The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650 - 1815

Significant upheavals, including brutal warfare, epidemics, and Iroquois attacks, marked the 1640s to the 1660s. This led to the fragmentation and dispersal of the Algonquin peoples in the region. White focuses on the Algonquin refugees left in the aftermath. Together with the French, they formed a new village world sustained by the fur trade. The clustering of different groups in refugee centers led to the mingling of survivors from the Iroquois shatter zone and from subsequent epidemics. Despite initial conflicts and tensions among the refugees, the need for unity against common threats such as hunger, disease, and Iroquois attacks drove them to establish ties through gift exchanges, intermarriage, and the adoption of cultural practices. One of the ceremonies crucial to facilitating this solidarity between the refugee groups was the use of the calumet (a ceremonial pipe). It served as a ritual part in the cultural framework for negotiations and alliances.

White next explores how the French interacted with these Algonquin refugee settlements. The French presence initially was initially formed of Jesuit missionaries and fur traders. The French attempted to encourage the region’s peoples to trade, but Algonquin priorities often centered around safety rather than trade.