"Alcatraz Island is home to many different events for Indigenous peoples to do ceremonies. This includes showing dances to the younger generations to keep traditions alive, but also to remember the past and the things that had happened."--Celesté EAGLETON, 7th grade
Alcatraz Island is home to many different events for Indigenous peoples to do ceremonies. This includes showing dances to the younger generations to keep traditions alive, but also to remember the past and the things that had happened. People share stories about those who have been treated unfairly, and share things about what others have done to people like them. It all starts with a small boat ride to the Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco, known to be the hardest-to-escape prison.
The ceremonies are beautiful, the groups of people dancing range from many different age groups, and people teach other dances and prayers to the younger generations to keep it alive. Families all over California come together to celebrate these events, and they wake up very early in the morning for this. Sometimes some events may happen before 3 o’clock in the morning, and end later around 7. It ends when the sun finally comes up, so the ceremonies can be cold and early.
In Alcatraz, during the boat trip to the island, you can purchase some snacks. Hot chocolate is available because of the cold weather, even other hot drinks. Food is still limited though, only a few types of food are sold. You can’t bring your own food, so if you want to eat on the island, you have to purchase little snacks on the boat ride to Alcatraz. The only bathrooms available are before you go on the island, and on the boats. There are no bathrooms on the island, but only on the boats when you go before/after on the island. Food is not expensive on the boat, but because it’s San Francisco, eating from places near Alcatraz can be very expensive.
On Thanksgiving, Alcatraz will be holding a really cool event for what they call “UnThanksgiving” day. I wanted to talk about why these events are important, and what these events are. The Alcatraz occupation was the first intertribal protest action to focus the nation’s attention on the situation of native’s in the United States. Alcatraz is known as a symbol of Indigenous survival in North America. The Alcatraz slogan, “Alcatraz is Not an Island” came to mean that the occupation was more than just an occupation of the island. It was about justice and a better life for Native Americans and Indians. Over the years, Native Americans in America have been treated unfairly even though the land belonged to their ancestors, so the Alcatraz occupation from them meant a lot more than what it seemed to others. It brings attention to the mistreatment of them, and it makes people more aware of what was actually going on.
During Alcatraz ceremonies, people also tell stories of mistreatment. This can get a little dark, but these stories are important. One such story is of Timothy Charles Lee, a black, Native American, gay man that was killed near a bart station in 1985 in Concord. He was not suicidal, but people claimed it was a suicide and ignored the situation. Frank Sterling was asking for help to reopen the case, and would not let the situation be ignored again.This is only one of the examples for mistreatment to Native Americans and people of different races.
Many other things like this happened on Alcatraz, when people share stories about mistreatment and justice. The case of Timothy Charles Lee is only one of them, and hopefully a new investigation will be launched by the help of Sterling. Alcatraz stories help raise awareness, and help people get justice that they deserve.
So why is there an UnThanksgiving day event at Alcatraz? Why is it now used for native events? This all started many many years ago, in 1969. There was a protest on Alcatraz, about the ways the US stole and brutalized land by Native Americans. A group of indigenous Americans, 89 in total, on November 20th, 1969 took boats for early morning hours to Alcatraz Island, and they bypassed a coast guard blockade and took control over the island. If you go to Alcatraz today, you can see a message written on the walls of Alcatraz. A message painted red reads out “Home of the Free Indian Land.” Other buildings have messages too on the island, some messages saying “Red Power” and “Custer had it coming.”
The reason they did this is because the US had gone too far in their abuse of Native Americans, an example of this was Timothy Charles Lee, whose murder was ignored and claimed as a suicide. Native American activists occupied the island for 19 months to bring attention to past injustices and contemporary issues confronting Native Americans. After the 1969 protest, in 1972, National Park service purchased the island to establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Park.
Who exactly were the group of people that started the Alcatraz occupation protest?
