On Saturday evening Oct. 19 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., in the copper mining town of Miami, Ariz. a presentation on the historic Occupation of Alcatraz takeover will be held at Bullion Plaza Cultural Center and Museum. The event will include a film “The Indian Occupation of Alcatraz” along with guest speaker ASU Associate Professor James Riding In (Pawnee) who vividly recalls “when my ship returned from Vietnam in November 1969, the Alcatraz takeover was in progress. The event had a profound impact on me.”

On Nov. 20, 1969, 89 men, women, and children of various tribal nations descended upon the island of Alcatraz and claimed it on behalf of all tribal nations. The activist group who dubbed themselves “Indians of All Tribes” had globally awoken the world to the mistreatment and unmet needs of tribal nations in the United States.

The 19-month siege laid a path for several legislative bills that would be enacted on behalf of tribal nations. One of the adopted legislations, in 1970, was the removal of the Indian Termination Policy which sought to dismantle tribal reservations and assimilate Native Americans into the mainstream American society. Noted celebrities including Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, and Anthony Quinn stepped onto the rousing island to show their support, as well as the famed band Creedence Clearwater Revival donating funds to buy a boat for ferrying.

Isaac Curley (Apache/Navajo), founder of Apache Arrows Film Festival, says “as we pay tribute to its 50th year, I feel that the natives and non-natives should become acquainted with the Occupation of Alcatraz. The Occupation, like rippling water, generated the dynamics for the passing of numerous legislative acts so all tribes, as sovereign nations, could govern their own.”

Originally serving as a prison for military personnel, Alcatraz did make exceptions. In 1895, 19 Hopi men were incarcerated for seven months. Their misdeeds were a result of not using farming methods issued by the government and resistance to having their children taken and sent to distant government boarding schools.

Pursuant to the Occupation, U.S. President Richard Nixon, would provide tribal nations with the greatest degree of support in U.S. history. In addition to his repealing the Indian Termination Policy, from 1969–1974 he signed more than 50 Congressional bills and enactments on behalf of tribal nations.

Some of these actions included returning sacred Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo in northern New Mexico, the then-terminated Menominee Nation in Wisconsin was returned to federal recognition status, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget swelled by more than 200 percent.

Sadly, internal power struggles, diminishing public support and occupants returning to the academic life took a toll on the spirited movement that rekindled the fires within tribal nations.

Eventually, electric power was cutoff to the island, water delivery waned and on June 10, 1971 the last of the few occupants were removed, bringing an end to the proclaimed “We Hold the Rock” and “Occupation of Alcatraz.” Two years after the siege ended, Alcatraz Island would open as a U.S. national park in 1973 and attracted more than 50,000 visitors.

The free public program “Indian Occupation of Alcatraz 50th Annual Commemoration” is in conjunction with 36th Apache Jii cultural celebration in nearby City of Globe that draws 5,000 attendees. Interested individuals may contact Isaac Curley at highhogan@msn.com.