On 20 November 1969, nearly 80 Native Americans landed on the abandoned Alacatraz Island and, citing the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, reclaimed it as their own.
Organized by Richard Oakes, a Mohawk from New York State, the Indians of All Tribes group included occupiers from more than 20 tribes. They invited the federal government to join them in formal negotiations. The government immediately demanded that the occupiers leave, and set up a Coast Guard blockade to prevent supplies from reaching them. The government then switched to a strategy of non-interference, hoping that the occupation would collapse on its own.
The occupation would continue for 18 months.
The occupation was widely covered by the media, and generated broad popular interest in the grievances the occupiers were expressing — broken treaties, broken promises and the erasure of their culture. Demonstrations and occupations popped up around the country in solidarity.
More than 400 people attended the observance of Thanksgiving on 27 November 1969.
Oakes left the occupation in January 1970 after his 13-year-old daughter died from an accidental fall. While factions developed to control the remaining occupiers, the popularity of the movement saw the introduction of non-Native Americans onto the island, including drug addicts and drug dealers.
In May 1971, the government cut electricity and telephone service on the island, and in early June, a fire broke out, destroying several buildings. The government blamed the occupiers for the fire, and the occupiers suspected government infiltrators. The number of protesters dwindled after the fire.
On 11 June 1971, President Nixon ordered federal marshals to remove the final 15 occupiers.
As a direct result of the occupation, laws were passed to support Native American self-determination, health and education. Some tribal lands were returned (e.g. Mount Adams in Washington and 48,000 acres around Blue Lake in New Mexico).
Many of the veterans of the Alcatraz occupation continued their activism and participated in further demonstrations, including the 1972 takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters and the Wounded Knee occupation in 1973.
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