Description of Historic Place

The Flee Island Dakota Entrenchment is located within a small stand of aspen trees, surrounded by an open grassland pasture. Shallow pits and trenches, scattered stones and uneven ground are the barely visible remains of the historic site. The provincial designation applies to the approximately 10,000 square metre area that contains the site.

Heritage Value

Flee Island Dakota Entrenchment is one of three 'cunkaské', a rare Manitoba example of a traditional First Nations fortified encampment. The intermittent earthen embankments served as a defensible position that protected an enclosed area against attacks from American bounty hunters in 1862. The numerous deep, circular and linear pits within the enclosure are the remnants of protective trenches that served as defensive positions for the armed Dakota defenders. Historic accounts about this locale suggest that Flee Island was the last battle site of the conflict between the Dakota Sioux and the Americans. The site continues to be culturally significant for First Nations groups, as is demonstrated by the coloured cloth ribbons that are tied to the trees in the small grove of aspens; the colours (white, red, green and black) represent the four directions in First Nations lore.

Sources: Historic Sites Advisory Board Meeting, December 7, 1954

Character-Defining Elements

The features that define the heritage character of Flee Island Dakota Entrenchment include:
- the small grove of aspen trees surrounded by an open grassland pasture
- a discontinuous earthen embankment feature that is approximately circular in shape with a height that varies from 0.3 to 1 metres
- the area surrounding the embankment, which is a gently rolling landscape, and which is within the view-shed of the site
- the numerous shallow pits located within the embankment