Yes, FDL is in Wisconsin:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fond_du_Lac,_WisconsinI believe I've been there once or twice, but it's been ages. I'm way up north, and just don't get down to the southern parts of the state much. I'm much more likely to get to Minnesota (to the left of the state). There is a ton of Indian (our Native Americans would be comparable in ways to your Aboriginals) history in this part of the country, and with the French influence, that also plays into a lot of the names in the state. If you look at that outline of Wisconsin, you'll notice in the upper left that there is a shape that resembles the profile of an indian head. All very interesting since the border is mostly carved out by natural rivers there. And yes, that region is referred to as the Indianhead region of the state.
I'm not exactly sure where Chris is from, but with the majority of the state's population in the south part of the state, she's probably closer to FDL than I am. It's all very interesting looking into family history for sure. I have learned about some of the origins in my family, and I guess way, way, way back we did have a spot of indian in our lineage, but some French and English and also some Danish and other stuff. I have found a picture of the ship my great grandmother sailed over on from Denmark in 1891. She was only 2 years old at the time, and I didn't know her very well before she died in 1979, but it was still absolutely fascinating seeing a picture of the actual ship she sailed over on. Though a lot of European immigrants came into Ellis Island (think Statue of Liberty), her ship sailed into Montreal, Canada, and along with some other French and Canadian ancestors, among others, we've come to be what we are today...and pretty much all in the states.
Though we have a strong French influence here, there are some German stronghold areas, which explains that Wisconsin has a lot of beer and brats in our heritage. We also have plenty of Scandinavian influence in the area....though Minnesota is more known for that. We also have pockets of other influence as well, but definitely a lot of Native American/Indian, French, Canadian, and German elements in the state....which you can see reflected in the names of cities, towns, rivers, etc.
Now...back to this thread being about Chris!
