The Alcatraz Proclamation

The Alcatraz Proclamation Essential Questions: How has race or ethnicity included or excluded members of American society?

How has that inclusion or exclusion been justified?

What is the relationship between those who have power and those who are included or excluded?

The Alcatraz Proclamation On November 20, 1969, Alcatraz Island became the unlikely stage for a landmark event in the Native American rights movement.

Framework During the late 1960s, the public largely ignored the small, isolated, rocky island in San Francisco Bay known as Alcatraz. Home to the notorious federal prison from 1934 until 1963, Alcatraz -- nicknamed "The Rock"-- was still a few years away from being named a National Park and becoming a major tourist attraction in the Bay Area. But on November 20, 1969, the island became the unlikely stage for a landmark event in the Native American rights movement.

On that date, 89 Indians -- mostly students from colleges and universities in San Francisco and Los Angeles -- announced they were taking over the island, setting in motion what would become the longest occupation of a federal facility by Native Americans to date.

Objectives   

Students will understand historical Native American grievances, Students will be able to explain why Native Americans occupied Alcatraz and Students will examine the effect of occupation on Native American pride and activism.

Tasks Critically read the two articles located after the directions. Use strong reading strategies such as note-taking, making connections, creating a graphic organizer, predicting, recognizing author’s tone and purpose, and/or drawing conclusions to make sense of the articles. Re-read as necessary.

You may use the following questions about the proclamation as a guide to whether you have read critically.     

At whom was the proclamation directed?

Why did the "Indians of All Tribes" take Alcatraz Island?

What were their demands?

How would you describe the tone of the proclamation? Is it confrontational? Where is it humorous?

The proclamation refers to what historical and contemporary Native American issues that are important in understanding the inspiration behind the occupation of Alcatraz?

Choose one of the following topics to learn more about and find at least two sources to share and reflect upon.

   

The condition of Native American reservations in the 1960s The purchase of Manhattan Island The Trail of Tears and the Massacre at Wounded Knee Native American relations with U.S. government/Bureau of Indian Affairs



Native American activism in the 1970s

Create a sharing document (emagazine- ISSUU, blog, or poster- glogster) demonstrating what you’ve learned and reflecting on what you’ve learned.

Prepare for a class discussion- date TBA. Discussion questions might include:     

Were conditions of the Native American reservations described accurately in the Alcatraz Proclamation?

Compared to the purchase of Manhattan Island, was the price the occupiers offered for Alcatraz fair?

Why or why not?

Why would they want the Trail of Tears and the Massacre at Wounded Knee to be included in their museum? What messages would these inclusions offer?

What was the occupiers' attitude toward the Bureau of Indian Affairs? What evidence is there of this in the proclamation?

What was the impact of the Alcatraz occupation. Did the Native Americans accomplish their goals according to the declaration? What effect did the occupation have on Native American pride? Was the occupation a "success"?

The Alcatraz Proclamation: Background Sheet During the late 1960s, the small, isolated, rocky island in San Francisco Bay known as Alcatraz had been largely ignored by the public. Home to the notorious federal prison from 1934 until 1963, Alcatraz -- nicknamed "The Rock"-- was still a few years away from being named a National Park and becoming a major tourist attraction in the Bay Area. But on November 20, 1969, the island became the unlikely stage for a landmark event in the Native American rights movement. On that date, 89 Indians -- mostly students from colleges and universities in San Francisco and Los Angeles -- announced they were taking over the island, setting in motion what would become the longest occupation of a federal facility by Native Americans to date.

Although it was essentially a publicity stunt to spotlight issues concerning Native Americans, the occupation of Alcatraz emerged as a defining event in Indian-U.S. relations and as a trailblazing protest that would soon inspire an upsurge in activism across the country.

Out of Patience During the 1940s and '50s, Native American activism stressed negotiation, compromise and a preference for legal remedies. In addition, protests and resistance against the U.S. government were generally organized and executed by specific tribes and nations and focused on a specific issue, such as fishing rights and other treaty rights violations. The confrontational political climate of the 1960s, however, ushered in a new era of Native American activism led by a band of younger, more radical leaders -- exemplified by the American Indian Movement (AIM), a militant group formed in 1968.

Spurning what they viewed as the more conciliatory approach of some of their elders, these activists denounced the federal government not only for failing to fulfill the promises of its treaties and agreements but also for its ongoing arrogant and condescending manner toward Native people. The 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island inspired Native Americans across the country to raise their voices for self-determination, autonomy, economic survival and respect for Native culture.

