The area around Lac Court Oreilles has long been a favored habitat because of its abundant game, fish, berries, and wild rice. Radisson and Groseilliers were the first white men to visit the area in 1659, where they found Ottawa Indians. Before that, the Sioux controlled this territory, and since 1745 the Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indians have lived here continuously. The Ottawa were called "Short Ears" by the French, and Court Oreilles, or Couderay, means "short ears." However, Indians and early English and American explorers referred to the area as Ottawa Sagaigan, or Lake. The Court Oreilles Indian Reservation contains nearly 70,000 acres and was set aside by the Treaty of La Pointe in 1854, and approximately 1500 Chippewa Indians were living on the reservation at that time.