The Occupation of Alcatraz

Sage Road Traveler Longoria of the Caddo Nation in Oklahoma (facing camera) with her children and sister Diana Vargas (facing left). Diana and her husband,
Roberto Vargas, founded the Mission Cultural Center in San Francisco, a now famous institution. May 30, 1970. | ILKA HARTMANN

At first the Occupation was wildly popular, attracting thousands of Native Americans on a pilgrimage to the cold, windy island in San Francisco Bay. It was widely supported in the Bay Area. Celebrities arrived and donations poured in. The press came from all over the country, and even Europe and Japan. The Occupiers wrote messages of peace and freedom around the former prison island and discussed plans to build a cultural and education center for Native Americans.

Public support for the Occupation waned in June 1970 when fires claimed four structures on the island. Most of the occupiers left as donations dried up and living on the Rock grew more difficult. Federal Marshals arrived on June 11, 1971 to remove the final fifteen.

When hearing of the removal, one of the original occupiers, Richard Oakes stated to the press, “Alcatraz is not an island. It is an idea.” That idea sparked a Red Power movement that continues on to today.