 Because of this beginning of the incursion of Europeans into the area , the members of the Confederacy helped shape the development of North America throughout the 18th Century , becoming a center of trade and culture . Great Britain supported this strengthening of the tribes in the area as a set of allies against the French and the <unk> . The people of the Three Fires Confederacy , however , sided with the French during the Seven Years ' War and only made peace with Great Britain after the Treaty of Fort Niagara in 1764 . It also fought on the side of the British during the War of 1812 . The Three Fires Confederacy also broke several treaties with the United States prior to 1815 , but finally signed the Treaty of <unk> in September of that year and ceased all hostilities directed at the United States . The Grand Council survived intact until the middle to late 19th century , when more modern political systems began to evolve . 
