Episode 11: The Occupation of Alcatraz

51 years ago, this week, Indigenous Peoples took over Alcatraz. Up to 400 members of various Native Tribes lived on The Rock during this 19 month period (years after the prison had closed). The Treaty of Fort Laramie created a path for this occupation, and it marked a crucial shift from Native people being continually forced to assimilate to their self-determination beginning to be recognized on a broader scale. And then the U.S. government forcibly removed residents. But by this point, the world had seen how Natives had been treated, tribes united to advocate and demand better--and for the first time in modern history, they were taken seriously. Twice a year, celebrations still occur on Alcatraz--on Indigenous Peoples Day and on UnThanksgiving.

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