1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:16,440 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson. No, that' Holly Fry. 4 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,240 Speaker 1: This is Part two of our podcast on the occupation 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: of Alcatraz, which started fifty years ago on November nine. 6 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:26,639 Speaker 1: Last time, we talked about a bunch of contexts, so 7 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: unless you are already familiar with the US government's policies 8 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: of relocation and termination in the ni and fifties, I 9 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: really recommend listening to that one first. We also talked 10 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: about an earlier occupation of Alcatraz in Part one, and 11 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: before we start into Part two, I just have a 12 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: note about language and names. Some of the people who 13 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: were a big part of this are still living and 14 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:49,840 Speaker 1: go by different names now than they did fifty years ago, 15 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: So for the sake of clarity, we'll mention the name 16 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: that you'll see if you go back to primary sources 17 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: from the time or older articles about it, But otherwise 18 00:00:57,880 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: we'll be sticking to the names that people are using 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 1: now as best we can. Also, as is the case 20 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: for other ethnic groups and political entities, it's very common 21 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: for one native nation to be known by multiple names 22 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,120 Speaker 1: that came up last time. As well. There's the nation's 23 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: own name for itself, along with other names given by 24 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: other nations or by European colonists. And even though these 25 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: other names often have insulting or or offensive connotations, a 26 00:01:24,959 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: lot of times they're still connected to a nation's identity 27 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: in some way. Sometimes there are generational differences in which 28 00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:34,680 Speaker 1: name people prefer to use for themselves, as well as 29 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,800 Speaker 1: more generally, whether people prefer to be called Indian or 30 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: Native American or something else. A lot of the times 31 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,759 Speaker 1: the names that are formally referenced in laws or treaties 32 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: between the US government and a native nation are not 33 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: the same ones that most members of those nations actually 34 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: prefer to use, and this episode references a lot of 35 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: that kind of material and things that people said about 36 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: themselves fifty years ago, along with things like organization names 37 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: from fifty years ago, and in some cases, like the 38 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: preferred language today would be a little different. So. After 39 00:02:05,320 --> 00:02:08,280 Speaker 1: the federal government closed the prison on Alcatraz in nineteen 40 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: sixty three, the debate over what to do with the 41 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: island stretched on for years, with public hearings, committees, and 42 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: more than five hundred submitted proposals. In early nineteen sixty five, 43 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,000 Speaker 1: it was recommended that the island be transferred to the 44 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:25,079 Speaker 1: National Park Service. On September thirteenth of that year, Attorney 45 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: Elliott Layton filed a claim in U s District Court 46 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: on behalf of Richard Mackenzie, who was part of the 47 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: earlier occupation of the island that we talked about in 48 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,799 Speaker 1: Part one, and he requested the land or a monetary 49 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: judgment in the amount of two point five million dollars. 50 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: Mackenzie's court case went on until July of nineteen sixty eight, 51 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: at which point the court dismissed his complaint. The judge 52 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: said that he didn't think Mackenzie truly believed he had 53 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: a valid claim to the island. The judge concluded that 54 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: the occupation had been done to attract attention or publicity. 55 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: It also appears that the home setting provisions of the 56 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:00,760 Speaker 1: Treaty of Fort Laramie that we talked about last time, 57 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:05,239 Speaker 1: which underpinned that earlier occupation, didn't actually apply in this case. 58 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: In the three years that passed between when Mackenzie's claim 59 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: was filed and when it was dismissed, there had still 60 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,359 Speaker 1: been no final decision on what to do with Alcatraz. 61 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: In spite of the recommendation to turn it over to 62 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: the National Park Service, Congress didn't take any action to 63 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,519 Speaker 1: make that official. So shortly before Mackenzie's case was dismissed, 64 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: the whole process started over from the beginning, this time 65 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,360 Speaker 1: focusing on whether the state of California or the city 66 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 1: of San Francisco had a use for the island. There 67 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: was a lot of arguing about it that played out 68 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: over more than a year, with a Surplus Property commission 69 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: established to try to figure out what to do. On 70 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:47,920 Speaker 1: July sixty nine, Lamar Hunt, son of Texas oil tycoon H. L. Hunt, 71 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: filed a proposal to turn Alcatraz into an amusement park. 72 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: He planned to leave the cell block there as a 73 00:03:53,560 --> 00:03:56,520 Speaker 1: tourist attraction and to add a replica of San Francisco 74 00:03:56,560 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: Sarka eighteen ninety and an underground space museum with rest 75 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: runts and shops, and at one point he was also 76 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,000 Speaker 1: talking about a space tower with a revolving restaurant at 77 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,880 Speaker 1: the top. People made comparisons to Las Vegas. You've been 78 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: to Alcatraz, I mean, I have seen it from the shore. 79 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: I haven't physically been out there. It's not that big, 80 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: so this seems so jamp backed to me. I'm like, 81 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: what what, how would you even what um? This proposal, 82 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: while it made me amused in its weirdness, made a 83 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: lot of people at the time validly really angry. They 84 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:34,560 Speaker 1: thought it sounded tacky, and Hunt was an outsider. He 85 00:04:34,640 --> 00:04:38,040 Speaker 1: was also politically very conservative, and this was San Francisco, 86 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: just two years after the Summer of Love, and a 87 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 1: lot of people just did not like the idea of 88 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: turning Alcatraz into a private attraction that someone would be 89 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: making money off of. Fashion designer Alvin Duskin stepped in 90 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: with a save Alcatraz campaign. In spite of all the 91 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,919 Speaker 1: public opposition, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved Hun's 92 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: proposal on Stepto twenty nine of nineteen sixty nine, and 93 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: a lot of people were furious about that decision, but 94 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 1: the city didn't feel like it could just back out. 95 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,279 Speaker 1: That's when Adam Fortunate Eagle, then known as Adam Nordwall 96 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: got involved. He's a hereditary member of the Red