The first Europeans to enter the Indiana country were from France. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is the first European known to have crossed the region. La Salle passed through northern Indiana on his way from Canada to the Mississippi River in 1679. By 1710 the French had won the friendship of the local peoples and were carrying on an active fur trade with them. Shortly after 1715, the French built a fortified trading post, Fort des Miamis (Fort Miami), at a principal Miami villag
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