The 1969 occupation was not the first attempt at seizing "the Rock." In 1964, four Sioux Indians claimed the island, citing an 1868 treaty allowing Indians from the reservation to take any "unoccupied land." That occupation lasted only four hours, but the unmet demands made by the Sioux -- the establishment of an Indian university and the right to use the island as a Native American cultural center among others-- greatly influenced the group that took Alcatraz five years later.

"We Hold the Rock!"

On November 20, 1969, eighty-nine Native Americans, led by activist Richard Oakes, seized control of Alcatraz. To announce their action to the world, the dissidents issued the Alcatraz Proclamation. Because the occupying force comprised a diverse Native population -- Sioux,

Blackfoot, Apache, Navajo, Cheyenne and Iroquois were all represented -- the document was signed by "Indians of all Tribes."

"In the name of all Indians ... we reclaim this island for our Indian nations," the proclamation read. "We feel this claim is just and proper, and that the land should rightfully be granted to us for as long as the rivers run and the sun shall shine. We hold the Rock!"

In exchange for the island, the inhabitants offered "$24 in glass beads and red cloth," which they said was a precedent set by the white man's purchase of "a similar island" three centuries earlier.

While the activists noted that $24 for the 16 acres on Alcatraz was more than what Whites paid for Manhattan Island, they acknowledged that "land values have risen over the years."

Media coverage and public reaction to the capture were initially sympathetic, and several celebrities, including Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando and Dick Gregory, visited the island to offer support. The inhabitants constructed tipis, and hand-painted slogans -- "You Are on Indian Land," "Red Power," and "Human Rights, Free the Indians" -- adorned the walls of the island's structures.

Preferring not to inflame the situation, the federal government followed a "hands-off" policy regarding the occupation. Although they negotiated with the leaders, authorities hoped that the dissidents would tire and elect to end the occupation voluntarily. Indeed, over the next 12 months, many of the activists would leave the island as bickering between leaders increased and public interest dwindled. By 1971, the occupying force on Alcatraz was reduced to a mere handful of men, women and children. In June 1971, on orders from President Richard Nixon to bring the 19-month occupation to an end, federal marshals escorted the last group of Native Americans off the island.

The legacy of the Alcatraz occupation was immediate and long-lasting. In subsequent months, Native Americans would occupy federal facilities in Colorado, Mt. Rushmore and Ellis Island. In 1972, the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan converged on Washington, D.C., to demand from Congress changes in how Native peoples were treated. The following year, AIM activists occupied the Sioux Pine Ridge Reservation in North Dakota, the site of the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. The origins of this era of Indian activism, a milestone in the Native American movement, can be traced back to November 1969.

"The most lasting result of Alcatraz," said Native American activist Adam Fortunate Eagle, "may have been the growth of Indian pride throughout the country. ... Everywhere American Indians rejoiced."

1969 OCCUPATION OF ALCATRAZ

California: From November 20, 1969, to June 11, 1971, Native Americans took over and held Alcatraz Island as Indian Land. The Occupation of Alcatraz Island" was led by the Native American group, Indians of All Tribes (IAT).

The take-over lasted 14-months and ended when the Indians were forcibly removed by the federal government.

Indians of All Tribes claimed the island by citing the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) between the U.S. and the Sioux. The treaty returned to Native peoples all retired, abandoned and out-of use federal lands. When Alcatraz penitentiary closed in 1963, the U.S. declared the island as surplus federal property. So Red Power activists reclaimed it.

On March 9, 1964, Richard McKenzie and other Sioux occupied Alcatraz for four hours.

On November 9, 1969, another group of activists returned. A boat carried Richard Oakes (Mohawk), Jim Vaughn (Cherokee), Joe Bill (Eskimo), Ross Harden (Ho-Chunk) and Jerry Hatch close to the island. Then the men jumped overboard, swam to shore, and claimed the island by right of discovery.

The Coast Guard quickly removed them.

Later that day, a larger group made their way to the island. Fourteen stayed overnight. The next day, the group proclaimed the island by right of discovery. Then they left the island.

On November 20, 1969, American Indians again landed on Alcatraz-despite an attempted Coast Guard blockade. The 79 Indians included including students, married couples and six children which included actor Benjaman Bratt and his siblings.

