Alcatraz - It's Other History

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 20^th 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 21^st 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 9^th 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 50^th 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

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[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 – 50^th Anniversary’, National Park Services, https://www.nps.gov/goga/red-power-on-alcatraz.htm (last accessed 12th February 2020).

[13] Ibid.