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Summary

The Fox Wars were two separate wars that occurred between the French and Fox people, also known as the Red Earth People or Meskwaki. These wars took place in the Great Lakes Region, today the region is known as the states of Michigan and Wisconsin. These wars began in the year 1712 and lasted until 1733. One of the fundamental causes of these wars was the French’s desire to gain control over the Fox River, which in return would greatly expand the French’s power and broaden their Fur Trade with southern, northern and western allies. The Fox’s dismissal and resistance of the French’s aspiration to control the major trading routes and cheat the natives, resulted in the catastrophic wars and attempted genocide perpetuated by the French against the Fox.

Background

Fort Pontchartrain

The Great Lakes Region had attracted tribes from all across the continent far before the French’s settlement. By the seventeenth century, many Native American tribes such as the Ojibwa, Kickapoo, Sauk, and Meskwaki, fled eastern lands due to the resources that were present in the Great Lakes Region as well as the pressure against them from the growing power of the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois. In the 1600’s, the French settled in the Great Lakes region due to their discovering of fur, lumber, etc. Far before the beginning of the Fox Wars, the Fox had control over the Fox River system. When the French arrived, they quickly recognized this River system as an important commodity in order to expand their growing fur trade, and establish more power to New France. This River system allowed for trading routes across Michigan and into the Mississippi River. The French began to create alliances with Indian tribes such as the Sioux, Ottawa’s and Miami’s, while the Fox were allied with the Kickapoo, Sauk and Mascoutens. Although there were many different indian tribes in the Midwestern region, the Meskwaki people stood out as a strong tribe who constantly resisted outside influence from neighboring Indian tribes and the French. This frightened the French greatly, as they perceived this as a threat to the future of New France’s establishment. The Fox’s relationship between the French slowly deteriorated throughout the end of the 1600’s. On August 4, 1701, the Grand Settlement peace treaty was signed by New France governor Louis-Hector de Callière and 1300 representatives of 39 Indian tribes, one of which were the Fox. After this treaty was signed, Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac created a new fort in Detroit named “Fort Pontchartrain”. This fort would solve the trading issues the French had by strategically placing it near water trade routes, which made it easier for the French to trade with neighboring regions such as Mississippi and the Sioux. Governor Cadillac invited many Native American tribes to settle the land by their new fort in order to help cultivate their new home. Ottawa's, Hurons, Miami, Potawatomi, Ojibwa and Fox settled into this land where they lived side by side in their new home in Detroit, something that was uncommon for them. Wisconsin tribes which included the Fox, intended to dominate the newly established land so that they would have the power to stop the French from trading with the Sioux. Due to this, and their previous issues, tensions between the French and French allies against the Fox tribe, grew steadily and strongly.

Members of Meskwaki tribe

First Fox War

By 1712 these tensions had built up, which led to the Meskwaki tribe creating villages in the area of Detroit, as well as their own fort which was in shooting range of of Fort Pontchartrain. Meskwaki headman Pemaussa started the first act of violence against the French by threatening the life of Segwima, the Ottawan headman. Segwimas connection and relation with the French was greatly underestimated by the Fox. These tribal fights soon turned into a bigger fight once the French intervened and allied with the Ottawa and Ojibwe tribes, against the Fox. A nineteen day siege occurred which resulted in the French and their allied Indian tribes victory, taking over the Meskwaki Indians and capturing the women and children who were eventually slaughtered at Fort Pontchartrain. The capturing of Fox headman Pemaussa marked the end of the first Fox War. Over 1,000 Fox died including women and children, while only 30 French soldiers died and 60 allied Indian tribes of the French, had died.

Slavery

By 1723, due to the first Fox war, enslavement of Fox people was a common practice among French colonists. Governor of New France at the time, Marquis de Vaudreuil had his fair share of Fox slaves, but kept this practice as a secret and did not tell his French superiors that him and many French colonists participated in this act. Vaudreuil never mentioned this to his French superiors because he had previously written a letter to France “congratulating himself on successful peace negotiations” with the fox people. Fox men, women and children were the primary source of enslaved labor during the 1710-1720’s in the Saint Lawrence River valley. In the journal article “Slavery, the Fox Wars, and the Limits of Alliance”, historian Brett Rushforth writes,

“because these slaves do not appear in the official reports that have informed earlier studies, their lives have been noted, if acknowledged at all, as interesting but insignificant side notes to the story of French-Indian diplomacy. Yet the records discussing these slaves, produced by parish priests, notaries, and court reporters a thousand miles from the violence, offer a valuable new perspective on the Fox Wars, one that allows scholars to reevaluate not only this important conflict but also the larger dynamics of French-Indian relations in North America.”

Second Fox War

The French and Fox finally achieved a level of peace in 1726 after they ratified the 1701 Grand settlement peace treaty once again. This peace did not last long due to the annulment of the peace treaty in 1727 under the new, New France governor Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois.

Although the Fox desired only to become allies with the French, the Native American tribes Ottawa, Ojibwa and Huron opposed this idea and were enemies of the Fox. Since the French were allies with these native tribes, they respected the tribes and declined the alliance with the Fox. Eventually, the Fox declared war against the much more powerful and advanced French and their Native American allies. Over the next four years, the French and their allied tribes would have supremacy over the Fox. The French destroyed Fox’s relations with other tribes due to their power over them. By 1730, the Sauk people admitted refuge for the Fox nation after years of relentlessly being attacked. The Sauk and Fox fought against the French and allied Indians, until Beauharnois created the “General Pardon” of 1738, putting an end to the second Fox War.

Legacy/Aftermath of the Fox Wars

The Legacy of the Red Earth people continues to live on in the North Eastern United States. The Fox people stood up against hostility carried on by the French, Ottawa, Ojibwa , and allied tribes, and remained resilient. Even after the wars, when the Fox were relentlessly murdered, they still remained proud and honored. They intermarried between their allied Indian tribes such as the Sauk, and still presented themselves as members of the Fox/Meskwaki tribes.

Due to the violence the Fox and Sauk faced against the French, this pushed them to create an alliance with French’s enemies, the British. In the War of 1812, many Fox and Sauk members fought on the British side against American soldiers.