17 homeland. Which led them to migrate to the southern part of the Great Lakes region in the United States. The region that they migrated to consisted of states that we know today as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. This is when they began to colonize on various different waterways including the Fox River, which they used as a substitute for their previous source of life, the Saint Lawrence River. However, the Fox people were then involved in another conflict involving the Fox and Mississippi Rivers when the French wanted access to use them as trade routes. After refusing, this meant war. The conflicts that they were a part of were named the Fox Wars and involved the French and other tribes during the early 1700s. The wars ended in the Fox Tribe’s defeat and their land was taken from them yet again, and they had to migrate away from their newfound sources of life. This is when they found the Sac tribe who was also driven out, and they chose to conjoin their nations to preserve their numbers during their forced relocation to Kansas in 1843. The Sac and Fox nation’s relationship with the Fox River was beneficial for the tribes, however this led to conflicts with other powers that also wanted a relationship with the water source.2 The Potawatomi people had also lived along the Fox River, and lived off the waterway while holding ideals that split from the Sac and Fox. The Potawatomi tribe had lived in the Great Lakes region since as early as the 1600s and have had similar encounters as the Fox tribe. The Potawatomi people were involved in the Fox Wars as well, however instead of helping out their indigenous brother, the Fox, they decided to side with the French and help drive out the enemy tribe. To conclude, these tribes with vastly different approaches to life all have and are influenced by the riverbanks they reside on (namely the Fox River). The Mound builders would use the river for travel and a place of refuge, making settlements along the river to then make effigies to mark 2 J.F. Snyaer, “Prehistoric Illinois: Certain Indian Mounds Technically Considered : Snyaer, J. F. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming,” Internet Archive (Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1908-1984), January 1, 1909), https://archive.org/details/jstor-40193991; Jim Johannsen, “Thunderbird Effigy Mound, Galena, Illinois,” Trail Run Project, 2017, https://www.trailrunproject.com/gem/537/thunderbird-effigy-mound; New World Encyclopedia Editors, “Fox (Tribe),” Visit the main page, 2017, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Fox_(tribe)#History.
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