Franco-Indian alliance

[1] The alliance involved French settlers on the one side, and indigenous peoples such as the Abenaki, Odawa, Menominee, Winnebago, Mississauga, Illinois, Sioux, Huron, Petun, and Potawatomi on the other.

[2] It allowed the French and the natives to form a haven in the middle-Ohio valley before the open conflict between the European powers erupted.

Natives also adopted French habits, like chief Kondiaronk who wanted to be buried in his uniform of captain or Kateri Tekakwitha who became a Catholic Saint.

In North America in the 18th century, the British outnumbered the French 20 to 1, a situation that urged France to ally with the majority of the First Nations.

[9] During the American War of Independence and the onset of the Franco-American alliance, the French would again combine with Indian troops, as in the Battle of Kiekonga in 1780 under Augustin de La Balme.

1755 map of the western portion of New France shows a territory that is very much dominated by various American indigenous nations though nominally under a tenuous French hegemony. The vast lands of the Miami, the Iroquois, the Erie, the Huron, the Renard, the Mascouten, and the Illinois overwhelm tiny bastions of French power in the form of various forts and missions. The French, without the vast colonial resources of the English and Spanish, relied heavily on an alliance with, rather than outright control of, indigenous populations.
Father Jacques Marquette with Indians.
Frontenac with the Indians.
Map showing the 1750 possessions of Britain (pink), France (blue), and Spain (orange) in contemporary Canada and the United States.
Conference between the French and Indigenous leaders around a ceremonial fire by Émile Louis Vernier
Montcalm trying to stop Native Americans from attacking British soldiers and civilians as they leave Fort William Henry .