In the 17^th century an epic Anishinaabe migration began as they moved from Atlantic lands through eastern woodlands and on to the Rockies, in search of a better life, establishing communities along the way. They split into separate nations - the Potawatomi, the Odawa and the Ojibwe - forming the Three Fires Confederacy. When the French arrived, fulfilling the Seven Fires Prophecy of the arrival of pale strangers, they built a fur trading network in partnership with the Anishinaabe who also protected their colonies. Competing for territory, the Haudenosaunee attacked the Wendat, a conflict which ended when the Ojibwe triumphed at the Saugeen Battle of Skull Mound. Nearly two dozen nations signed the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701. Later, the Ojibwe came into conflict with the Cree in the northwest, the Dakota to the west and the Meskwaki to the southwest. The battles continued for over a century as pioneering Ojibwe made a new home on the plains.