Native American Native American was a general term for human s who were generally agreed to be the original inhabitants of North America . A racial more than a singular cultural identity , Native Americans were further subdivided into tribe s or nations . Despite many significant differences between the tribes , some culturally commonalities were apparent , such as a general religious belief in the Great Spirit , and a naming convention that tended to award metaphorical names to people . ( PROSE : " Peacemaker " ) Furthermore , most Native American tribes were in some way defined by their opposition to European Americans . Many groups , such as the Lakota Sioux were often involved in armed conflict against the US Army , particularly as the power of the United States government stretched westward in the 19th century . ( COMIC : " Bad Blood " ) The First Doctor said that " Red Indians " had " savage minds " . ( TV : " An Unearthly Child " ) He later became a legendary figure amongst Native Americans . In his eighth incarnation , he provided counsel to Sitting Bull prior to and after the Battle of Bull Run . ( COMIC : " Bad Blood " ) His tenth incarnation was " proud to say [ he was ] a friend to all tribes " , and certainly impressed Walking Crow with his knowledge of the Pawnee tribe . In fact , the Doctor claimed to be generally known to Native Americans as " Rides In Night " — but Walking Crow noted that the Pawnee knew Rides In Night as " Brother of Coyote , the man who defeated the Bad Wolf " . ( PROSE : " Peacemaker " ) In the days of the Native Americans , Hetocumtek arrived on Earth and set himself up as a god who was infamous for his cruel and destructive nature . Eventually , a " medicine man " managed to trick the alien into a totem pole , trapping him . They buried the totem pole in the Nevada Desert for fear of Hetocumtek ' s threats that he would one day break free when the totem pole " fell into the hand of man again " . ( TV : " The Curse of Clyde Langer " ) The Niantic people lived in New England . They had encountered the Hervoken , which they called " Hee - oko " . ( PROSE : " Forever Autumn " ) After the failure of their first batch of Remote troops , Faction Paradox started many small Remote projects in nineteenth century Native American tribes like the Kiowa , Paiute , and Cheyenne . These tribes were ideal targets since , like the Faction , they believed in " dakina " spirits , used ceremonial self - mutilation like Catch - the - Bear ' s War Bonnet , fetishised bones , and used prolonged ritualised torture ( as a means to achieve a communal altered state of consciousness through the victim ' s screams ) . It was just a bonus that the tribes already had fast and reliable communication and the keen ability to adapt and incorporate invaders ' technologies and weapons into their lives . Weapons like the Screaming Skull rifle were considered to be living extensions of the wielder , with their own naming ceremonies and totems . The Nunaha ' wu of the Arapaho tribe was a result of these experiments . ( PROSE : " The Book of the War " ) In 2009 , Elijah Spellman told Sarah Jane Smith that mankind had always needed someone to make them laugh , slave or king . He mentioned that the pharaoh s had fools as well as the Native Americans . ( PROSE : " Day of the Clown " ) In 2011 , Dr Samantha Madigan told Clyde Langer that the most famous Native American curse , called the Curse of Tippecanoe , had been supposedly placed on the American Presidents . ( TV : " The Curse of Clyde Langer " )