Race/Related: A New Era of Activism Among Native Americans

2019年10月26日星期六

October 26, 2019

By John Eligon

In 1969, a student-led group of Native American activists occupied Alcatraz Island for 19 months. They were there to protest generations of government policies that had decimated Native communities across the country.

As part of the occupation, the activists demanded that the government make good on its promise to undo the damage.

The occupation received a great deal of mainstream attention at the time, and those who participated in it said that it was a moment in which they finally felt able to openly and proudly express their culture and heritage. Still, many people don't know much about the occupation.

Most significantly, perhaps, the occupation led President Richard M. Nixon to transform federal Indian policy, which to that point had terminated dozens of tribes. The occupation led to a new policy of self-determination, and tribal nations were given increased resources to address their needs.

Native Americans look at the occupation as a turning point, but promises remain unfulfilled.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the occupation, the activist Julian Brave NoiseCat recently helped organize an event in which dozens of Native people paddled cedar canoes around the island.

Along with the photographer Josué Rivas, I went to the journey in San Francisco and talked to people about what the occupation meant to them. For many, it was much more than a distant memory.

Josue Rivas for The New York Times

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