page_title: Occupation of Alcatraz
hierarchical_section_title: Occupation of Alcatraz
caption_attribution_description: English: Graffiti on Water Tower
context_page_description: The Occupation of Alcatraz was a 19-month long protest when 89 American Indians and their supporters occupied Alcatraz Island. The protest was led by Richard Oakes, LaNada Means, and others; John Trudell was the spokesman. This group lived on the island together until the protest was forcibly ended by the U.S. government.
  The protest group chose the name Indians of All Tribes for themselves. The IOAT claimed that, under the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the U.S. and the Lakota tribe, all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal land was returned to the Indians who once occupied it. Alcatraz penitentiary had been closed on March 21, 1963, and the island had been declared surplus federal property in 1964, so a number of Red Power activists felt that the island qualified for a reclamation by Indians.
  The Occupation of Alcatraz had a brief effect on federal Indian Termination policies and established a precedent for Indian activism. Oakes was shot to death in 1972, and the American Indian Movement was later targeted by the federal government and the FBI in COINTELPRO operations.
context_section_description: The Occupation of Alcatraz (November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971) was a 19-month long protest when 89 American Indians and their supporters occupied Alcatraz Island. The protest was led by Richard Oakes, LaNada Means, and others; John Trudell was the spokesman. This group lived on the island together until the protest was forcibly ended by the U.S. government.
  The protest group chose the name Indians of All Tribes (IOAT) for themselves. The IOAT claimed that, under the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the U.S. and the Lakota tribe, all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal land was returned to the Indians who once occupied it. Alcatraz penitentiary had been closed on March 21, 1963, and the island had been declared surplus federal property in 1964, so a number of Red Power activists felt that the island qualified for a reclamation by Indians.
  The Occupation of Alcatraz had a brief effect on federal Indian Termination policies and established a precedent for Indian activism. Oakes was shot to death in 1972, and the American Indian Movement was later targeted by the federal government and the FBI in COINTELPRO operations.
caption: Graffiti on the Water Tower
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