Awatixa Village stood beside a river that both sustained it and gradually erased evidence of its existence. In 1798, explorer-trader David Thompson estimated fifty-two earthlodges there. By 1990, only thirty-one earthlodge depressions remained, as cutbank erosion and channel shifting had washed away at least six, partially destroyed another six, and modern farming had obliterated ten others. In 1832, George Catlin visited the village, stayed several weeks, and painted the view from the opposite bank. Although Catlin was a self-taught artist whose technique sometimes appeared clumsy, his cultural impressions were accurate.