The 1969 Alcatraz Occupation was led by Richard Oakes, the starter of the “Red Power” movement. But sadly, in 1972, he was shot in rural Sonoma County. His killer was a man of the name Michael Morgan, fired one shot of a pistol into the heart of Richard that killed him immediately. When an investigator came to the scene, Morgan claimed that Richard surprised him from behind one of the trees and threatened to kill him. “Surprisingly” Morgan was not found guilty, and continued to live until 1999 when he died of old age. Just like how Timothy Charles Lee’s murderer was not found guilty, and how many other cases like this, the murderer is never found guilty.
However, not all Alcatraz stories are tragic. LaNada War Jack is a woman who was one of the main protestors of the Alcatraz occupation. After the occupation, LaNada got a bachelor's degree at a university. In the early 1990’s, she got a PhD in political science from another university. She continued her activism for Native American people.
The Alcatraz occupation is recognized as the most important event in Native American history. It was the first protest to grab the nation’s attention because of terrible treatment and ignorance to Native Americans.
What types of events are going to be on the island? On Indigenous Peoples day, there is a Sunrise Ceremony that remembers a historic protest and the Alcatraz occupation.On Thanksgiving day, there is another event, but it’s known as “UnThanksgiving day.” You might be confused why it is called this, but I can explain why. History tells us that the English colonists and the Wamponoag people were great friends, and had a huge feast. The pilgrims fell ill because of the terrible trip on the Mayflower, the limited food. and rough seas killed many. The Wamponoag people helped the pilgrims by teaching them how to plant, grow, and use natural resources to survive. The illness spread to the Wampanoag people and killed many. The Europeans repaid the Native Americans by imprisoning, enslaving, and executing Native people.
James Chilton, believed to be the oldest person on the Mayflower, wrote a scathing indictment of the Pilgrims. He described how the pilgrims desecrated Native American graves, stealing food and land, and killed most of the population by disease. It’s believed they killed the leader of the tribe, Massasoit, too.
Many other stories are shared on Alcatraz, and many other events are held on the island. At these ceremonies, you sit around a campfire with many others, and you celebrate different holidays. Alcatraz events like this are important to many, all starting from one of the most important events in Native American history. Even if it isn’t an Indigenous holiday, you can go to Alcatraz for tours to go see the island yourself.
The ceremonies are beautiful, the groups of people dancing range from many different age groups, and people teach other dances and prayers to the younger generations to keep it alive. Families all over California come together to celebrate these events, and they wake up very early in the morning for this. Sometimes some events may happen before 3 o’clock in the morning, and end later around 7. It ends when the sun finally comes up, so the ceremonies can be cold and early.
In Alcatraz, during the boat trip to the island, you can purchase some snacks. Hot chocolate is available because of the cold weather, even other hot drinks. Food is still limited though, only a few types of food are sold. You can’t bring your own food, so if you want to eat on the island, you have to purchase little snacks on the boat ride to Alcatraz. The only bathrooms available are before you go on the island, and on the boats. There are no bathrooms on the island, but only on the boats when you go before/after on the island. Food is not expensive on the boat, but because it’s San Francisco, eating from places near Alcatraz can be very expensive.
On Thanksgiving, Alcatraz will be holding a really cool event for what they call “UnThanksgiving” day. I wanted to talk about why these events are important, and what these events are. The Alcatraz occupation was the first intertribal protest action to focus the nation’s attention on the situation of native’s in the United States. Alcatraz is known as a symbol of Indigenous survival in North America. The Alcatraz slogan, “Alcatraz is Not an Island” came to mean that the occupation was more than just an occupation of the island. It was about justice and a better life for Native Americans and Indians. Over the years, Native Americans in America have been treated unfairly even though the land belonged to their ancestors, so the Alcatraz occupation from them meant a lot more than what it seemed to others. It brings attention to the mistreatment of them, and it makes people more aware of what was actually going on.
