The 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux forcibly displaced the Dakota people from their ancestral lands in Iowa and Minnesota, relocating them to territories along the upper Minnesota River. This relocation led to dire circumstances, including inadequate hunting grounds, crop devastation by cutworms, breaches of the treaty terms, and corruption among Indian agents. These harsh conditions ultimately sparked a rebellion against the treaty. In August of 1862, the Dakota initiated attacks on white settlements within the Minnesota River valley, resulting in the tragic loss of hundreds of lives. General John Pope's forces effectively quelled the uprising on September 2nd. Subsequently, on December 26, 1862, thirty-eight Dakota leaders faced execution in what remains the most extensive one-day execution in U.S. history.

Wa-Kan-O-Zhan-Xhan, who had participated in confrontations near Fort Ridgely, later fled to a Sioux camp in Canada. He was captured in the winter of 1864, put on trial for his involvement in the uprising, was found guilty by a military commission, and sentenced to death.