An oral account from Odawa tribal leader and historian Andrew Blackbird claimed that the outbreak had "entirely depopulated and laid waste" to L'Arbre Croche.

Chief Joseph Nowimashkote initiated a plan for the Odawa to buy back their land at Cross Village, also called La Croix in the 19th century.

The village of Harbor Springs—established with a church, manse, a school, and the country's first temperance society—became the center of the L'Arbre Croche community in the early 19th century.

From the Sainte-Anne log church, he served the French and later British residents, neighboring Native Americans, and visiting traders and explorers for almost 30 years.

[6] The Odawa, including Nissowaquet and around 180 warriors, moved to L'Arbre with the Jesuits in the summer of 1741[5][7] and they established a mission called Apatawaaing.

[10] Du Jaunay split his time between the Sainte-Anne church and the Saint-Ignace at L’Arbre Croche mission in Cross Village, where he had a farm.

[6] The Odawa of L'Arbre Croche fished, hunted, and grew and gathered produce, including corn, squash, onions, cucumbers, turnips, cabbages, melon, and wild strawberries.

The canoes and food–including dried fish and meat and produce–supplied the fur traders who worked in the wilderness of the Great Lakes and the Upper Mississippi regions.

[15][16] Beginning from the 1750s and lasting until the 1760s, a smallpox outbreak devastated several Indian communities throughout the American Midwest, including L'Arbre Croche.

An oral account from Odawa tribal leader and historian Andrew Blackbird claimed that the outbreak had "entirely depopulated and laid waste" to L'Arbre Croche.

According to the oral account, entire families of L'Arbre Croche died due to the outbreak and the population of the region was greatly reduced.

[7] The Odawa and Ojibwa from northern Michigan fought with other Native Americans against the United States government at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.

The Odawa believed deaths were retributions, either because Richard's religion was evil or that the Great Spirit was angered by the possibility of the natives accepting Catholicism.

[20] In 1807, an Odawa warrior named Le Maigouis, also known as The Trout, traveled from his home in L'Arbre Croche to Tenskwatawa's village in Ohio.

[21] The prophet sought to effectuate "spiritual salvation and cultural renewal” by returning to traditional social ethics, including care for the widowed and respect for elders.

[19] Another message was to hunt only the animals needed to feed and clothe the tribe, and not to provide food for the White fur traders, which would help restore the number of game in the region.

Father Frederic Baraga came to Cross Village in 1831 and is credited with creating an Odawa language alphabet and dictionary and establishing a number of churches in the area.

Chief Joseph Nowimashkote initiated a plan for the Odawa to buy back their land at Cross Village, also called La Croix in the 19th century.