Lake 97 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: Band of Chippewa Indians who also has connections to other 98 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: nations and is currently living on the Pipster Shone Reservation 99 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: in Nevada. Fortunate Eagle contacted City Supervisor John Barbara Gelatta 100 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: to suggest that the city turn Alcatraz over to the 101 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: Native community in exchange for something symbolic, something that might 102 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: suggest the historical sale of the island of Manhattan in 103 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:39,840 Speaker 1: exchange for beads and claws. Barbara Gelatta did not take 104 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:43,040 Speaker 1: Fortunate Eagle up on this suggestion. At the same time, 105 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,919 Speaker 1: though other Native people in the San Francisco Bay Area 106 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: we're also talking about plans for Alcatraz. We talked in 107 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,159 Speaker 1: our last episode about how, starting in the nineteen forties, 108 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,080 Speaker 1: the federal government encouraged Native people to relocate from reservations 109 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: into several cities where they would, at least in theory, 110 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,679 Speaker 1: receive job training and other assistance. Four of those cities 111 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,920 Speaker 1: were in California. Between the government relocation effort and veterans 112 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,760 Speaker 1: relocating after World War Two, the Native population of the 113 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: San Francisco Bay Area had grown dramatically over just a 114 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: couple of decades. By the late nineteen sixties, the Bay 115 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 1: area was home to at least thirty clubs that were 116 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: by and four Native people. Following student protests and strikes. 117 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,279 Speaker 1: Some of the colleges in the area had started ethnic 118 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: studies programs that included Native American studies, so politically active 119 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: Native students at those colleges already had experience planning and 120 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 1: coordinating protests. Several sources note that one of these college 121 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: students was a Native woman and was the first one 122 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,039 Speaker 1: to come up with the idea for another occupation of 123 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: Alcatraz in nineteen sixty nine, and Adam Fortunate Eagles memoir 124 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: he identifies her as a woman named Mary Luke Justice, 125 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: who was classmates with Richard Oakes at San Francisco State. 126 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: Richard Oakes was Mohawk and became one of the most 127 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: visible people involved with this occupation. This woman, though, apparently 128 00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: left the movement after an altercation with Oaks's wife. So 129 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: in the fall of nineteen sixty nine, a lot of 130 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: different Native people were talking about different ideas for Alcatraz, 131 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: but nothing had been put into action. Then on October 132 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: twenty eight, the San Francisco Indian Center burned down that 133 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:22,119 Speaker 1: had existed for eleven years, functioning as a gathering place 134 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: for Native clubs and organizations while also providing education, social services, employment, 135 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: counseling and other services. The United Bay Indian Council was 136 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: also headquartered there. This was just a colossal loss for 137 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: the Native community of the San Francisco Bay Area, and 138 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: it added a new element to the idea of turning 139 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: Alcatraz over to Native people, that it would become home 140 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: to a cultural and education center that would be the 141 00:07:47,960 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: successor to the San Francisco Indian Center. Soon, Native college 142 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: students from several University of California and California State University 143 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: campuses were coming together to plan an occupation of Alcatra. 144 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: As many of the college students involved had come to 145 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: California from other parts of the United States through the 146 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:10,080 Speaker 1: government relocation program, and they represented a huge diversity of 147 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: Native American and Alaska Native nations. Over time, there were 148 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: some First Nations people from Canada connected to the occupation 149 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,760 Speaker 1: as well. Older activists were also part of this planning. 150 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: To Adam Fortunate Eagle, for example, was about forty. He 151 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: had moved to the San Francisco Bay Area on his 152 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: own earlier on and then trained as a termite inspector 153 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: before eventually starting his own business. Vindeloria Jr. Who was 154 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:36,959 Speaker 1: Standing Rocks tou was thirty six when the occupation started. 155 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: He was an activist who had served in the Marines 156 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 1: and had published a book called Custard Died for Your 157 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 1: Sins and Indian Manifesto. Both men were among the people 158 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 1: working on the occupation, primarily from the mainland, but they 159 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 1: didn't always feel trusted or welcomed by the college students 160 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,079 Speaker 1: due to everything from their age, to their relative affluents, 161 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: to differences of opinion over politics and strategy. The date 162 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,160 Speaker 1: for the occup patient of Alcatraz was set for November 163 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:06,079 Speaker 1: nine nine. Members of the media were given a heads 164 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,000 Speaker 1: up at a Halloween party at the home of Tim Findley, 165 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 1: who was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. The 166 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: reporters were given this tip with the request that they 167 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: keep it confidential. Alcatraz was off limits to visitors, so 168 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: the occupation that was being planned was illegal. Organizers arranged 169 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 1: for five boats to carry a large group of Native 170 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: people from Fisherman's Wharf to the island, but then on 171 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,080 Speaker 1: the ninth those boats did not show up, and there 172 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:35,160 Speaker 1: were reporters there at the dock watching what was going on, 173 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: planning to write about it. Richard Oakes read a proclamation 174 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: to the assembled media, which was something they had been 175 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 1: planning to do from the start, but was also an 176 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:45,560 Speaker 1: effort to kind of stall for time while they tried 177 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: to figure out what to do about their missing boats. 178 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: You know, we'll get back to that proclamation. Shortly as 179 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,520 Speaker 1: this was happening, Adam fortunate Eagle spotted Ronald Craig aboard 180 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: the bark Monte Cristo. This was a three masted wooden 181 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:00,079 Speaker 1: vessel that he had been using to take people on 182 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,079 Speaker 1: sightseeing tours of the bay. Fortunate Eagle convinced him to 183 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 1: take fifty people out to the island, circle it a 184 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: few times, and then come back so that the reporters 185 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: who were waiting on a boat in the bay would 186 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 1: still have a story. Craig, who was Canadian, agreed. As 187 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: they approached the island, though Richard Oaks jumped overboard and 188 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: swam for shore along with a few other people, and 189 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: five of them representing five different tribes, ultimately made it there. 