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Alcatraz may have been lost, but the occupation gave birth to a political movement which continues to today.
- Overview
- HISTORY Vault: Native American History
In 1969, a group of rebel activists took over America’s most notorious prison for more than 19 months.
Since the mid-1960s, American Indians had been on a mission to break into Alcatraz. After the famed prison shuttered its doors in 1963, Bay Area Native Americans began lobbying to have the island redeveloped as an Indian cultural center and school. Five Sioux even landed on Alcatraz in March 1964 and tried to seize it under an 1868 treaty that allowed Indians to appropriate surplus federal land.
These early efforts all failed, but reclaiming “the Rock” became a rallying cry for Indians, many of whom viewed the island as a symbol of government indifference toward the Indigenous population.
More to History: Native American Solidarity at Alcatraz
When an October 1969 fire destroyed San Francisco’s American Indian Center, an activist group known as “Indians of All Tribes” set their sights on the unused land at Alcatraz. A handful of protestors first journeyed to the island on November 9, 1969, under the leadership of Mohawk college student Richard Oakes. They only stayed for a night before the authorities removed them, but Oakes stressed that the landing had been a symbolic act. “If a one-day occupation by white men on Indian land years ago established squatter’s rights,” he told The San Francisco Chronicle, “then the one-day occupation of Alcatraz should establish Indian rights to the island.”
Indians of All Tribes made a final attempt to seize Alcatraz in the early morning hours of November 20, 1969—this time with an occupation force of 89 men, women and children. After sailing through San Francisco Bay under cover of darkness, the Indians landed at Alcatraz and claimed the island for all the tribes of North America.
From Comanche warriors to Navajo code talkers, learn more about Indigenous history.
WATCH NOW
- 1 min
The Occupation of Alcatraz (November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971) was a 19-month long protest when 89 Native Americans and their supporters occupied Alcatraz Island. The protest was led by Richard Oakes , LaNada Means , and others, while John Trudell served as spokesman.
November 28, 20195:13 PM ET. Heard on All Things Considered. By. Antonia Cereijido. 4-Minute Listen. Playlist. Thanksgiving marks the 50th anniversary of the Alcatraz take over, when activists...
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Published Nov. 20, 2019 Updated Nov. 21, 2019. On Nov. 20, 1969, more than 70 Native Americans gathered before dawn on a dock in San Francisco Bay. They boarded three boats and sailed from the ...
Nov 20, 2019 · November 20, 2019 at 6:00 a.m. EST. Alcatraz Island in San Francisco in March. (Eric Risberg/AP) On this day 50 years ago, 89 indigenous students and community leaders from throughout the state...
The National Park Service recognizes the Occupation on Alcatraz in regularly offered programs and exhibits on the island. Each year hundreds of teachers and students learn about the occupation while reflecting on society’s changing opinion of civil rights and freedom.
