ALCATRAZ HISTORY - Native American Occupation 1969-1971
©2002 RJ BestALCATRAZ HISTORY
NATIVE AMERICAN OCCUPATION
The Native American occupation of Alcatraz on November 20, 1969
made headlines for many months, yet it was not the first time Native
Americans sought to claim the island for the Indian people.
The first attempt happened on March 9, 1964 and lasted only four
hours. The effort was led by five Sioux, with Richard McKenzie at
the forefront. It symbolized the first time Native Americans would
present their list of demands for the island – those same
demands would be repeated in subsequent occupations.
The next occupation on November 9, 1969 represented many tribes
and was led by Richard Oakes, a Mohawk Indian. They left the island
the same day but in the meetings that followed that day, Oakes and
his fellow American Indians began to realize that a longer, more
serious occupation was possible. So, in the name of "Indians
of All Tribes," Oakes, 80 Indian students from UCLA, and 20
Native Americans set out in a chartered boat, the Monte Cristo,
to begin the occupation that would last 17 months.
The occupation began with commendable structure and order. Occupiers
elected a council, everybody was assigned a job, and decisions relating
to security, sanitation, day care, education, and housing were made
by unanimous consent of the people.
What did the Native Americans want? They wanted the deed to the
island and they wanted to establish an Indian university, cultural
center, and museum. Government negotiators refused to consider any
demands and insisted they leave the island.
The well-oiled machinery of the social structure on Alcatraz started
to break down in early 1970. Small groups opposed Richard Oakes.
Students had to return to school and when they left the island,
they were replaced by Native Americans from urban areas and reservations
who hadn't been part of the initial occupation. People with no Native
American blood but lots of interest in drugs began to infiltrate
the island. Oakes left the island when his 13-year-old daughter
fell down three flights of stairs to her death. His departure created
competition for his replacement and more unrest ensued.
Oddly, the government did not interfere for many months. It neither
indicated acceptance of the Native American demands nor demanded
their evacuation. Those on the island believed that the government
was hoping the occupiers eventually would lose interest in their
cause and leave of their own accord.
After a while, some negotiations did transpire, but the results
were far from acceptable to the Indians, who, by mid-1970, would
settle for nothing less than the fulfillment of all their demands.
The government began to get impatient, and shut off all electrical
power. It removed the water barge that provided fresh water to the
people on the island. Three days after the barge was removed, a
fire broke out on the island, destroying several historic buildings.
Fingers were being pointed by both sides.
Though the occupation continued into 1971, the state of the organization
had deteriorated significantly. The drug culture thrived, and fights
over authority raged. Then the press discovered that, in an attempt
to raise money for food, occupiers had been stripping copper wiring
and tubing form the buildings to sell as scrap metal – about
600 pounds of it had been removed from the island. Three people
were arrested in conjunction with this activity. Afterwards, and
unrelated to this incident, frequent reports of beatings and assaults
surfaced, reducing public support for the occupiers' cause more each day.
When two oil tankers collided in the San Francisco Bay in January
1971, the lack of light on Alcatraz was blamed and the event prompted
President Nixon to launch of plan of forced evacuation of the island.
On June 10, 1971, at a time when the smallest number of people were
on the island, armed federal marshals, FBI agents, and special forces
police swarmed the island and removed five women, four children,
and six unarmed men. Not wanting to have more people removed in
a similar fashion, the occupiers conceded and the occupation ended.
Though the Native Americans did not get what they wanted, they
did heighten the cause in the American consciousness. The official
government policy of termination of Indian tribes ceased, replaced
by a policy of Indian self-determination.
Copyright TourCorp Inc. 2003-08 - All Rights Reserved
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