Before Evanston was founded in 1863, tribal nations including the Potawatomi, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Myaamia (or Miami), Wea, Kiikaapoi (or Kickapoo) and Mascouten called the land home. When settlers arrived, they forced conflict, removal and assimilation on tribal nations while government policy stripped them of their lands. Years later, urban relocation in the mid-20th century brought.