Occupation of Alcatraz, November 1969 through June 1971​

 

In November 1969, a group of Native American activists, who took on the name Indians of All Tribes (IOAT), occupied Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.  The IOAT claimed the island under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie between the U.S. and the Lakota tribe, which stated that all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal land would be returned to the Indians who once occupied it.  The infamous federal penitentiary on the island had been closed since 1962 and declared surplus property. 

 The occupiers wanted complete Indian control over the island for the purpose of building a cultural center that included Native American Studies, an American Indian spiritual center, an ecology center, and an American Indian Museum. They spoke out against the U.S. Government’s Termination Policy (1953), which sought to disband American Indian tribes, relocate Indians off of reservations to urban areas, and sell off their land in direct violation of the government’s treaty obligations.   

The 19-month long occupation signaled the rise of the Red Power Movement and a resurgence in the struggle for Native sovereignty.

This image from November 25, 1969, documents the early days of the Alcatraz Occupation, which started on November 20, 1969.

AP Image, courtesy of Mashable, https://mashable.com/2016/11/13/occupation-of-alcatraz/

Occupiers gather on November 26, 1969.  The island reached its highest population on Nov. 27, 1969, when some 400 Native Americans gathered on Thanksgiving Day.

Robert W. Klein/AP, courtesy of Mashable, https://mashable.com/2016/11/13/occupation-of-alcatraz/

Trail of Broken Treaties, 1972

Thousands of Native protestors from a dozen Indian organizations across the country poured into the nation’s capital on October 31, 1972, to participate in the Trail of Broken Treaties. They presented a list of twenty demands that emphasized that Indian peoples were members of sovereign nations and should be negotiated with on that basis. Approximately 500 protestors overtook and occupied the Bureau of Indian Affairs building on the night of November 2, 1972. With the American Indian Movement (AIM) taking on a leadership role, the occupation lasted until November 8th.  The protesters gathered thousands of incriminating documents detailing the theft of Native American resources by corporations aided by Congress.

John Crow of the Bureau of Indian Affairs negotiates with protestors using a bullhorn on November 2, 1972, the first day of the Trail of Broken Treaties demonstrations.

Photo by Geoffrey Gilbert. Courtesy of the DC Public Library Washington Star Collection. Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture) speaks with Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner Louis Bruce November 3, 1972 shortly before Carmichael entered the building to meet with Native Americans who had seized the building.

Photo by Joseph Silverman. Courtesy of the DC Public Library Washington Star Collection.  Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Native protestors occupy the Bureau of Indian Affairs Building during the Trail of Broken Treaties, November 5, 1972.

Photo by Paul Schmick. Courtesy of the DC Public Library Washington Star Collection. Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

A commemorative poster created for a 1973 exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California.

The artist is unknown. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Collection, National Museum of the American Indian.

Native American demonstrators rest on November 6, 1972 during their seizure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They built barricades and confiscated thousands of secret BIA documents. They set up food distribution, childcare, health care, cleaning, and security to sustain the occupation.

Photo by Brig Cabe. Courtesy of the DC Public Library Washington Star Collection. Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Native Americans gather in the auditorium of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C. on November 2, 1972 during a takeover of the building. Auditorium chairs are piled against the entrance as a barricade.

Photo by John Bowden. Courtesy of the DC Public Library Washington Star Collection. Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

A wall within the Bureau of Indian Affairs featuring the names of many of the native tribes that participated in the Trail of Broken Treaties and the BIA occupation, 1972.

The photographer is unknown. The image is housed in the DC Public Library Washington Star Collection. Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public

Summary of the 20-Point Position Paper that was presented to the federal government during the Trail of Broken Treaties.

Trail of Self Determination, July 1976

The American Indian Movement (AIM) organized The Trail of Self-Determination as a way to challenge federal authorities and gain publicity for their demands during the nation’s Bicentennial celebration.  The caravan began in Washington state with the Yakima Nation and wound its way across the country to Washington, DC in June 1976.  While the Trail was underway, AIM leader Russell Means was shot and wounded for the third time, allegedly by a BIA police officer. 

The Trail of Self-Determination adopted the 20-point demands of the earlier Trail of Broken Treaties that occupied the BIA in Washington, D.C. in 1972.  Protestors focused on economic self-determination: expanded land use rights, revision of mineral concessions and “permanent sovereignty over natural resources.”

(left) American University Students join Trail of Self-Determination demonstrators at a drum circle on the AU campus, 1976.

Photo by Walter Oates. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Native protestors with the Trail of Self-Determination raise their fists at the White House, 1976.
Protestors march through Lafayette Square on their way to the White House as part of the Trail of Self-Determination, 1976.
On the July 4th Bicentennial, the group gathered in front of the White House to a beating drum demanding a meeting with President Gerald Ford and a joint session of Congress to establish a new system of Indian self-government and greater control over their natural resources.

