Indians of North America -- Alcatraz

Photo Collection One

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Loose barbed wire hung free all over the island. The wind played with it,and the singing sound of the wire could be heard everywhere.

Occupiers on the dock.

Belvia Cottier (Sioux) and a young friend on Alcatraz, May 31, 1970. Cottier assisted in the planning of the 1964 and 1969 occupations of Alcatraz Island.

Indian people and their supporters wait for the ferry.

Indian boys stand amidst the empty prison cells in the main cellblock.

This young Navajo man came from Arizona to join the occupation. It was his first time away from the reservation.

Norren and Meade Chibathi, Comanche Indians from Oklahoma, spent time on Alcatraz in 1970, teaching Indian music and dance.

Waiting for the boat in the fog is Ed Castillo on the right (wrapped in a blanket). With him is Gail Treppa, a Pomo Indian woman. Ed is now a professor in the Native American studies program at Sonoma (California) State University. In the middle are Sue Tiger and her sister. Sue died in1992.

The spirit of Alcatraz spread far, as demonstrated by this Paiute Indian from Nevada.

An Indian occupier waits for a boat to the mainland. Island residents often traveled back and forth to attend school, to work on the mainland, or just to take showers and relax.

Two Indian children play on abandoned Justice Departmant equipment on Alcatraz Island, 1970.

Eighteen-year-old Oohosis and friend stand at Pier 40 after the removal. "The Indians were finally standing up and really doing something against what the government has done to us."

One of the last occupiers leaves Alcatraz Island, June 11, 1971.

For many people, the occupation was the first time they had been surrounded by other Indian people. The experience was one of cultural renewal, exhilaration, and a new-found sense of Indianness.

The fog comes in over Alcatraz. An Indian woman walks toward the Ira Hayes House on the lower level of the island.

On the mainland, on June 11,1971, Harold Patty (left), a Paiute Indian from Nevada, and Oohosis (second from left), a young Cree Indian from Canada, join two friends in demonstrating that the spirit will continue.

This drawing indicates that the government had forcibly taken back - "ripped off" - Alcatraz Island. "Hoka Hay!!" translates roughly as "It Is Over." This poster appeared in Berkeley, California, the morning after the removal.

In this view of Alcatraz from an approaching boat, the main cellblock is clearly visible on the upper level of the island.

Alcatraz Island appeared this way from a passing boat follwing the June 1970 fire. Note the burned-out buildings and scorched lighthouse on the upper level.

Leaders of the occupation met in this tipi to consider government offers and to plan responses.

Michael Leach (Colville/Sioux) stand in the boat on the way to Alcatraz Island.

Signs hung on the dock on Alcatraz Island read, from left to right, "Red Power. Indians," "Human Rights, Free Indians," "Remember this land was taken from us!" "Alcatraz for Indians."

An Indian man arrives at Pier 40 on the mainland following the removal in June 1971. Indians of All Tribes operated a receiving facility on Pier 40, where donated materials were stored and where Indian people could wait for boats to transport them to Alcatraz Island.

On Alcatraz Island, May 31, 1970, an unidentified Indian woman waits for the ferry.

An Indian woman on Alcatraz Island.

Alcatraz Island!

The industries building on the lower level of Alcatraz Island was in bad repair and very dangerous.

William Lope (Pit River/Pomo) and a playmate run into the sunshine.

Donna Cottier, daughter of Belvia Cottier, stands with a young Chicano friend on Alcatraz Island in 1970.

An occupier, arriving on the mainland after the June 11, 1971 removal, is greeted by the press.