190 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:28,160 Speaker 1: The people who jumped off and really struggled were rescued 191 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,079 Speaker 1: by members of the press who were waiting off of 192 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,240 Speaker 1: Alcatraz in a boat waiting to get their story. This 193 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: whole thing kind of terrified Ronald Craig, who really thought 194 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: he might be about to start an international incident since 195 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,560 Speaker 1: he was sailing under a Canadian flag. Once he was 196 00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: on the island, Richard Oakes claimed it by right of 197 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: discovery and read the proclamation again. Shortly thereafter, caretaker Glenn 198 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 1: Dodson asked them to leave, and they did. Since they 199 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: had swum to the island after jumping from a boat, 200 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,400 Speaker 1: they didn't have any kind of supplies for a prolonged stay, 201 00:10:57,679 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 1: and they also felt like they had made their point. 202 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 1: They were taken back to the mainland aboard Coastguard vessels. 203 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,240 Speaker 1: Later that night, though, eleven men and three women made 204 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:09,559 Speaker 1: their way back to Alcatraz, and this time they did 205 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 1: have some more supplies with them, though not enough for 206 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: a very long occupation. Once they got there, they split 207 00:11:15,120 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: up into small groups to try to evade capture. In 208 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 1: the morning, authorities who arrived on the scene were met 209 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: by Richard Oakes. They told him that if everyone left peacefully, 210 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 1: they would not be arrested, and he agreed to these terms, 211 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: something that some of the other people who had come 212 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: to the island disagreed with him for doing. According to 213 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,200 Speaker 1: one of her accounts, of the occupation. This included Leneda 214 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: war Jack, then known as Leneda means a member of 215 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: the Shoshone Bannock tribes of Idaho. Lenedo war Jack was 216 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: a critical part of this occupation for its entirety. Although 217 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:49,199 Speaker 1: some of the goals and messaging of the occupation of 218 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:53,240 Speaker 1: Alcatraz shifted over time, that proclamation that they read on 219 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: the dock and then again on the island really summed 220 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: up a lot of what they are doing and why 221 00:11:57,280 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 1: we're going to get to that, and too the longer 222 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: occupation after or a sponsor break. Like we said before 223 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: the break, the proclamation that was signed and read by 224 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,199 Speaker 1: the Indians of all tribes packed in a lot of 225 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 1: detail about what the occupiers of Alcatraz were doing and 226 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: why they were doing it. It's really full of some 227 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,199 Speaker 1: cutting and sarcastic criticism of all those centuries of federal 228 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,719 Speaker 1: policy toward Native Americans. It started quote proclamation to the 229 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:31,839 Speaker 1: Great White Father and all his people, We the Native Americans, 230 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: reclaim the land known as Alcatraz Island in the name 231 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,840 Speaker 1: of all American Indians by right of discovery. We wish 232 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,199 Speaker 1: to be fair and honorable in our dealings with the 233 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 1: Caucasian inhabitants of this land, and hereby offer the following treaty. 234 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,800 Speaker 1: We will purchase said Alcatraz Island for twenty four dollars 235 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,440 Speaker 1: in glass beads and red cloth, the precedent set by 236 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 1: the white man's purchase of a similar island about three 237 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: d years ago. We know that twenty four dollars in 238 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,560 Speaker 1: trade goods for these sixteen acres is more than was 239 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: paid when Manhattan Island was sold. But we know that 240 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: land values have risen over the years. Our offer of 241 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: a dollar and twenty four cents per acre is greater 242 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: than the forty seven cents per acre that the white 243 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: men are now paying the California Indians for their land. 244 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 1: As a memory refresher, that forty seven cents an acre 245 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: was a reference to how much money was being offered 246 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: to California Native nations for their land during the federal 247 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: government's Termination policy. The proclamation continued, quote, we will give 248 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: to the inhabitants of this island a portion of that 249 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: land for their own, to be held in trust by 250 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,720 Speaker 1: the American Indian government for as long as the sun 251 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: shall rise and the rivers go down to the sea, 252 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,200 Speaker 1: to be administered by the Bureau of Caucasian Affairs. We 253 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: will further guide the inhabitants in the proper way of living. 254 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: We will offer them our religion, our education, our life 255 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 1: ways in order to help them achieve our level of civilization, 256 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: and thus raised them and all their white brothers up 257 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:58,720 Speaker 1: from their savage and unhappy state. We offer this treaty 258 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,319 Speaker 1: in good faith and wish to be fair and honorable 259 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,120 Speaker 1: in our dealings with all white men. It ended with 260 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 1: some criticisms of how the federal government had approached reservations. Quote, 261 00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,079 Speaker 1: we feel that this so called Alcatraz Island is more 262 00:14:12,120 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: than suitable for an Indian reservation as determined by the 263 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:17,559 Speaker 1: white man's own standards. By this, we mean that this 264 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: place resembles most Indian reservations in that one it is 265 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:25,480 Speaker 1: isolated from modern facilities and without adequate means of transportation. Two, 266 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: it has no fresh running water. Three it has inadequate 267 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:31,880 Speaker 1: sanitation facilities. For there are no oil or mineral rights. 268 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 1: Five there is no industry, and so unemployment is very great. 