Before 1700, the Potawatomi lived in the upper Great Lakes region. During the 18th century however, they were forced south from their homes by invading Iroquois war parties. The Iroquois battled for hunting rights and the Potawatomi were not numerous enough to fight back. Consequently, in order to survive, the Potawatomi migrated south to northern Illinois. By the late 1700s, the Potawatomi bands harbored the hunting and fishing rights of the northern Illinois region from the Fox River to Lake Michigan.
Although at war with the Fox nation in the early 1700s, the French had successfully installed fur trading posts from Lake Michigan to the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Trade continued throughout the 18th century between the several native groups and French. By 1790, some of the Potawatomi bands living in this region were heavily involved with the fur trade, therefore, relationships with whites had been positive.
The Potawatomi and white settlers shared aspects of their culture, benefiting from each other’s knowledge. Archaeology in the northern Illinois river valleys has shown that by the time the Potawatomi were forced to leave Illinois, many of the bands lived in cabins and used European tools. In addition, white settlers used Native knowledge about local food and plants to survive the harsh Illinois winters. Furthermore, intermarriage between both cultures caused even stronger ties with the new settlements. Most of the best negotiators during this time were the half-breed children of these marriages. In effect, both cultures had been changed in positive and negative ways by coexisting with one another.
However, after the 1830s the relations between the Potawatomi and the newly arriving Anglo-American settlers were not as fruitful. Historians have noted that the attitude toward the Native Americans held by the Anglo-Saxons (English) was vastly different than the ones held by the French and Spanish invaders. This is not to say that all relationships between French and Spanish and native groups were positive. Generally however, the Anglos believed that the native people were inferior, almost subhuman. However, the French and Spanish commonly believed in living, or at least trading, in and among the native populations, rather than drive them from their land. Thus, intermarriage and shared cultures prevailed among the French and Spanish settlements and warfare was more common in the English settlements. It was the influx of Anglo settlers from the years 1820-1835 that generated a forceful movement of the Natives from Illinois, essentially causing the Black Hawk War.