During Alcatraz ceremonies, people also tell stories of mistreatment. This can get a little dark, but these stories are important. One such story is of Timothy Charles Lee, a black, Native American, gay man that was killed near a bart station in 1985 in Concord. He was not suicidal, but people claimed it was a suicide and ignored the situation. Frank Sterling was asking for help to reopen the case, and would not let the situation be ignored again.This is only one of the examples for mistreatment to Native Americans and people of different races.
Many other things like this happened on Alcatraz, when people share stories about mistreatment and justice. The case of Timothy Charles Lee is only one of them, and hopefully a new investigation will be launched by the help of Sterling. Alcatraz stories help raise awareness, and help people get justice that they deserve.
So why is there an UnThanksgiving day event at Alcatraz? Why is it now used for native events? This all started many many years ago, in 1969. There was a protest on Alcatraz, about the ways the US stole and brutalized land by Native Americans. A group of indigenous Americans, 89 in total, on November 20th, 1969 took boats for early morning hours to Alcatraz Island, and they bypassed a coast guard blockade and took control over the island. If you go to Alcatraz today, you can see a message written on the walls of Alcatraz. A message painted red reads out “Home of the Free Indian Land.” Other buildings have messages too on the island, some messages saying “Red Power” and “Custer had it coming.”
The reason they did this is because the US had gone too far in their abuse of Native Americans, an example of this was Timothy Charles Lee, whose murder was ignored and claimed as a suicide. Native American activists occupied the island for 19 months to bring attention to past injustices and contemporary issues confronting Native Americans. After the 1969 protest, in 1972, National Park service purchased the island to establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Park.
Who exactly were the group of people that started the Alcatraz occupation protest?
The 1969 Alcatraz Occupation was led by Richard Oakes, the starter of the “Red Power” movement. But sadly, in 1972, he was shot in rural Sonoma County. His killer was a man of the name Michael Morgan, fired one shot of a pistol into the heart of Richard that killed him immediately. When an investigator came to the scene, Morgan claimed that Richard surprised him from behind one of the trees and threatened to kill him. “Surprisingly” Morgan was not found guilty, and continued to live until 1999 when he died of old age. Just like how Timothy Charles Lee’s murderer was not found guilty, and how many other cases like this, the murderer is never found guilty.
However, not all Alcatraz stories are tragic. LaNada War Jack is a woman who was one of the main protestors of the Alcatraz occupation. After the occupation, LaNada got a bachelor's degree at a university. In the early 1990’s, she got a PhD in political science from another university. She continued her activism for Native American people.
The Alcatraz occupation is recognized as the most important event in Native American history. It was the first protest to grab the nation’s attention because of terrible treatment and ignorance to Native Americans.
What types of events are going to be on the island? On Indigenous Peoples day, there is a Sunrise Ceremony that remembers a historic protest and the Alcatraz occupation.On Thanksgiving day, there is another event, but it’s known as “UnThanksgiving day.” You might be confused why it is called this, but I can explain why. History tells us that the English colonists and the Wamponoag people were great friends, and had a huge feast. The pilgrims fell ill because of the terrible trip on the Mayflower, the limited food. and rough seas killed many. The Wamponoag people helped the pilgrims by teaching them how to plant, grow, and use natural resources to survive. The illness spread to the Wampanoag people and killed many. The Europeans repaid the Native Americans by imprisoning, enslaving, and executing Native people.
James Chilton, believed to be the oldest person on the Mayflower, wrote a scathing indictment of the Pilgrims. He described how the pilgrims desecrated Native American graves, stealing food and land, and killed most of the population by disease. It’s believed they killed the leader of the tribe, Massasoit, too.
Many other stories are shared on Alcatraz, and many other events are held on the island. At these ceremonies, you sit around a campfire with many others, and you celebrate different holidays. Alcatraz events like this are important to many, all starting from one of the most important events in Native American history. Even if it isn’t an Indigenous holiday, you can go to Alcatraz for tours to go see the island yourself.