269 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: Six there are no health care facilities. Seven, the soil 270 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 1: is rocky and nonproductive, and the land does not support game. 271 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,360 Speaker 1: Eight there are no educational facilities. Nine, the population has 272 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,520 Speaker 1: always exceeded the land base. Ten the population has always 273 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: been held as prisoners and kept dependent upon others. Further, 274 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: it would be fitting in symbolic that ships from all 275 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: over the world entering the Golden Gate would first see 276 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:00,240 Speaker 1: Indian Land unless be reminded of the true hist three 277 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 1: of this nation. This tiny island would be a symbol 278 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:05,400 Speaker 1: of the great lands once ruled by the free and 279 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:10,160 Speaker 1: noble Indians. Um that you'll see slightly different nuances sometimes 280 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: from the copy, because there are lots of different copies 281 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: of this floating around, but they all have that same 282 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: general arc. This was signed by Indians of all tribes, 283 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: not only because so many different native nations and people's 284 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,040 Speaker 1: were part of this occupation, but also because it was 285 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: meant to represent all of the Native peoples of the 286 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: United States. After that brief November nine occupation, Native college 287 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: students started seriously planning a longer occupation of Alcatraz, and 288 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: although there were lots of Native activists on the mainland 289 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,840 Speaker 1: as well, who did things like procure supplies and generators 290 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: and managed donations and handle logistics secure transport back and 291 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 1: forth to the island, the actual effort on the island, 292 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 1: and the logistics of this initial landing were really primarily 293 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: the work of college students. Although there were discussions about 294 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: starting the occupation on Thanksgiving, Eventually the organiser settled on 295 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: November twentieth, nineteen sixty nine, which was a week earlier. 296 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: That day, eight nine people gathered in Sauceletto, starting at 297 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: about one am, some at the No Name Bar and 298 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,000 Speaker 1: others gathering directly on the waterfront. They made their way 299 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: to Alcatraz aboard a collection of vessels nicknamed the salcelto 300 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:21,840 Speaker 1: Indian Navy. Thirty six people, including two reporters, were on 301 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:25,640 Speaker 1: the seaweed that was captained by Peter Bowen, About Twincy 302 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,640 Speaker 1: Moore were on the Odin two, captained by Bob Teft, 303 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: and the rest were on a motor boat captain by 304 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,720 Speaker 1: nineteen year old Mary Crowley, who brought her vessel out 305 00:16:33,840 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: under sail because the motor wouldn't start. Although Bowen had 306 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,080 Speaker 1: said he would not transport children, the group did include 307 00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: at least two. Those were Lenedo Warjack's two year old 308 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: son and twelve year old Ivan Oaks. When they arrived 309 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: at the Alcatraz doc the only person on the island 310 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: was Glenn Dobson, who saw them and shouted, may day, 311 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 1: may day the Indians have landed before, then telling them 312 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: that he was one eighth Cherokee. The Indians of All 313 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: Tribes may their way from the dock to the interior 314 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,359 Speaker 1: of the prison, where they established a camp and organized themselves. Later, 315 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:10,159 Speaker 1: Richard Oakes met with General Services Administrator Tom Hannon to 316 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: negotiate their terms. Hannon agreed that the Indians of All 317 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,720 Speaker 1: Tribes could bring one vote of supplies back in the 318 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:19,320 Speaker 1: morning and hold their demonstration on the island, but that 319 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,640 Speaker 1: all the occupiers needed to be off the island by 320 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,399 Speaker 1: the end of the following day. In reality, though, that 321 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 1: one supply boat brought not only supplies for a longer stay, 322 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:33,400 Speaker 1: but also the occupiers attorney Aubrey Grossmen, so they were 323 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 1: there at that point for the long haul. While occupying 324 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:39,159 Speaker 1: the island, the Indians of All Tribes wanted a truly 325 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: egalitarian existence, sharing all food and supplies, and establishing a 326 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: seven person governing council with elections held every ninety days. 327 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: The first governing council was made up of seven men 328 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:55,439 Speaker 1: representing seven different native nations, although later councils also included women. 329 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,880 Speaker 1: The entire population of the island was expected to take 330 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: part in any orton decision. One of the first orders 331 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:04,960 Speaker 1: of business was to try to make the island more habitable. 332 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 1: It was an abandoned federal prison that had not been 333 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,399 Speaker 1: used in years, so one of the big tasks at 334 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:12,920 Speaker 1: the beginning was just making it a place they could stay, 335 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,320 Speaker 1: including getting more of the plumbing working. When they first arrived, 336 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: only three toilets were operational. They also established rules meant 337 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:24,160 Speaker 1: to protect their safety and privacy. Weapons and alcohol were 338 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,879 Speaker 1: not allowed. Everyone involved understood how different and more potentially 339 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,679 Speaker 1: deadly the government's response to them would be if they 340 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: were armed, or if they were even believed to be armed. However, 341 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,240 Speaker 1: they did create a lot of graffiti on the island, 342 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,240 Speaker 1: marking out federal signs labeling the island as Indian Land, 343 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: and painting peace and Freedom Welcome home of the Free 344 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 1: Indian Land on the water tower. When that water tower 345 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:53,800 Speaker 1: was restored in that graffiti was restored as well. At first, 346 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: the federal government's response this occupation was largely to try 347 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: to wait it out. The coast Guard did attempts to 348 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: establish a blockade around the island, but it was not 349 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 1: very effective. At some points it did cause people to 350 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,640 Speaker 1: have to haul supplies up a rocky cliff using ladders 351 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:11,199 Speaker 1: because they couldn't get to the actual doc Although the 352 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 1: government nominally agreed to negotiate, those negotiations were at an 353 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 1: impass from the very beginning. From the Indians of All 354 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:21,639 Speaker 1: Tribes point of view, the only acceptable outcome was for 355 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: Alcatraz to be handed over to Native people to be 356 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,920 Speaker 1: made into a cultural and education center, and the government 357 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,919 Speaker 1: was just not going to do that. The Indians of 358 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:33,320 Speaker 1: All Tribes didn't have a clear plan on how to 359 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:37,359 Speaker 1: proceed in the face of a stalemate. However, the occupiers 360 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,680 Speaker 1: had a lot of support from outside the Native community. 