection to western territories, and a buffer between Texas and the Union-held Kansas. At the onset of war, Confederate forces took possession of the U. S. army forts in the area.

At the outbreak of the war, for example, most Cherokees sided with the Union, but they soon allied with the Confederacy. Native Americans fought knowing they might jeopardize their sovereignty, unique cultures, and ancestral lands if they ended up on the losing side of the Civil War.