Where did the north American Indians get guns from?

Answer 1

Different places. Some from the Spanish and other explorers, traders and pilgrims, people they killed, etc. Often from trading goods and supplies. Most of the guns they had during the indian wars of the 1870s were civil war repeating rifles that the US Army had declared "obsolete" and wasteful of ammunition (the Army replaced these with the new single shot trapdoor rifle which was often hard and slow to reload and sometimes experienced cartridge jams) that had been bought surplus and illegally resold to the indians.

Answer 2

Many different sources, depending on what was available in their part of the country.

In the south-west desert areas, stone could be found to make knife blades and war-clubs, but wood suitable for spears or bows would be very difficult to find.

In the east, woodlands tribes had plenty of wood for bows, spears, clubs and other weapons. Some even made armour from wooden slats tied together. "Ball-headed" wooden clubs were common among the Iroquois and their Algonquian neighbours.

On the Plains, good bow wood was only found in certain areas: Osage Orange wood and hickory in the south, ash, hickory and chokecherry in the north. Because of the shortage of timber on the treeless Plains, clubs were often made of bone or horn - one type used half a horse's jawbone with the teeth removed, the front of the jaw becoming the handle. Stone-headed clubs were also a favourite. Long, straight poles for spear shafts came from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains or the Black Hills area, with stone spearheads attached.

When white traders arrived, they brought many metal goods including knives, arrowheads, spearheads, guns and ammunition to be traded for winter buffalo furs and beaver pelts.