Occupation of Alcatraz
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. The group lived on the island together until the protest was forcibly ended by the U.S. government.
| Occupation of Alcatraz | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Red Power movement and political violence in the United States during the Cold War | |||
Markings from the occupation of Alcatraz as it appeared in 2010 | |||
| Date | November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971 (1 year, 6 months and 22 days) | ||
| Location | 37°49′36″N 122°25′22″W | ||
| Caused by | Violations of the Treaty of Fort Laramie | ||
| Goals | Awareness of American Indian oppression | ||
| Parties | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
Leonard Garment | |||
| Number | |||
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| Casualties | |||
| Death(s) | One (accidental) | ||
The protest group chose the name Indians of All Tribes (IAT) for themselves. IAT claimed that, under the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the U.S. and the Lakota tribe, all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal land was to be returned to the Indigenous peoples who once occupied it. As Alcatraz penitentiary had been closed on March 21, 1963, and the island had been declared surplus federal property in 1964, a number of Red Power activists felt that the island qualified for a reclamation by Indians.
The Occupation of Alcatraz had a brief effect on federal Indian Termination policies and established a precedent for Indian activism. Oakes was shot to death in 1972, and the American Indian Movement was later targeted by the federal government and the FBI in COINTELPRO operations.