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The French
 For over one hundred years, the French were the main European allies and
trading partners of Native American peoples in Michigan. The French traded in
the country around Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior. Their Indian allies
were the Huron, Ottawa, and Chippewa.
Further east, the British traded around Lakes Erie and Ontario. They were
allied with the powerful Iroquois tribes. The French and the British were
enemies, and bitter rivals in the fur trade. The French tried to keep the
British out of their trading territory and they discouraged their Indian
trading partners from dealing with British traders. In Michigan, the French
built forts at Sault Ste. Marie, Michilimackinac, Detroit, and Niles to
protect their trade interests.
 The
exhibit displays this gorget, a neck ornament, that belonged to Chief Okemos in the 18th century.
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