In the first episode of this series about Chicago history, Dr. Sola and his expert guests, Dr. Keating (North Central College) and Dr. Karamanski (Loyola University-Chicago) discuss the history of the indigenous people of Chicagoland from the end of the Ice Age 12,000 years ago through the War of 1812.

Specific topics include the arrival of Paleo-Indians and the development of Mississippian culture, which reached its summit in the indigenous metropolis of Cahokia; the arrival of European traders and settlers; the machinations of European powers in Paris and London to exert control over the region; the long period of peace between the first French traders and indigenous people; the first non-indigenous settler in Chicago, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, who was of African not European descent; the rise of the mixed-race Metis culture around Chicago; the resistance of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa to American expansionism; and the outbreak of violence during the War of 1812, which culminated with the burning of Fort Dearborn by an indigenous army.