This week marked the 50th anniversary of the occupation of Alcatraz, when a group of Native American students landed on the San Francisco Bay island, launching a 19-month occupation based on an established legal principle of reclaiming abandoned federal lands for Native use.
Now, for the next 19 months â the same amount of time that the Indians of All Tribes called the island home â an exhibit in the New Industries Building on that occupation titled “Red Power on Alcatraz: Perspectives 50 Years Later” will be open to the public.
But the cliffside building was more than a gallery this week. It was a site of reunion, reflection and celebration.
The events commemorating the occupation on Saturday included an opening prayer and dedication to the exhibit by Geneva Seaboy, an original occupier. She thanked the National Parks Service who she called “instrumental in putting the exhibit together.”
Elaine Duncan (left) and Geneva Seaboy (seated) watch a slide show of photos taken by Brooks Townes on Nov. 23, 2019. Townes is a sailor who brought the first organizers to the island and also one of the first to photograph the occupation. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
A tee-pee erected in the New Industries building for the Red Power exhibit on Nov. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
Exhibitors Ilka Hartmann, Stephen Shames and Kent Blansett were present for the display to answer questions. Blansett and Dr. LaNada War Jack, another original occupier, gave presentations.
Kent Blansett, a Associate Professor of History and Native American Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a descendent of Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Shawnee and Potawatomi, speaks at Alcatraz on Nov. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
Blansett’s display “Not Your Indians Anymore” features ephemera, original artifacts and rare media from his personal collection.
Ray St. Clair (Whitehawk) of White Earth, Minnesota, Ojibwe/Eagleclan, wrapped in his Nation’s flag, watches a video from Kent Blansett’s display at Alcatraz on Nov. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
An original poster made by artist Joseph “Indian Joe” Morris (Blackfeet) featured at Alcatraz on Nov. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
Ilka Hartmann sitting in front of one of her photographs at Alcatraz on Nov. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
Visitors look at large photographs taken by Ilka Hartmann at Alcatraz on Nov. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
David Leach, who was the first to step foot on the island as an occupier, brought his son Dana (Joe) Leach to Alcatraz for the first time for the anniversary.
“I never came here before because I couldn’t afford it,” Joe said.
Some photos of Joe’s grandmother Stella Means, who was a nurse on the island during the occupation, are in the show.
David Leach (Colville/Sioux) of Nespelem, poses in cell 13 in cell block A in Alcatraz on Nov. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
Towards the end of the event, Mutsun-Ohlone educator, singer, and activist Kanyon Sayers-Roods read a letter written by her Ohlone relatives, whose ancestral land Alcatraz belongs to.
The letter said “Those on Alcatraz say they speak for all Indian people everywhere, but they do not… There is not one Ohlone Indian among those now on Alcatraz island.”
Sayers-Roods said that although she supports the occupation herself, she chose to read the letter to honor the history and acknowledge differing perspectives.
“I will do as much as I can for as long as I can, whenever I can and wherever I can, to honor truth in history and to be a good ancestor-in-training,” said Sayers-Roods.
Kanyon Sayers-Roods (Ohlone/Chumash) speaks during the Red Power exhibit at Alcatraz on Nov. 23, 2019. (Stephanie Lister/KQED)
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