361 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: Their nations of food, supplies and money really rolled in. 362 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: There has actually been a lot of debate about the 363 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:49,919 Speaker 1: money over the years, because there's no documentation about how 364 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: much money was donated, or who got it, or what 365 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:54,760 Speaker 1: exactly it was used for, and this has led to 366 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: various accusations of theft or other wrongdoing, which at this 367 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:02,680 Speaker 1: point will probably never ben inclusively. Settled people also expressed 368 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: their support of the occupiers to the government. For example, 369 00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:09,679 Speaker 1: on November nineteen sixty nine, President Richard Nixon got a 370 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:13,000 Speaker 1: telegram which read, quote, for once in this country's history, 371 00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:17,320 Speaker 1: let the Indians have something. Let them have Alcatraz. Even 372 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: without a plan for how to proceed. In the face 373 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: of this stalemate with the federal government, the occupiers continued 374 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 1: to improve their situation on the island. Their population continued 375 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,479 Speaker 1: to grow. For a lot of the occupation, there were 376 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,520 Speaker 1: about a hundred people there at any given time. Big 377 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,880 Speaker 1: Rock School was established for the twelve full time residents 378 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:37,919 Speaker 1: of the island who were in first through sixth grade, 379 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,639 Speaker 1: which occupiers had accredited so that the students wouldn't be 380 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: forced to repeat their work once the occupation was over. 381 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 1: Preschool was later established in the same building. Dr Dorothy 382 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:51,919 Speaker 1: Lone Wolf Miller, who was Blackfoot, secured a grant for 383 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,360 Speaker 1: the school and also allowed her office to be used 384 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:57,080 Speaker 1: as the headquarters for the Indians of All Tribes and 385 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: handled a lot of the organization's finances. Stella Leach, who 386 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 1: was Lakota Colville, was a nurse, brought in first aid 387 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:06,919 Speaker 1: kits and took a three month leave of absence from 388 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:09,920 Speaker 1: her job to establish a health clinic which had a 389 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,160 Speaker 1: visiting doctor. Thanksgiving was celebrated on the island in nineteen 390 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:17,919 Speaker 1: sixty nine with huge amounts of donated food, including entire 391 00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 1: meals donated by a San Francisco restaurant, although which restaurant 392 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 1: that was berries from one account to another. As many 393 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,720 Speaker 1: as four hundred people attended this celebration, including Native people 394 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: from a lot of other parts of the United States. 395 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,960 Speaker 1: In addition to the Thanksgiving meal, the day included Native 396 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 1: religious and spiritual ceremonies. December twenty, nineteen sixty nine, marked 397 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 1: the first broadcast of Radio Free Alcatraz, which was aired 398 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,960 Speaker 1: on radio stations in Berkeley, Los Angeles, and New York City. 399 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,520 Speaker 1: John Trudel, who grew up in the Santi Su Reservation, 400 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 1: was the voice of Radio Free Alcatraz and became a 401 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: major voice of the occupation. Radio Free Alcatraz featured music, 402 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 1: interviews with the occupiers, news about what was happening on 403 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 1: the island, and other news and updates related to the movement. 404 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 1: To the beginning of this movement was just incredibly promising, 405 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,280 Speaker 1: with the occupiers doing amazing work on the island and 406 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 1: other Native activists coordinating efforts on the mainland, and then 407 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,359 Speaker 1: widespread support from outside of the Native community. This included 408 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:21,720 Speaker 1: attention from celebrities including Cream, musician Buffy st Marie merv Griffin, 409 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: Marlon Brando, and Jane Fonda. The cast of a California 410 00:22:25,359 --> 00:22:28,040 Speaker 1: production of Hair took up a donation for the occupation. 411 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,720 Speaker 1: Credence Clearwater Revival donated money to buy a boat, which 412 00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,640 Speaker 1: was named the clear Water and became the occupants primary 413 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 1: way of getting back and forth to the mainland. But 414 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:41,119 Speaker 1: as the occupation continued for nineteen months, things, of course 415 00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,399 Speaker 1: became more difficult, and we're going to talk about that 416 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 1: a little bit after a sponsor break. Overall, the federal 417 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:58,320 Speaker 1: government's strategy of essentially trying to wait out the Indians 418 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:00,880 Speaker 1: of all tribes made it harder and harder for them 419 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,399 Speaker 1: to take action. There was a lot going on in 420 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,959 Speaker 1: the United States politically and socially. The civil rights movement, 421 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:10,879 Speaker 1: the Chicano movement, the Women's liberation movement, the gay rights movement, 422 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,960 Speaker 1: and the independent living movement, which related to disabled people. 423 00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:18,040 Speaker 1: Those were all ongoing. Also ongoing was the deeply divisive 424 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,720 Speaker 1: Vietnam War, and particularly after the Kent State massacre on 425 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 1: May fourth, nineteen seventy, officials were also very fearful of 426 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,440 Speaker 1: what could happen if they tried to force the occupiers 427 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:31,920 Speaker 1: to leave in the situation became violent. The length of 428 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 1: the occupation also made things more difficult on the island. 429 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,919 Speaker 1: Over All, the conditions were just inherently difficult. This was 430 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,520 Speaker 1: an abandoned prison that had been sitting unused for years 431 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 1: on a barren island, so it was cold and drafty. 432 00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:48,520 Speaker 1: Getting supplies could be difficult even with all that help. 433 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,159 Speaker 1: There was not a great way to deal with garbage, 434 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: and a lot of non native people came out to 435 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,080 Speaker 1: the island basically just to gawk and kind of be 436 00:23:56,160 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: lucky lose, which created a lot of traffic to deal with, 437 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,200 Speaker 1: and over time people who were not natives started coming 438 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 1: to the island to stay, many of them hippies or 439 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: just people who had nowhere to go. There was also 440 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: turnover among the native occupiers. When college classes started up 441 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:13,840 Speaker 1: again at the beginning of nineteen seventy, a lot of 442 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 1: the students involved initially went back to school, although some 443 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:19,680 Speaker 1: of them then returned in the summer or during other breaks. 444 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: Native people from other parts of the United States and 445 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,119 Speaker 1: Canada came for brief stretches of time, almost like a 446 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 1: spiritual journey. But eventually it got to this point where 447 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 1: most of the people on the island had not been 448 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: there at the beginning of the occupation, and the newcomers 449 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,840 Speaker 1: weren't necessarily as committed to the egalitarian organization of the 450 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,520 Speaker 1: island or to the rules prohibiting alcohol, drugs, and violence. 