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Before
The Occupation of Alcatraz in the late 1960’s wasn’t the first demonstration taken place on the island of Alcatraz. The very first occupation took place on March 9th, 1964. Five Native American went to the island and had claimed it was theirs because of the Great Sioux Treaty of 1868. This treaty was meant to bring peace between whites and Native Americans. It also said that federal land would revert back to the Native Americans. This eventually led to the government wanting to reconsider it. -
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Occupation of Alcatraz
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Richard Oakes
100 more Native Americans from several tribes show up on the island in hopes to get back the ownership of Alcatraz. The coast guard arrives and Richard Oakes, one of the main leaders and voices on the island speaks up. He offers to buy the land from the government with red cloth and beads. This brings atttention to the Native American culture. -
Ban of supplies
During this time period the government sets up a blockade preventing supplies from reaching the island. Alcatraz had no natural resources so everything from simple things like water had to be brought over to the people of the island. The blockade isn’t as effective as they had hoped and many more people and supplies are able to get through at this time. -
Negotiations
Negotiations are being made between the government and the people of the island but aren’t succeeding. The Indians of Alcatraz want the deed to the island. They would like to create a University, Cultural Center, and a museum. The Government doesn’t agree to these demands and offers a settlement which is turned down. The media brought sympathy to the Indians but as time went on the attention slowly decreased. -
Bad publicity
A lot of the occupiers on the island were college students, so during this time many return back to their campuses. The island's population starts to descrease but they don't give up. On this day, the stepdaughter of Richard Oakes falls to her death and so the Oakes family leaves the Island. After this, the press begins negatively reporting events on the island and making up problems like drug use which in return support for the people decreases. -
Ending of the Occupation
After months of trying to get the Native Americans to leave the island, President Nixon has the remaining people removed from Alcatraz. This was allowed as it was said the reason was so the lighthouse could be reopened for public safety. The remaining 15 occupants leave peacefully without the use of marshalls. -
After
As a result of the Occupation of Alcatraz, thousands of acres of land were returned to Native Americans. Also, a lot of acceptance was created around policies that encouraged and recognized Native American strength. After this event, 72 other occupations had occurred as the Native Americans felt empowered.
