Lac Courte Oreilles and this village were well known to traders and explorers of the time, and the village was one of the larger Indian settlements in the area. Schoolcraft listed its population as 504 persons in his report based on his 1832 exploration to the sources of the Mississippi River. This meant that it was one of the largest Indian settlements in the region. The village's importance was likely associated with the strategic site of Lac Courte Oreilles on the route between the Chippewa River watershed and the St. Croix River watershed. The latter watershed was reached from Lac Courte Oreilles by travelling north and west through Grindstone Lake, Windigo Lake, and over the Namekagon Portage to the Namekagon River in the St. Croix River watershed.