On March 8, 1964, a small group of Sioux made landfall on Alcatraz Island, which had been abandoned as a prison the previous year. They invoked the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie in reclaiming the surplus federal property as Native land, and spent a few hours singing and drumming before being removed by federal marshals.
On November 9, 1969, dozens of Native Americans of numerous tribes gathered at Pier 39 and read a proclamation claiming Alcatraz by right of discovery and offering to buy it for $24 in beads and cloth.
They then took a symbolic sailboat cruise around the island. Several of the passengers dove overboard and attempted to swim to the island. One jumper made it, but the others were swept away by the tide and had to be rescued.
Later that night, 14 activists convinced local fishermen to take them to the island, where they spent the night.
These were just trial runs for the true occupation, which began on Nov. 20 when nearly 80 Native Americans came ashore in the middle of the night.
As soon as they made landfall, the occupiers set up an elected council and went to work organizing the day-to-day running of the island, assigning jobs and making decisions by unanimous consent.
They released a list of demands, and invited the federal government to join them in formal negotiations.
Initially, the government demanded that the occupiers leave, and set up a Coast Guard blockade to prevent supplies from reaching them. The government later switched to a strategy of non-interference, hoping that by waiting long enough the occupation would collapse on its own.
In secret negotiations, the federal government, impatient to have the island cleared out, offered Fort Mason in San Francisco as an alternative site for a Native American cultural center.
The occupiers refused, and the government decided to apply more pressure.
Electricity and telephone service were cut off, followed by water.
On the night of June 1, 1971, a fire broke out which destroyed several buildings. The government blamed the occupiers, who blamed government infiltrators. The number of occupiers dwindled.
A few days later, with President Nixon’s approval, the feds made their move. On June 11, 1971, nearly 18 months after the start of the occupation, federal marshals came ashore and evicted the last 15 occupiers.
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