Occupation of Alcatraz (1969-1971): Indians of All Tribes Protest

The occupation of Alcatraz was a 19-month protest in which Native American activists, calling themselves Indians of All Tribes, held Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay from 20 November 1969 to 11 June 1971. Claiming the former federal prison as Indian land, they demanded recognition of treaty rights and an end to policies that threatened tribal survival. The occupation became a landmark of the Red Power movement and helped change how the US government dealt with Native nations.

Background

After the Second World War, federal policy aimed to “terminate” the special status of tribes and to move Native Americans from reservations to cities. By the late 1960s tens of thousands lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, often in poverty, and young Native students at local colleges were influenced by the civil rights and anti-war movements.

Alcatraz federal penitentiary had closed in 1963, and the island was declared surplus federal property. In March 1964 a small group of Sioux activists briefly landed there, citing an interpretation of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie that they said allowed Native people to claim unused federal land. In October 1969 a fire destroyed the San Francisco American Indian Center, a key meeting place for the city’s Native community, adding urgency to the search for a new space.

The occupation begins

On 9 November 1969 Richard Oakes, a Mohawk student at San Francisco State College, and other activists sailed around the island; a few jumped into the water, and later that night a small group landed and stayed overnight before being removed. On 20 November 1969, 89 Native Americans, many of them students, landed on Alcatraz and began a long-term occupation.

In a proclamation addressed to the “Great White Father and All His People”, the group offered to buy the island for $24 in glass beads and red cloth, mocking the legendary purchase of Manhattan. Their demands included a Native American university, a cultural centre, a museum and a spiritual centre. The occupation drew national media attention, donations of food and supplies, and visits from celebrities.

Life on the island

At its height several hundred people lived on Alcatraz, organised through a council and an elected leadership. They ran a school and a clinic, and from late 1969 John Trudell, a Santee Dakota activist, broadcast Radio Free Alcatraz from the island.

Problems soon mounted. In January 1970 Oakes’s stepdaughter Yvonne died after a fall in one of the buildings, and Oakes left the island. Many of the original students returned to their studies, and disagreements over leadership grew. In May 1970 the federal government cut off electricity and the supply of fresh water. On 1 June 1970 fires destroyed several historic buildings, including the warden’s house, and each side blamed the other.

Key people

• Richard Oakes (1942–1972), a Mohawk ironworker turned student, was the occupation’s first spokesman. He was shot dead in California in 1972.
• LaNada Means (later LaNada War Jack), a Shoshone-Bannock student at the University of California, Berkeley, helped plan the occupation and was a leading member of its council.
• John Trudell (1946–2015), a Santee Dakota activist, became the voice of the island through Radio Free Alcatraz and later chaired the American Indian Movement.
• Grace Thorpe (1921–2008), a Sac and Fox activist and daughter of the Olympic champion Jim Thorpe, handled publicity and brought supplies and well-known supporters to the island.

The end of the occupation

Negotiations with the Nixon administration failed to reach agreement. On 11 June 1971 federal marshals, FBI agents and other officers removed the last 15 occupiers, six women, five children and four men, without violence.

Consequences and legacy

The occupation did not win the island, which became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972. Its influence was wider. On 8 July 1970, while the occupation was under way, President Richard Nixon sent Congress a special message rejecting termination and endorsing tribal self-determination. Later in 1970 Congress returned the sacred Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo, and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act followed in 1975.

Alcatraz also inspired a wave of activism. Members of the American Indian Movement and other groups organised protests such as the Trail of Broken Treaties in 1972 and the Wounded Knee occupation in 1973, which drew on the memory of the Wounded Knee Massacre. Since 1975 an “Unthanksgiving” or Indigenous Peoples’ sunrise ceremony has been held on Alcatraz each November.

Timeline

• 1963, March: Alcatraz federal penitentiary closes.
• 1964, March: Sioux activists briefly claim the island.
• 1969, 9 November: A first, brief landing by Richard Oakes and others.
• 1969, 20 November: 89 activists land and begin the occupation.
• 1970, January: Yvonne Oakes dies after a fall; Richard Oakes leaves.
• 1970, 1 June: Fires destroy several buildings on the island.
• 1970, 8 July: Nixon’s message to Congress endorses self-determination.
• 1971, 11 June: Federal officers remove the last 15 occupiers.

Why it matters

The occupation of Alcatraz brought Native American grievances to a national audience at a time when they were often ignored. It united people from many different nations under one cause and is widely seen as the start of modern Native American activism.