In the summer of 1862, many Dakota openly rebelled against the intolerable treatment they had received from American authorities. As a result, several hundred moved north to the relative safety of the Red River Settlement. In the spring of 1864, following an attack by Chippewa bounty hunters from Minnesota, the Dakota constructed fortified camps in the Portage la Prairie district. Each camp was enclosed by a circular trench and embankment behind which armed defenders could position themselves. Inside this circle was a ring of pits where the women and children could take refuge in the event of an attack. The remnants of one such ćunkaśke, known as the Flee Island Entrenchment, are located in the area near a marker at this site.

These entrenchments are the remains of fortified campsites, usually consisted of pits and trenches surrounded by earth embankments, which were placed around campsites for defensive purposes.