“The Sacred Laws of Mother Earth”: the 1969 Occupation of Alcatraz

Image: Elizabeth Sunflower, Retro Photo Archive.

The 1960s in the United States is popularly remembered as a period of intense social activism, bringing to mind huge, angry crowds in Washington DC, protesting anything from the Vietnam War to feminism.  

However, on the West Coast, a lesser-known storm was brewing. Let down by the 1950s government relocation program, young Native Americans on college campuses across California began eyeing up opportunities to call out the theft of native land, and the subsequent mistreatment of Natives. A rock in the San Francisco Bay harbour proved to be this opportunity.  

The Beginning 

The year is 1964. Poorly supported reservations and a lack of opportunities have led to a flood of Natives moving into urban areas. However, they were discriminated against in all areas of life, from housing to healthcare. Discriminatory policing practices led to violence against Natives; there was no social mobility. This abandonment led urban Natives to organise together in social clubs, leaning on each other for support.  

Meanwhile, Alcatraz Prison had been closed for three years. The rock was disused. In March 1964, five Sioux occupied the rock, proclaiming the territory to be rightfully theirs under the 1868 Sioux Treaty. The treaty had been meant to protect Native American land rights. However, the United States government and itsproxies illegally conquered vast swathes of land supposedly protected by the treaty. Nevertheless, the treaty had a clause interpretable as meaning that any disused government land could be turned into a Native American reservation, hence the occupation. 

These Sioux represented the urban Native Americans of the Bay Area. While they were dispersed by US Marshals in a matter of hours, the stunt demonstrated a palpable public anger at the situation of Native Americans. 

‘Red Power’: the formation of AIM 

Inspired by the successes of the African American civil rights movement, young urban Native Americans in 1968 created the American Indian Movement. Civil disobedience in varying forms, including sit-ins, was heavily encouraged. The movement aimed to raise awareness of discrimination against Natives, and to inspire young Natives to be proud of their heritage. 

The major difference between the AIM and most African American rights groups was that the AIM, and Native Americans in general, didn’t want any kind ofintegration. Instead, they were dead set on self-determination: freedom from the interference of the United States government. 

Due to close timings, the AIM is often falsely given credit for the occupation. However, it wasn’t strictly involved in the occupation, coming into its own only after the occupation had ended. 

Reconquering Alcatraz 

The national mood of America in 1969 was incredibly tense, owing to the huge variety of nationwide mass demonstrations. Meanwhile, Native Americans across the country had been filing in court to obtain better protection for their land rights. New federal poverty funding had been secured; the struggles of Native America were enjoying a rare moment of sympathy.  

In California, authorities renewed the debate on what to do with Alcatraz. When the American Indian Centre was destroyed by a fire, the need for awareness and funding pushed a small group of local Native college students to set out to reclaim Alcatraz in November 1969. One of these students, Richard Oakes, convinced dozens more to come to the island. Their numbers now totalled one hundred. The sit-in had begun. 

Occupation 

The protesters operated a mini society, with rotas for cooking, cleaning, and security. They had their own radio and newsletter; meetings discussing the occupation were daily. While Oakes is commonly seen as the figurehead, he wasn’t the leader: egalitarianism was the aim. The provisions of the 1868 Treaty were again invoked. The protesters wanted a reservation, with the establishment of a Native-only college: self-determination. 

The occupation was defined by its peacefulness. A blockade formed by the Coast Guard was quickly disbanded. Protesters were free to come and go, and there were no violent confrontations. While the federal government pleaded with the protesters to leave, no real action was taken to make this happen. Public opinion was on their side, with media coverage being sympathetic, and high.  

However, in January 1970, Oakes’ daughter fell from one of the buildings, dying the following day. Dealing a blow to the occupation, Oakes wouldn’t return to the protest. 

In March 1970, negotiations with the federal government continued to fail. The solutions the government offered weren’t the total control of Alcatraz that the Indians of All Tribes, now the name for the movement, wanted. Alcatraz was now a national symbol of ‘Red Power’; ceding even an inch of ground to the government would undermine the entire movement.  

A fire in June gutted the buildings on the island. Accident or not, it slowed plans for the renovation of Alcatraz by the local government, creating tension. In November, people were in high spirits as they celebrated one year of occupation. However, their numbers were dwindling. A hard winter reduced numbers further, and by June 1971, the last protesters were escorted off from the island.  

Legacy 

The eighteen-month occupation of Alcatraz is absolutely iconic in the furtherance of Native rights, and the awareness of Native issues. It helped bring about a change in national policy under Nixon towards self-determination for Natives, including legal guarantees, which was the major demand of the protesters. A now-closed all-Native college was established in California in 1971; another, in Arizona, lasts to this day.  

Importantly, the occupation gave young Native Americans hope, and a playbook in achieving change. It was the inspiration for the notorious AIM protests of the 1970s, such as the 1978 ‘Longest Walk’. Without this vital episode, Native America wouldn’t be what it is today. It deserves to be remembered alongside other iconic civil rights demonstrations of this era. 

Bibliography 

Troy Johnson. ‘The Occupation of Alcatraz Island: Roots of American Indian Activism.’ Wicazo Sa Review, vol. 10, no. 2 (1994), 63–79. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1409133. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026. 

David Milner. ‘“By Right of Discovery”: the media and the Native American occupation of Alcatraz, 1969-1971.’ Australasian Journal of American Studies, vol. 33, no. 1 (2014) 73–86. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44706138. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026. 

Richard DeLuca. ‘‘We Hold the Rock!’: The Indian Attempt to Reclaim Alcatraz Island.’ California History, vol. 62, no. 1, (1983) 2–22. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/25158134. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026. 

Dean J. Kotlowksi. ‘Alcatraz, Wounded Knee, and Beyond: The Nixon and Ford Administrations Respond to Native American Protest.’ Pacific Historical Review, vol. 72, no. 2, (2003) 201–27. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2003.72.2.201. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.