The Occupation of Alcatraz Island | Retro Report

How have American Indian tribes used activism in their struggle for justice and the preservation of their lands and culture? In 1969, a group of young American Indians who wanted the world to know about the long history of discrimination, mistreatment and treaty violations against Native people took over Alcatraz Island in California, the site of an abandoned federal penitentiary. The occupation sparked an activist movement that successfully reversed federal policies aimed at erasing Native Americans’ cultural identity and reinforced tribal sovereignty.