The Mdewakanton Dakota were the earliest inhabitants who came through the Minnesota River, following water fowl and game animals. As part of the greater migration of the Mdewakanton from their ancestral area around Mille Lacs Lake to the river confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, Chief Black Dog, around 1750, established his band at a permanent village at the isthmus between Black Dog Lake (from which is named after him) and the Minnesota River, near the present site of the Black Dog Power Plant. The permanent camp was reported by early settlers as being inhabited by over 250 Dakota. At the south end of Burnsville, Crystal Lake, recorded as "Minne Elk" was utilized for abundant fish, leisure and burial. It was also a gathering spot where Dakota watched deer or bucks drink at the lake from the top of Buck Hill, in which was named by early settlers who witnessed this activity. Three large burial mounds were discovered after European settlement.