451 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,680 Speaker 1: There were also some divisions among the occupiers, and there 452 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: had basically been from the start. Richard Oaks had been 453 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: one of the most visible people involved, going all the 454 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:55,239 Speaker 1: way back to the November ninth occupation. The media had 455 00:24:55,280 --> 00:25:00,359 Speaker 1: even nicknamed him the President of Alcatraz. He was charismatic, voted, genic, 456 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,760 Speaker 1: and a good speaker, which is how he wound up 457 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: in that public role. But a lot of people were 458 00:25:05,520 --> 00:25:09,159 Speaker 1: frustrated that their attempt at egalitarianism had, at least to 459 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,919 Speaker 1: the outside world, a president, which is completely incongruous with 460 00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:16,719 Speaker 1: that ideology. In one way or another. Many disagreed with him, 461 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 1: and they really didn't like the fact that he was 462 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: being seen to be the one in charge. There were 463 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,639 Speaker 1: also disputes between the people who had been there at 464 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,200 Speaker 1: the start and the newcomers, like we just talked about 465 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: between the college students and the older activists between the 466 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,480 Speaker 1: urban natives and the people who came out to the 467 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:36,040 Speaker 1: island directly from reservations. Members of the grassroots political organization 468 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,560 Speaker 1: the American Indian Movement visited the island. They didn't necessarily 469 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,160 Speaker 1: agree with the goals or the strategy of the Indians 470 00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 1: of all tribes. None of this was surprising at all, 471 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,679 Speaker 1: given the length of the occupation and the diversity of 472 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: the people involved in it. I mean, a lot of 473 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: these people had different life experiences and different goals while 474 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:57,480 Speaker 1: all being Native. But after a while, as things got 475 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,439 Speaker 1: more tense and more difficult, the island's population and started 476 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:03,280 Speaker 1: to drop, and support on the mainland started to fade. 477 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: On January third, nineteen seventy, thirteen year old van Oakes 478 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,560 Speaker 1: fell three stories while playing in an open stairwell. She 479 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 1: never regained consciousness, and she died five days later after 480 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 1: being airlifted from the island. She was Richard Oakes's stepdaughter, 481 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,679 Speaker 1: and he always maintained that her death had been deliberately 482 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,879 Speaker 1: caused by someone on the island who opposed him. The 483 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:27,800 Speaker 1: FBI and the coroner both looked into it, and neither 484 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: found case for a deeper investigation. Oakes and the rest 485 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,440 Speaker 1: of his family weren't really involved with the occupation after 486 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: that point. Eventually, Tim Finley wrote a three part article 487 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,560 Speaker 1: for the San Francisco Chronicle that detailed a lot of 488 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: the problems that had arisen on the island, from the 489 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: interpersonal conflicts to drugs and the media. Had first learned 490 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:50,000 Speaker 1: about this about the November ninth occupation at a party 491 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 1: at his home, and he'd had working relationships with a 492 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:54,920 Speaker 1: lot of the people involved with the Indians of All 493 00:26:54,960 --> 00:26:58,400 Speaker 1: Tribes for quite some time. When he has talked about 494 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,680 Speaker 1: his coverage of this new he seems to have recognized 495 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:03,440 Speaker 1: what it meant for him to be a white reporter 496 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: trying to represent the stories of a Native occupation. But 497 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:09,600 Speaker 1: after these articles were published, a lot of the people 498 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: he had previously considered friends did not want anything to 499 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,640 Speaker 1: do with him. In March of nineteen seventy, the government 500 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: offered the Indians of All Tribes a compromise that Alcatraz 501 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: would be made into a park with Native people involved 502 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 1: to quote maximize the Indian nous of the island in 503 00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:29,560 Speaker 1: the context of a park. The Indians of All Tribes refused. 504 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: Only the island in its entirety would suffice. In late 505 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,920 Speaker 1: May of nineteen seventy, officials cut off the island's electrical 506 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,879 Speaker 1: supply and removed the barge that had been providing it 507 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:44,040 Speaker 1: with fresh water. That June, a series of fires struck 508 00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:48,000 Speaker 1: the island. Occupiers maintained that they had been deliberately set 509 00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:50,400 Speaker 1: by government officials to try to get them to leave, 510 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,240 Speaker 1: while the government, of course, maintained that the fires had 511 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 1: been set by the occupiers. That same month, that was 512 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: also announced that Alcatraz would become part of Golden Gate 513 00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:03,200 Speaker 1: National Recreation Area, which was finally after years of debate 514 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,880 Speaker 1: about it what actually happened to the island. In August, 515 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,159 Speaker 1: plans were in place for an armed nighttime removal of 516 00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:14,920 Speaker 1: the islands occupiers code named occupation Parks. It was scrapped 517 00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:18,320 Speaker 1: when details were leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle. Then 518 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,440 Speaker 1: in October, someone on the island fired on a Coastguard 519 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: cutter while it was servicing a nearby bui. Throughout the occupation, 520 00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,919 Speaker 1: people had shot arrows at nearby watercraft, but this was 521 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,359 Speaker 1: from a handgun. Authorities started to look at the idea 522 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,879 Speaker 1: of removing the occupiers with more and more urgency. The 523 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,560 Speaker 1: winter of seventy one was pretty difficult on the island. 524 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: With the main power cut off, the occupiers had to 525 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:46,719 Speaker 1: rely on gas power generators. Public interest and the occupation 526 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: had also really waned. We talked about that process earlier, 527 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 1: but at this point it was a lot a lot lower, 528 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: and the celebrities who had supported it had mostly moved 529 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,479 Speaker 1: on to other things. The loss of power to the 530 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,680 Speaker 1: island disabled the island's foghorn and lighthouse, although its function 531 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:04,920 Speaker 1: was replaced with lighted buoy's from the water. When two 532 00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:08,080 Speaker 1: oil takers collided at the entrance to San Francisco Bay 533 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: in January of nineteen seventy one, officials specifically noted that 534 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:15,160 Speaker 1: the lack of lighthouse and foghorn had nothing to do 535 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:18,280 Speaker 1: with it, but it still gave the government more motivation 536 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:21,480 Speaker 1: to try to remove the occupiers. Then, on April eighth, 537 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: the clear water sank that again had been their main 538 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 1: transport back and forth from the island, and the cause 539 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: of that thinking was never determined. Finally, armed U S 540 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:35,040 Speaker 1: Marshals were dispatched to the island via Coastguard cutter on 541 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:39,760 Speaker 1: June eleven nine. While in the occupations earlier months there 542 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:42,880 Speaker 1: had usually been around one people on the island. Now 543 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:47,000 Speaker 1: there were just fifteen six men, four women, and five children. 