The History and Hauntings of Alcatraz Island

The History & Hauntings of Alcatraz

Native American Occupation (1969-1971)

On November 9, 1969, Richard Oakes, a Mohawk Indian and group of supporters set out on a chartered boat to symbolically claim Alcatraz Island for the Native Americans. The demands of the occupation were almost identical to those made in 1964 by the Sioux who had claimed the island.

Just a little more than ten days later, on November 20th, the symbolic occupation turned into a full scale occupation which would last for the next 19 months.

The initial occupation, planned by Richard Oakes, included a group of Indian students, as well as urban Indians from the Bay Area. Since so many different tribes were represented by the Native Americans, the name "Indians of All Tribes" was adopted for the group.

"We Hold the Rock!"

- Indians of All Tribes

The dock at Alcatraz welcomes Native Americans after it

was occupied. Photo by Michelle Vignes, courtesy

California State University

The federal government initially insisted that the Indians leave the island and placed an ineffective barricade around it. However, the government eventually agreed to hear their demands and the group realized that prolonged occupation was possible. Oakes soon recruited eighty more Indian students from UCLA and the group of occupants reached some 100 Native Americans.

In no time, the occupants began to organize with Chief Oaks as the unofficial mayor of Alcatraz, electing a council, and providing for security, security, sanitation, day-care, school, and housing. Their negotiations demanded the deed to the island, and establishment of an Indian University, cultural center, and museum.

Though initially, government negotiators insisted that the occupiers could have none of these and insisted that the Indians leave the island, the government soon adopted a position of non-interference. This position was taken largely due to the strong public support of the Native Americans and their demands. Advocates from show business celebrities to the Hell’s Angels supported the Indian occupation and federal officials began to meet with the Native Americans.

Often sitting cross-legged on blankets inside the old mess-hall, the Indians and officials discussed the social needs of the Native Americans. While it appeared to the Indian occupants, that their demand might actually be met, the government was, in fact, playing a waiting game, hoping that public support would wane and the Indians would voluntarily end the occupation. At one point, the government offered a portion of Fort Miley in San Francisco, as an alternative site to Alcatraz. But, by this time, the Indians were too dedicated to their cause, refusing any alternatives.

Less than two months after the initial occupation, the Indian group began to fall into disarray, with two groups rising in opposition to Richard Oakes. In the meantime, many of the Indian students returned to school in January, 1970. Gradually, the students were replaced by other Indians who were not involved in the initial occupation.

During this time, many non-Indians also began to take up residency on the island, including the homeless and many from the San Francisco hippie and drug culture.

Alcatraz Indian Occupation

Alcatraz Indian Occupation, photo by Ilka Hartman,

courtesy California State University

Organization virtually fell apart when Richard Oake’s 13 year old stepdaughter fell three floors down a stairwell to her death. Following her death, Oakes left the island, leaving it without a strong leader. The two competing groups then began to maneuver back and forth for leadership.

The Indians also found themselves faced with the same problems that had hindered both the military and prison administrations – the lack of natural resources and the requirement that all supplies, food, and water be ferried by boat. The process was not only exhausting, but also extremely expensive.

Despite the prohibition of drugs and alcohol by the Indians, the contraband soon began to be brought onto the island by the many non-Native Americans who had also encamped upon Alcatraz. Without strong leadership, the situation quickly became unmanageable and the organization of the community fell apart. Daily reports from the government caretaker on the island, as well as complaints from the remaining original occupants, described the open use of drugs, destruction of property including graffiti and vandalism, and the general disarray of leadership.

Without the equalitarian form of government that was supposed to prevail, there was no one with whom the government could negotiate.

Alcatraz Fire In response, the government, in an attempt to evacuate the island, shut off all electrical power and removed the water barge which provided fresh water for those occupying the island. Three days after the removal of the water barge, on June 1, 1970, a fire was accidentally started and raged through several of the buildings. When the blaze finally died out, the Warden's home, the lighthouse keeper's residence, and the Officers' Club were burned to the ground. Also severely damaged was the historic lighthouse built in 1854.

The Native Americans were soon forced to resort to drastic measures in order to survive and began to strip copper wiring and tubing from the buildings to sell as scrap metal. Three of the occupiers were arrested and found guilty of selling some 600 pounds of copper. This story, along with other news of the events taking place on the island began to be told in the press. Before long, little support could be found for the Indian occupation.

In January, 1971, when two oil tankers collided in the San Francisco Bay, it pushed the federal government into action. Though no blame was held against the occupiers of the island, a removal plan began to be developed. Designed to take place with as little force as possible and at a time that the smallest number of people were on the island, the forced removal took place on June 10, 1971.

On that date, the occupation ended when 20 armed federal marshals, assisted by the Coast Guard, swarmed the island, removing five women, four children, and six unarmed Indian men.

Though the specific demands for the island itself were not realized, the initial underlying goals of the first occupants were to awaken the American public to the reality of the Native American plight. As a result, the official government policy of termination of Indian tribes was ended and a new policy of Indian self-determination was recognized.

The occupation also resulted in the return of Blue Lake and some 48.000 acres of land to the Taos Indians, a Native American University near Davis, California, and hiring of Native Americans to the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices in Washington, D.C.

The occupation was longest any federal facility by Native Americans to this day.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

On October 12, 1972, Congress created the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the island became part of the National Park Service. After some slight modifications to the facility to make it safe for the public and razing of the guard’s residences that were deteriorated beyond repair, the park opened in the fall of 1973. Since that time, it has become one the most popular of the Park Service sites, with more than a million visitors every year.

Along with its rich history and the prison itself, visitors also marvel at the wildlife, expansive gardens and dramatic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, and Treasure Island.

Alcatraz today, courtesy Alcatraz.cc

As one looks east towards the San Francisco bay, it is easy to imagine the island as the location of a luxurious resort. But as visitors continue their tour, the reality of the cell house, solitary confinement cells, and the pitch black “hole” quickly brings back the reality of the Island and its past.

The “thrill” of Alcatraz has been portrayed in a number of Hollywood movies over the years, such as 1962’s “Birdman of Alcatraz,” Clint Eastwood’s popular 1979 film, “Escape from Alcatraz,” and more recent movies including “Murder in the First” in 1995, and “The Rock” in 1996. Though none of these movies are completely accurate in their historic details, they have provided a glimpse at prison life upon the “Rock.”

Many former inmates of the prison that are still alive today find it extremely hard to grasp the idea of why so many people would want to visit a place that represented to them only anguish and despair. To them, the term “recreation area” is an oxymoron in the extreme.

But, visit we do, so much so that if you are planning a trip to the island, reservations are recommended days in advance as the tours fill up fast. The tour provides a brief orientation from a park ranger, a ranger-led or self-guided tour, and an orientation film. An audio tour is also available for a couple of extra dollars that is well worth it, as guards and former prisoners share their experiences of the prison.

Today, the military base barracks, prison cell house, the oldest lighthouse on the west coast, and several other buildings remain.

Continued Next Page

Contact Information:

Alcatraz Island National Park Service

Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Fort Mason, Building 201

Alcatraz
San Francisco, California 94123

Visitor Information - 415-561-4900
Reservations - 415- 705-5555

Book Your San Francisco Lodging HERE!

Lighthouse and ruins of warden's house on Alcatraz

Island, 1986.

This image available for photographic prints HERE!

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