Alcatraz - It's Other History
The 1960s is known as a decade filled with protests
and activism, however this focuses on campaigns such as the Civil Rights
struggle, Vietnam or Women’s liberation. Alongside this there were other issues
developing such as the plight of the Native Americans. With a long history of
injustices against them, Native Americans have often been the subject of forced
relocation as America expanded and wanted to claim their land. This was no
different in the 1960s, as from the 1950s they had begun to relocate them from
their reservations in an attempt to claim further land from them.[1] This resulted in the movement of many Native Americans to the San Francisco Bay Area, where up to
fifteen to twenty thousand lived by the mid-60s.[2] Their concentration there
generated unrest as they felt they were being ignored and many promises from
the government were broken. Taking inspiration from the protest movements of the
1960s, on
20th November 1969 fourteen Native Americans chose to stage a
protest and take hold of the island of Alcatraz.[3] It represents another
fight for equality that had been taking place throughout the century, but was given adequate media coverage and attention in the 1960s, raising awareness for their
situation and feeding the popularity of the protest.
On the 21st March 1963 the infamous
Alcatraz prison closed.[4] It was not until 1973 that
it would open its doors as a tourist attraction, but today it receives around
one million visitors a year.[5] Alcatraz has been depicted
within popular culture numerous times through films such as Birdman and The
Rock featuring Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery. However, none of the common
images of Alcatraz depict history that Native Americans share with the island.
Located off the coast of San Francisco, the small
island was originally home to a US Army fortress, built in the early 1850s to
protect the bay during the Gold Rush era.[6] It was used by the
military to house prisoners in the 1800s, but did not become home to a federal
prison until 1934 when it was handed over to the Department of Justice
for that purpose.[7]
Its location meant that it was used to hold maximum security prisoners who
would receive ‘minimum privileges’ and it was seen as inescapable, but this did
not stop the 36
men who tried to escape during the 14 attempts that were
made.[8]
After
the site was closed it was abandoned with many suggestions brought forward for
regeneration of the site. But in 1969 it was declared ‘Indian Land’, which
would be used to create a Native American cultural and educational centre.[9] There had been previous
attempts to claim the land for Native Americans in 1964 and again on 9th
November 1969, but the lack of media coverage and public attention meant that
it went by mostly unnoticed.[10] However, it did inspire
the later activists, who took action after the San Francisco Indian Centre
burned down earlier in 1969.[11] By 1971 the government
removed the American Indians from the island as the organisation fell into
disarray and there were increasing problems within the campaign. Therefore,
while it was not a successful movement in terms of creating a base for their
culture and history, it did raise awareness of their plight and struggle
against the government.
Last year they began their celebrations to mark the 50th
anniversary of the occupation of Alcatraz.[12] Through nineteen months
of special events ending in June 2020, mirroring the nineteen months they
occupied the island, and an exhibition titled ‘Red
Power on Alcatraz, Perspectives 50 Years Later’ , they have raised awareness and ensured this event has not been forgotten.[13]
By Fyona Cunningham
[1]
Troy R. Johnson, The American Indian Occupation of Alcatraz Island Red Power
and Self-Determination (United States of America: University of Nebraska
Press, 2008), p. 8.
[2]
Ibid., p. 9.
[3]
Sherry L. Smith, Hippies, Indians, & the Fight for Red Power (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 85.
[4] ‘Alcatraz’,
Federal Bureau of Prisons, https://www.bop.gov/about/history/alcatraz.jsp
(last accessed 12th February 2020).
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Smith,
p. 86
[11]
Ibid.
[12] ‘American
Indian Occupation – 50th Anniversary’, National Park Services,
https://www.nps.gov/goga/red-power-on-alcatraz.htm
(last accessed 12th February 2020).
[13] Ibid.