544 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,400 Speaker 1: None of them had been there on November twentieth, nineteen 545 00:29:50,440 --> 00:29:53,400 Speaker 1: sixty nine, when all of this began. Many of the 546 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:55,120 Speaker 1: people who had been part of the movement at the 547 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:58,960 Speaker 1: start were still involved, though just before the removal, Leneda 548 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,920 Speaker 1: war Jack had been trying to persuade the remaining occupiers 549 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:05,640 Speaker 1: to pursue an end of the occupation through litigation, something 550 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:09,280 Speaker 1: their attorney was advising against. Leneda was on the mainland. 551 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,200 Speaker 1: When the marshals arrived with the occupiers removed, the island 552 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:14,960 Speaker 1: was found to be in shambles, I mean all of 553 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:18,080 Speaker 1: those problems that we talked about. You could see evidence 554 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:21,719 Speaker 1: of windows had been broken, Copper had been stripped from 555 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,000 Speaker 1: the plumbing and electrical systems. Three people were arrested on 556 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 1: June twelfth, nineteen seventy one, for stealing a copper, and 557 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: they were later convicted. The occupation of Alcatraz was not 558 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: successful at getting the US government to turn the island 559 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 1: over to Native people, but by other measures it was 560 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: incredibly successful. It led to a huge upswelling in Native pride, 561 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: including the establishment of new social and political organizations for 562 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: Native people and new work on reservations. It reinvigorated the 563 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: pam Indian movement that had been growing when the occupation started. 564 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,360 Speaker 1: Many of the people who were involved in the occupation 565 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: were or have been politically active in the field of 566 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 1: Indigenous people's rights for their entire lives. Over the next 567 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,960 Speaker 1: nine years after the occupation, there were at least seventy 568 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:11,560 Speaker 1: takeovers of buildings, facilities, and property patterned after the occupation 569 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:14,680 Speaker 1: of Alcatraz. These included the takeover of the Bureau of 570 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,840 Speaker 1: Indian Affairs building in nineteen seventy two and the occupation 571 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 1: of Wounded Knee in nineteen seventy three. Some of these 572 00:31:20,680 --> 00:31:25,240 Speaker 1: occupations were more militant than the occupation of Alcatraz had been. Together, 573 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:29,160 Speaker 1: this takeover movement and its associated political advocacy came to 574 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,240 Speaker 1: be known as the Alcatraz Red Power movement. The term 575 00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: red power had actually been coined by Vindaloria Jr. Back 576 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:39,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty six. Thousands of Native people visited Alcatraz 577 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: during the occupation, including some people who later became prominent 578 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:46,040 Speaker 1: Native leaders, and many talked about how important the occupation 579 00:31:46,080 --> 00:31:49,240 Speaker 1: had been to them as Native people. For example, Wilma 580 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: Mankiller visited the island and was one of the volunteers 581 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:55,680 Speaker 1: working on the occupation from the mainland. She later said quote, 582 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,480 Speaker 1: it was idealistic and the generosity of the spirit of 583 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 1: the people proved that we could change anything. Who I 584 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,200 Speaker 1: am and how I governed was influenced by Alcatraz. The 585 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:09,400 Speaker 1: way I viewed descent was totally influenced by Alcatraz. People 586 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:12,240 Speaker 1: on the island were very strong about freedom of speech, 587 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,440 Speaker 1: freedom of descent. I saw the importance of descent in government. 588 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,080 Speaker 1: If you're not familiar with woman man Killer, she was 589 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: the first woman to become principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. 590 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,280 Speaker 1: Alcatraz became a symbol of Native pride and Native self 591 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:29,840 Speaker 1: determination in the first of the protest marches, known as 592 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,520 Speaker 1: the Longest Walk, started with a ceremony at Alcatraz. The 593 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 1: march was in protest of a collection of anti native 594 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,560 Speaker 1: bills that had been introduced in Congress, and then more generally, 595 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:42,440 Speaker 1: to draw attention to the problems still faced by Native people. 596 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:46,560 Speaker 1: After the Alcatraz ceremony, the marchers watched three thousand miles 597 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 1: to Washington, d c. Symbolically recreating the forced marches of 598 00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 1: the removal era, and on top of that, there were 599 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:56,600 Speaker 1: concrete legislative advances in Native rights that came out during 600 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 1: and after the occupation. As a result of this and 601 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: other vocacy, President Richard Nixon had made Native rights a 602 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,640 Speaker 1: part of his platform, and while he was in office, 603 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,520 Speaker 1: his administration increased the budget of the Bureau of Indian 604 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:12,680 Speaker 1: Affairs by more than two It also established the Office 605 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:16,440 Speaker 1: of Indian Water Rights and established so called Indian desks 606 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,280 Speaker 1: in government HR offices to help ensure equal opportunities for 607 00:33:20,360 --> 00:33:25,360 Speaker 1: Native people. Other legislation followed after Nixon's resignation, including the 608 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:29,200 Speaker 1: Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act that was passed 609 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,920 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy five. During these years, lands were also 610 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:36,440 Speaker 1: returned to Native nations, including the return of Mount Adams 611 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:39,720 Speaker 1: to the Yakama Nation in Washington State and the return 612 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: of Blue Lake in the surrounding land to Taos Pueblo 613 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:46,240 Speaker 1: and New Mexico. Obviously, there is still a long way 614 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:49,280 Speaker 1: to go in terms of tribal sovereignty and Native rights. 