Francis Parkman, a 19th century historian, summarized Indian treatment when he said, "Spanish civilization crushed the Indian; English civilization scorned and neglected him; French civilization embraced and cherished him."

And the Americans, specifically the American civilization? Americans were initially fearful of the Indians, based upon a lack of understanding of a culture so different from their own. Local diaries of early settlers describe the Indians as pagan savages.

If Americans were confused, Native Americans were wary of the latest group of white-skinned men claiming stakes over land they had occupied for generations. Land ownership was not a concept that Indians understood. While the Americans made treaties over territory with the British and the French, the Indians were never clear on the ramifications of these treaties.

The end of the American Revolution in 1783 left the Americans feeling that their defeat of the British in turn meant the automatic conquest of the Indians, and they were ready to take over the land, including that of the Potawatomi.

The Potawatomi conceded defeat. In an attempt to adapt to the new Potawatomi began to negotiate the sale of land. Having no concept they were easy prey for the new regime.

The signing of treaties generally took place with dramatic fanfare. The Indians were invited to collect their annuities (payments for previous land sales), as a great deal of whiskey was passed around, which was a new commodity to the Indians. While they were receiving payments they were asked to sign another treaty. The Indians, in the spirit of cooperation, would sign the new treaties, and before they knew what was happening, their land had been signed away.

The final treaty which affected this area was the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, which sold the last of the lands in the Great Lakes territory. The Indians were contacted by their appointed Indian agents to come and collect their annuities. The leaders included in the treaties were not real chiefs. They were what some called marginals, or half-breeds -- the children of Indian mothers and French traders. They were raised outside of the tribes and had become savvy frontiersmen, acting as negotiators for the changing times.

When federal agents turned up to evict the tribes, the Potawatomi were surprised. But the Indians in the Lake Zurich area did not resist. They were allowed to pack what they could, were given a set of rations and supplies, and then sent on their way to Iowa. No consideration was given to time of year. Many gave up their farms and gathered the family, their spirits broken. Hundreds of Potawatomi perished on the journeys when their supplies ran out. Today those journeys are referred to as the Trail of Death or Trail of Tears.