When most people think of Alcatraz, they think of the “inescapable prison,” but not many people know of the protest there just six years after its closure in 1963. Influenced by the 1960s African American Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War protests, Native Americans occupied Alcatraz Island for 19 months to bring attention to the issues they faced.
Causes
Native American tribes had been facing mistreatment and abuse from the US government for decades. The Indian Termination Era from the 1940s to the 1960s saw the seizure of Native American land as well as denouncing the sovereignty of many native tribes. This was all in the hope of them assimilating into American culture and becoming tax-paying citizens. This was done through a series of laws beginning in 1940, giving states criminal jurisdiction over native tribes.
The Occupation
These termination policies were the last straw for a group of native americans. In November of 1969, an activist named Richard Oakes gathered a group of Native Americans to go to Alcatraz Island and claim in the name of the newly formed Indians of All Tribes. However, they returned later that day so Oakes could spend the next few days recruiting at the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA. He was able to recruit about 80 students to join his cause. On November 20th, 1969, Oakes and his group of nearly 100 people returned to the Island to begin their 19-month occupation.
The occupiers immediately elected a council, and everyone was assigned jobs. Occupants lived in the Warden’s room and the guards’ quarters. They quickly created a clinic, kitchen, and grade school. They began to paint messages onto the walls of the former prison, such as “peace and freedom welcome” and “home of the free Indian land.” Their goal was to create a cultural center and a university on the island; however, neither would come to be.
The End of the Occupation
The occupation began to fall apart after a few months. Oakes, who had been a leader and very influential man in this protest, had to leave the island in January of 1970 when his daughter passed away. This caused a significant weakness in the island’s leadership structure. This caused several issues, as did many students leaving the island to return to school, while others came solely to live rent-free. By June 1971, there were only 15 occupants left on the island, and the US government, which had previously adopted a non-interference policy, forcibly removed the remaining people.
Effects of the Occupation
The occupation of Alcatraz is considered one of the most critical events in recent Native American history. It brought national and international attention to the issues they were facing and sparked numerous other demonstrations nationwide. It helped to cause policy changes in the US government, like the end of the Termination Policy. It led to the Indian Education Act of 1972 and other legislation that pushed the rights of Native people forward.