During King Philip’s War, during which the peace between Native Americans and colonists gave way to terrible violence, hundreds of Nipmuc Native Americans were sent to the island by the English, although they had converted to Christianity and assimilated with the settlers. They were left on the island to perish from disease, starvation, and cold; hundreds of men, women, and children perished.

Descendants of the Nipmuc tribe visit the memorial on the southwest corner of Deer Island every October to hold a memorial ceremony.