615 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,760 Speaker 1: As was the case during the reorganization period, the laws 616 00:33:52,800 --> 00:33:55,440 Speaker 1: that were passed in the sixties and seventies were overall 617 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,160 Speaker 1: a step forward, but they were also not without fault, 618 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,280 Speaker 1: and they did not undo center reas of damaging policy 619 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:05,600 Speaker 1: and ongoing patterns of racism and white supremacy. Today, there 620 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:09,239 Speaker 1: are more than five hundred federally recognized tribes and approximately 621 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:12,880 Speaker 1: three hundred seventy four ratified treaties between the US and 622 00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,640 Speaker 1: Native nations. According to the US Census, two point nine 623 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:20,680 Speaker 1: million people identify as American, Indian, or Alaska Native alone, 624 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:24,360 Speaker 1: and five point two million people identify as Native alone 625 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,719 Speaker 1: or in combination with one or more other races. So 626 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:30,200 Speaker 1: these issues affect the lives of a lot of people 627 00:34:30,320 --> 00:34:33,840 Speaker 1: from a diverse collection of nations and people's. Many Native 628 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:37,000 Speaker 1: writers have also compared the occupation of Alcatraz to the 629 00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:41,200 Speaker 1: Standing Rock water protectors demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline, 630 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:43,960 Speaker 1: both in terms of how they have inspired for their 631 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:47,359 Speaker 1: advocacy and further sense of identity, and also how they've 632 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:50,120 Speaker 1: drawn more attention to Native American rights and social and 633 00:34:50,160 --> 00:34:54,360 Speaker 1: political issues involving Native people in nations in general. Today, 634 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,480 Speaker 1: the International Indian Treaty Council and American Indian Contemporary Arts 635 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:02,719 Speaker 1: organized Sunrise the Premonies on Alcatraz on Indigenous People's Day 636 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:07,560 Speaker 1: and on Thanksgiving, with transportation provided by Alcatraz Cruises, which 637 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,760 Speaker 1: is the official concession or to the National Park Service 638 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,160 Speaker 1: as of when we are recording this podcast. Indians of 639 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:17,360 Speaker 1: All Tribes also still exists and has been planning fiftieth 640 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:22,560 Speaker 1: anniversary commemorations of this occupation. Richard Oakes was shot and 641 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:24,799 Speaker 1: killed by a guard at a Y M c A 642 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,480 Speaker 1: camp in September of ninety two. The guard said he 643 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:31,160 Speaker 1: thought Oakes was going for a weapon, although he was unarmed. 644 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,480 Speaker 1: On seventeen, Oakes was honored with a Google Doodle on 645 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,879 Speaker 1: what would have been his seventy five birthday. Even though 646 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 1: we have given this uh topic of full two parts, 647 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:45,279 Speaker 1: it still feels like we've only scratched the surface. But 648 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,160 Speaker 1: there are fortunately lots of resources for people who would 649 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 1: like to know more. As one example, American Indian activism 650 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:55,160 Speaker 1: Alcatraz to the Longest Walk from the University of Illinois 651 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:58,800 Speaker 1: Press includes a lot of first hand accounts from Vindeloria Jr. 652 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:02,680 Speaker 1: Adam Fortunate Eagle, Tim Findley, and Leneda war Jack then 653 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:06,920 Speaker 1: known as Lenaeda Boyer, among others, along with historical analysis 654 00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:10,640 Speaker 1: of the occupation and related events leneda war. Jack also 655 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:12,920 Speaker 1: went on to earn her PhD and has written a 656 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:17,320 Speaker 1: book called Native Resistance, An Intergenerational Fight for Survival and Life, 657 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,040 Speaker 1: which was still forthcoming as of when we recorded this podcast, 658 00:36:21,080 --> 00:36:23,360 Speaker 1: so not yet out, but I think it will be 659 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:27,000 Speaker 1: out as of when the episode is out, but not yet. UM. Also, 660 00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:30,760 Speaker 1: these issues involving treaty rights and land rights and native 661 00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:33,960 Speaker 1: and tribal sovereignty, all of that is so ongoing for 662 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,960 Speaker 1: so many people today. If if people want another source 663 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,880 Speaker 1: all on all of this, I really recommend the podcast 664 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:44,160 Speaker 1: This Land from Cricket Media, which is hosted by Rebecca Nagel. 665 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:46,400 Speaker 1: She is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and that 666 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:49,960 Speaker 1: is about a case involving both land rights and the 667 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,319 Speaker 1: Supreme Court. UM. As of right this minute is it 668 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,239 Speaker 1: is an eight part series that covers a whole arc 669 00:36:56,600 --> 00:37:01,200 Speaker 1: and it is extremely good. UM. That is occupation of Alcatraz. 670 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:03,799 Speaker 1: Do you have a listener mail? I do I have 671 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:07,960 Speaker 1: listener mail from Claire Claire wrote to us after our 672 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 1: episode on the witch Finder General and Claire says, hi, y'all. 673 00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,240 Speaker 1: As soon as I listened to today's episode about Matthew Hopkins, 674 00:37:17,239 --> 00:37:19,040 Speaker 1: I knew I had to write in because I do, 675 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,479 Speaker 1: in fact have a black cat named Pie Wackett, whose 676 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:23,719 Speaker 1: name was inspired in part by the name of one 677 00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:26,360 Speaker 1: of the familiars listened in this episode. I got her 678 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,759 Speaker 1: around Halloween eight years ago, so I knew she had 679 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 1: to have a spooky name. I picked pie Wackett not 680 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,399 Speaker 1: only for its witchy historical connotation, but also because it's 681 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:36,600 Speaker 1: the name of kN Novak's familiar in the movie Bell, 682 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:39,040 Speaker 1: Book and Candle. I'm as much of an old movie 683 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:40,680 Speaker 1: nerd as i am a history nerd, so this was 684 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:43,280 Speaker 1: the perfect name for the cat who made me believe 685 00:37:43,360 --> 00:37:46,279 Speaker 1: in love at first sight. I've attached a picture of 686 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:48,399 Speaker 1: her and all her furry glory. Thanks for all you do. 687 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:52,120 Speaker 1: You make my long days in a cubicle bearable. Thank you, Claire, 688 00:37:52,760 --> 00:37:56,360 Speaker 1: I love your cat picture. Also thanks to Philip on Facebook, 689 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:59,040 Speaker 1: who also put a note on our Facebook about Bell, 690 00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:01,919 Speaker 1: Book and Candle, plus a picture of his black cat 691 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,799 Speaker 1: whose name is Carmen. What is funny to me is 692 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:08,360 Speaker 1: that pie whack It has become a cat name. Um 693 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:11,520 Speaker 1: and what what pie Whackett was back in the day 694 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:15,160 Speaker 1: of Matthew Hopkins, which finding was an imp which is 695 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,120 Speaker 1: a little different from a cat, but like now associated 696 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:20,879 Speaker 1: with cats. I love it. I miss having a black cat. 697 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,000 Speaker 1: I do well. I have two of them. I can 698 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: text you pictures. Neither of them are named after any familiars, though, 699 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:29,759 Speaker 1: uh if you would like to write to us about 700 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:32,560 Speaker 1: this or any other podcast Where History Podcasts and How 701 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:34,440 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com and then we're all over social 702 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,399 Speaker 1: media at miss in History and that's where you'll find 703 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:39,480 Speaker 1: our Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. You can come to 704 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:41,279 Speaker 1: our website, which is missed in History dot com for 705 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:42,960 Speaker 1: show notes for all the episodes Holly and I have 706 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,520 Speaker 1: worked on together, and a searchable archive of every episode. 707 00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:48,080 Speaker 1: And you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcast, 708 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:50,160 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, and anywhere else to get 709 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:57,960 Speaker 1: your podcasts. Stuffy Missed in History Class is a production 710 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:01,160 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more podcasts 711 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:04,520 Speaker 1: for my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, 712 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:09,640 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H