In 1836, the Menominee ceded their claim to the area including what is now Mishicot to the United States after years of negotiations with the Ho-Chunk and the U.S. government over how to accommodate the incoming populations of Oneida, Stockbridge-Munsee, and Brothertown peoples who had been removed from New York. As a result of this treaty (Treaty of the Cedars), settlers could purchase land, but many fishermen still chose to live as squatters. At the same time, the more decentralized Potawatomi were divested of their land without compensation. Many emigrated to Canada because of invitations from other Native Americans already in Canada, favorable treaty arrangements, and a desire to avoid the harsh terms of the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. Although not all Potawatomi participated in the Treaty of Chicago, it was federal policy that any who did not relocate westward as the treaty stipulated would not be compensated for their land.