Above photos by Glen Leach. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection.  Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

The Longest Walk, 1978

A poster advertising the Longest Walk, 1978. Courtesy Dennis Banks and Takeo Koshikawa

More than 2,000 Native Protestors and supporters marched into the nation’s capital on July 15, 1978, on the last leg of a 3,200 mile journey by foot from Alcatraz Island, CA to Washington, D.C. The Longest Walk, which began in February, followed the route of the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties. The Walk was spurred by the introduction of 11 bills that would strip Native Americans of water rights and abrogated treaties. None of the bills passed. Celebrities Dick Gregory, Marlon Brando, Muhammad Ali, Stevie Wonder, and Richie Havens showed their support by participating in many of the culminating events in Washington, DC.

Native Americans march on Columbia Pike in Silver Spring, Md. July 15, 1978 nearing the end of their cross-country demonstration.

Photo by Bob Grieser. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection.  Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Participants in the Longest Walk rally in Malcolm X Park in Washington, D.C. July 15, 1978.

Photos by Bob Grieser. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection.  Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

An American Indian Movement teepee set up on the Washington Monument grounds July 16, 1978 during the “Longest Walk” demonstrations.

Photo by Bill Wilson. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection. Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Protestors gather around the drum circle July 16, 1978 in front of the White House as part of the Longest Walk demonstrations.

Photo by Leach. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection.  Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Native demonstrators march through Washington, DC on July 17, 1978 toward the U.S. Capitol.

Photo by Bill Wilson. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection. Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Native Americans rally at the Capitol July 17, 1978 during the Longest Walk demonstrations demanding that Congress honor native treaty rights.

Photo by Bill Wilson. The image is courtesy of the D.C. Public Library Washington Star Collection. Special thanks to the Washington Area Spark Flickr page for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Activists were joined by various celebrity figures for a concert to mark the end of the Longest Walk in July 1978. From left to right: Muhammad Ali, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Harold Smith, Stevie Wonder, Marlon Brando, Max Gail, Dick Gregory, Richie Havens, and David Amram.

Photo courtesy of David Amran.  Special thanks to the National Museum of the American Indian for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Poster from The Longest Walk. Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Collection.

The Longest Walk, 1978 Documentary

Special thanks to uploader NaBahe KatenayKeediniihii on Vimeo

The Longest Walk II, 2008

Participants of the Longest Walk 2 arrive in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008. The walk proceeds along Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Capitol.

Thirty years Later in 2008, over 800 individuals from more than one hundred tribes participated in the Longest Walk II. The Walk began in Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay and arrived in Washington, D.C., in July. Participants echoed the calls for Native sovereignty from three decades prior, as well as emphasized the need for protection of sacred sites and the environment. 

The Longest Walk movement has continued with the Longest Walk III (2011), Longest Walk IV (2013—starting in Washington, D.C and ending in Alcatraz), and Longest Walk V (2016).

(Right) Longest Walk II leader and member of the Anishinaabe, Ojibwa, Dennis Banks, speaks on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., 2008

Both photos above courtesy of Brita V. Brookes. Special thanks to the US National Library of Medicine for making this photo and its context available to the public.

Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration at Malcolm X Park

Malcolm X Park, Washington, D.C. | October 17, 2020

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and to celebrate the unbreakable bonds of friendship and solidarity between Indigenous (including Hispanic and Latino) Peoples, Palestinian People, African People (including all People of African Descent), and Other Oppressed Peoples, the Piscataway Indian Nation, the American Indian Support Project, the National Council of Arab Americans, the Hiroshima Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Region, the All African People’s Revolutionary Party (GC), and Pan African Roots planned an Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at the lower end of Malcom X Park (also known as Meridian Hill Park).

The Humanities Truck and AU’s Public History Program displayed “The Trail to Indigenous Peoples’ Day” exhibit and conducted oral history interviews.

Not sure how to record your own?  Click the “SCHEDULE” button and scroll to the bottom of the page for a guide or e-mail us at humanitiestruck@gmail.com with your questions or concerns.

Land Acknowledgement

We are meeting virtually on Turtle Island, the Indigenous term for the North American continent. Washington, DC is located where the Anacostia and Potomac rivers flow together.  The Anacostia is named after the Nacostine people, who allied with the Piscataway and maintained their large village Nacotchtank on the river plain where the two rivers merge.

We recognize that Malcolm X Park, where we gather today, sits on the ancestral land of the Piscataway people in Washington, DC. We offer our respects to the elders, past and present citizens, of the Piscataway Indian Nation and Tayac Territory who are with us today, the Piscataway Conoy Confederacy and Sub-Tribes, and the Cedarville Band of the Piscataway Conoy.

We also acknowledge the many other Native groups who now call this area home. 

While a land acknowledgement is not enough, it is an important social justice and decolonial practice that promotes Indigenous visibility and reminds us that we are on sacred land. Let this land acknowledgement be an opening for all of us to contemplate the ongoing struggles to resist colonial indoctrination undertaken by various Indigenous movements for identity, sovereignty, and self-determination.

Credits

Humanities Truck and AU Public History Program

Dan Kerr

Laura Sislen

Kai Walther

 

Carmen Bolt

Anastasia Murray

Jessica Davis

Luke Booraday

 

Sajel Swartz

Yael Horowitz

Shae Corey

Special Thanks

Noel Lopez

Linda Shopes

DC Public Library

National Library of Medicine

Smithsonian Institution

Washington Area Spark / Flickr

Mashable.com

Scroll to Top