By 1862 about half a dozen families had formed a small settlement along the eastern shore of Lake Shetek, totaling perhaps 40 adults and children. At least four cabins were located within the current park boundaries, at the time the very edge of the frontier. The growing Euro-American population, however, was making it increasingly difficult for the native Dakota people to pursue their traditional lifestyle. Resettlement on reservations, treaty violations by the United States, and late or unfair annuity payments by Indian agents caused increasing hunger and hardship among the Dakota.