CHAPTER 1 GREAT LAKES AND WOLVERINES Sports Sports fans in Michigan have a lot to cheer for The city of Detroit offers teams in every major professional league Some of the country’s most successful college sports programs can be found around the state too And no matter where they are fans stand by their favorite teams through thick and thin The state’s unique sports culture reflects the region’s history geography and economy The Tigers Comerica Park offers sweeping views of the Detroit skyline 5
Touching four of the five Great Lakes Michigan’s location and geography have helped it become one of the most populous states in the Midwest The big waters divide the state into two large peninsulas Upper and Lower Forests and lakes cover much of the north while southern Michigan is home to the state’s largest cities and major industries American Indian tribes such as the Ottawa Ojibwa and Potawatomi have been living in Michigan for thousands of years However as white settlers arrived they gradually pushed the tribes off their land The first white people to arrive were missionaries and fur traders Jacques Marquette a French missionary founded Sault Ste Marie in 1668 In 1701 French explorer Antoine Cadillac built a fort and trading post on the future site of Detroit 6
The Potawatomi tribe originally lived in Michigan but was forced west as white settlers came to the area The British captured Detroit from the French in 1760 They held the city until 1794 when a treaty gave the newly independent United States control Two years later the area became part of the Northwest Territory And in 1805 Michigan became its own territory Around this time the United States and local tribes began signing treaties In these agreements the tribes gave up land for US settlements 7
