El Tecolote Vol. 49 issue 24

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FREE//GRATUITO

PUBLISHED BY ACCIÓN LATINA

Vol. 49 No. 24

December 5-18, 2019

ON 50TH ANNIVERSARY, NATIVE ELDERS SHARE NEVER BEFORE TOLD STORIES OF ALCATRAZ OCCUPATION A 50 AÑOS, ANCIANOS NATIVOS COMPARTEN SUS HISTORIAS SOBRE LA OCUPACIÓN DE ALCATRAZ Izzy Alvarez

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El Tecolote

hen Richard Oake’s 12-year-old daughter Yvonne died after falling from the guards’ quarters of Alcatraz prison on Jan. 5, 1970, a dark cloud loomed over the island and the occupation that began on Nov. 20, 1969. But the movement that Oakes and other Native activists helped spark has had a lasting impact that can still be felt to this day—even 50 years later. For the past 50 years the historic 19-month long occupation of Alcatraz—which at one point numbered in the hundreds—has been the subject of great dispute. But what is undeniable is how it has shaped the Native perspective for generations to come. On Nov. 19, just one day before the 50th anniversary, the San Francisco Public Library and the California Historical Society presented “Untold and Intimate Stories of the Alcatraz Occupation,” where original occupiers revealed first-hand stories of their experiences on the island. “I didn’t know it at the time,” said Dr. LaNada War Jack (then known as LaNada Means), a leader/ original occupier and member of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes. “So it was just doing what you think you have to do. If no one’s gonna say it, if no one’s gonna do it, then you have to do it. You have to stand up and do your part.” Downstairs in the main public library, a packed crowd gathered in the Latinos/Hispanic Rooms to hear from the generation that took Alcatraz in 1969. Black and white photographs by Ilka Hartmann—displayed on presentation boards inside the room—served as a window back in time to the Alcatraz Occupation. From smiling children to important figures, all played an integral part of the movement that defined ethnic studies in higher education. High school students sat at tables and on the floor, while upfront were the panel of activists who stored food for the days ahead of the occupation, creating a whole community on the abandoned Alcatraz. “We just conditioned ourselves to living out there and was able to do it,” said the 74-year-old War Jack. Nestled in the corner of the room alongside her family, War Jack was promoting and signing her new book, “Native Resistance: An Intergenerational Fight for Survival and Life.” The book is a recollection of War Jack’s insights on the occupation, which have historically been bent and transformed to serve false narratives. As the first Native American student at U.C. Berkeley, War Jack co-organized the now infamous movement. Till this day, she misses the breeze of See 50TH, page 10

La doctora LaNada War Jack, miembro de Shoshone Bannock (a la extrema derecha), comparte su historia sobre la ocupación de Alcatraz junto a (desde la izquierda) Blair Ryan (Seminole/Chickasaw), Ginebra Seaboy (Dakota/Chippewa), Eloy Martínez (Southern Ute), Mary Crowley, Ruth Orta (Ohlone/Bay Miwok, Plains Miwok) y William Ryan (Seminole/Chickasaw), el 19 de noviembre de 2019. Shoshone Bannock member Dr. LaNada War Jack (far right) shares her story of the Occupation of Alcatraz alongside (from left) Blair Ryan (Seminole/Chickasaw), Geneva Seaboy (Dakota/Chippewa), Eloy Martínez (Southern Ute), Mary Crowley, Ruth Orta (Ohlone/Bay Miwok, Plains Miwok), and William Ryan (Seminole/Chickasaw) on Nov. 19, 2019. Photo: Carla Hernández Ramírez Izzy Alvarez

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El Tecolote

uando la hija de 12 años de Richard Oake, Yvonne, cayó fatalmente del cuartel de la prisión de Alcatraz, una nube oscura se cernió sobre la isla y sobre el movimiento de ocupación que había comenzado el 20 de noviembre de 1969. Pero ese movimiento que tanto Oakey como otros activistas indígenas nativos iniciaron ha tenido un impacto permanente que se puede sentir hasta el día de hoy, 50 años después. La ocupación histórica de Alcatraz durante diecinueve meses, que en un momento llegó a los cientos de ocupantes, ha sido objeto de una gran disputa. Pero lo que es innegable es cómo ello forjó la perspectiva nativa para las generaciones venideras. El 19 de noviembre, justo un día antes del quincuagésimo aniversario de esa ocupación, la Biblioteca Pública de San Francisco y la Sociedad Histórica de California presentaron Historias no contadas e íntimas de la ocupación de Alcatraz, publicación en la cual, los ocupantes originales, revelan historias de primera mano de sus experiencias en la isla. “No lo sabía en ese momento”, Vea ALCATRAZ, página 10

Asistentes reunidos en la Sala Latinos/Hispanos de la Biblioteca Pública Central de San Francisco, el 19 de noviembre de 2019, para escuchar historias de los ocupantes originales de Alcatraz. Audience members gather Inside SFPL’s Main Branch Latino/Hispanic Room on Nov. 19, 2019 to listen to stories from the original occupants of Alcatraz. Photo: Carla Hernández Ramírez


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