the Algonquin nations became active in the fur trade. This led them to fight against the powerful Iroquois, whose confederacy was based in present-day New York. In 1570, the Algonquins formed an alliance with the Innu (Montagnais) to the east, whose territory extended to the ocean. Culturally, Omàmìwininì (Algonquin) and the Mississaugas (Michi Saagiig) were not part of the Ojibwe–Odawa–Potawatomi alliance known as the Council of Three Fires, though they did maintain close ties. Omàmìwininìwak (Algonquins) maintained stronger cultural ties with the Wendat, Abenaki, Atikamekw, and Cree, along with the Innu, as related above. French contact Algonquin first met Europeans when Samuel de Champlain came upon a party led by the Chief Tessouat at Tadoussac, in eastern present-day Quebec, in the summer of 1603. They were celebrating a recent victory over the Iroquois, with the allied Montagnais and Etchemins (Malecite). Champlain did not understand that Algonquins were socially united by a strong totem/clan system rather than the European-styled political concept of nationhood. The several Algonquin bands each had its own chief. Within each band, the chief depended on political approval from each of the band's clan leaders. Champlain needed to cultivate relationships with numerous chiefs and clan leaders. From 1603, some of the Algonquins allied with the French under Champlain. This alliance proved useful to the Algonquin, who previously had little to no access to European firearms. Champlain made his first exploration of the Ottawa River during May 1613 and reached the fortified village at Morrison Island. Unlike the other Algonquin communities, the did not change location with the seasons. They had chosen a strategic point astride the trade route between the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. They prospered through the collection of beaver pelts from Indigenous traders passing through their territory. They also were proud of their corn fields. At first, the French used the term "Algonquin" only for a second group, the Wàwàckeciriniwak. However, by 1615, they applied the name to all of the Algonquin bands living along the Ottawa River. Because of keen interest by tribes to gain control of the lower Ottawa River, the and the came under fierce opposition. These two large groups allied together, under the leadership of Sachem (Carolus) Charles Pachirini, to maintain the identity and territory. French-Indian War/Seven Years' War The Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) drove Algonquins from their lands. The Haudenosaunee were aided by having been traded arms by the