To announce their action to the world, the dissidents issued the Alcatraz Proclamation. The occupiers cited treatment under the Indian Termination policy as the reason. They also accused the U.S. of breaking numerous Indian treaties.

The IAT said they intended took the island over to build a Native American Studies center, spiritual center, an ecology center, and an American Indian Museum.

Richard Oakes sent a message to the San Francisco Department of the Interior: “ We invite the United States to acknowledge the justice of our claim. The choice now lies with the leaders of the American government - to use violence upon us as before to remove us from our Great Spirit's land, or to institute a real change in its dealing with the American Indian. We do not fear your threat to charge us with crimes on our land. We and all other oppressed peoples would welcome spectacle of proof before the world of your title by genocide. Nevertheless, we seek peace.[2] �

President Richard Nixon's Special Counsel Leonard Garment took over negotiations.[2]

On Thanksgiving Day, hundreds of supporters made their way to Alcatraz to celebrate the Occupation. In December, John Trudell began daily radio broadcasts from the island. In January 1970, occupiers began publishing a newsletter.

Joseph Morris, a Blackfoot longshoreman, rented space on Pier 40 to transport supplies and people to the island.

Grace Thorpe, daughter of Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox), was one occupier. She helped convince celebrities Jane Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Marlon Brando, Jonathan Winters, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Dick Gregory to visit the island in support. Rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival donated $15,000 for a boat for reliable transport to Alcatraz.[ Then, in January 1970, 13-year-old Yvonne Oakes fell to her death. The Oakes family left Alcatraz, saying they didn't have the heart for it anymore. Some original occupiers left to return to school.

New occupiers soon came to the island, but several had drug addictions. People from San Francisco's drug and hippie culture joined them until until non-Indians were prohibited from staying overnight.

By late May, the government had cut off all electrical power and telephone service. In June, a fire destroyed many buildings.

Left without power, fresh water, and declining public sympathy and support, occupiers began leaving the island. On June 11, 1971, a large force of government officers removed the last 15 people from Alcatraz.[2] The Occupation of Alcatraz brought international attention to the plight of Native peoples in the U.S. It also sparked more than 200 instances of civil disobedience among Native people. Some call the occupation "The cradle of the modern Native American civil rights movement."

The Alcatraz Occupation led to a yearly celebration of the rights of indigenous people. It also led to the island's "UnThanksgiving Day." All visitors are welcome to attend a dawn ceremony under permits by the National Park Service.

Note: While AIM (The American Indian Movement) is often credited with the takeover, AIM wasn't involved until later.

ALCATRAZ PROCLAMATION To the Great White Father and his People 1969 We, the native Americans, re-claim the land known as Alcatraz Island in the name of all American Indians by right of discovery. We wish to be fair and honorable in our dealings with the Caucasian inhabitants of this land, and hereby offer the following treaty: We will purchase said Alcatraz Island for 24 dollars in glass beads and red cloth, a precedent set by the white man's purchase of a similar island about 300 years ago. We know that $24 in trade goods for these sixteen acres is more than was paid when Manhattan Island was sold, but we know that land values have risen over the years. Our offer of $1.24 per acre is greater than the 47 cents per acre the white men are now paying the California Indians for their land. We will give to the inhabitants of this land a portion of that land for their own, to be held in trust by the American Indian Government for as long as the sun shall rise and the rivers go down to the sea -- to be administered by the Bureau of Caucasian Affairs (BCA). We will further guide the inhabitants in the proper way of living. We will offer them our religion, our education, our life-ways, in order to help them achieve our level of civilization and thus raise them and all their white brothers up from their savage and unhappy state. We offer this treaty in good faith and wish to be fair and honorable in our dealings with all white men. We feel that this so-called Alcatraz Island is more than suitable as an Indian Reservation, as determined by the white man's own standards.

By this we mean that this place resembles most Indian reservations, in that: 1. It is isolated from modern facilities, and without adequate means of transportation.

2. It has no fresh running water.

3. The sanitation facilities are inadequate.

4. There are no oil or mineral rights.

5. There is no industry and so unemployment is very great.

6. There are no health care facilities.

7. The soil is rocky and non-productive and the land does not support game.

8. There are no educational facilities.

9. The population has always been held as prisoners and kept dependent upon others.

Further, it would be fitting and symbolic that ships from all over the world, entering the Golden Gate, would first see Indian land, and thus be reminded of the true history of this nation. This tiny island would be a symbol of the great lands once ruled by free and noble Indians.