American Indians involved in Pontiac's War lived in a vaguely defined region of New France known as the "pays d'en haut" ("the upper country"), which was claimed by France until the Paris peace treaty of 1763. Indians of the "pays d'en haut" were from many different tribes. These tribes were linguistic or ethnic groups rather than political units; no chief spoke for an entire tribe, and no tribe acted in unison. For example, Ottawas did not go to war as a tribe: some Ottawa leaders chose to do so, while other Ottawa leaders denounced the war and stayed clear of the conflict.