Very Friendly boy, Loves his People

The Crookston area was virtually unoccupied until European contact and remained little more than a hunting ground associated with the Pembina settlements until the 1860s. [ citation needed ] The land in Crookston's immediate vicinity is not connected with any verifiable Native American or European historic events or circumstances until transfer in the Treaties of Old Crossing in 1863–64. [ citation needed ] Before that, the territory now included in Crookston was part of Rupert's Land and Assiniboia before becoming part of the United States as a result of the boundary settlement in the Treaty of 1818. [ citation needed ] The Crookston area was traversed by trappers and traders, including Ojibwa and Lakota Indians, Métis, and other mixed-race people as well as white men between 1790 and 1870. A branch of the Red River Trails passed nearby; it was used by fur traders between the 1840s and 1870s.