before it was called indiana, most people who lived there were indigenous. france colonized the area, renaming it new france. they enslaved the indigenous peoples, and introduced black slaves too. in the 18th century, the new united states took the area from france, and many slave owners from kentucky and virginia moved into the area. by 1820, it had become a state called indiana and the government ordered all slaves to be freed, but black people were still enslaved there into at least the 1830s.