The Dakota Conflict began in the early 1800s as the Dakota Indians were forced off their fertile lands in Minnesota by settlers and the U.S. government. A series of broken treaties and lack of food subsidies left the Dakota starving and dependent. Tensions escalated until the Dakota attacked settlements in 1862, killing hundreds of settlers. The U.S. government retaliated by executing 38 Dakota men, the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The Dakota were then exiled from Minnesota to South Dakota.