The Alcatraz Island: The Red Power Movement

New inhabitants of the banks of river of Columbia started to oppose and tried to put an end to the fishing habits of Indian tribes reserved by Indian treaty and wanted them to abide by the fishing laws of Washington State on account of the complaint against the increasing pollution in the water endangering the ecosystem of salmon fishes. Police arrest of a tribal leader called Robert Satiacum followed after Washington State Sportsman’s Council favored the activities of conservation of life underwater and the case was pushed to the Apex Court. The first flickering moments of Red Power Movement were seen in the strenuous efforts of NIYC which got involved in loud manifestations of protest in public through marching which ware known as ‘fish-ins’

One of the major occurrences that lent the Red Power Movement its true revolting form was the intrusion of nearly 100 American Indian members of Indian of All Tribes into Alcatraz Island over the extended period of more than one and half years. The abrupt seizure of land sprawling over 12 acres was justified by the legal assertion that an old treaty of Sioux bestowed Indians with the rights of recovering abandoned lands that originally belonged to Native Americans and no longer served the interest of federal. The Alcatraz Island was a deserted federal land which was worth the reclamation of the American Indians. The initial occupation took place among public in 1964 by a Sioux group of nearly 40 people with Allen Cottier as the representative who declared that it was one of their rights according to the old treaty of Sioux. The subsequent seizure endured for long 19 months and ended on an uninterrupted note. Richard Oakes and John Trudell among the students who were involved the original seizure of Alcatraz became vocal with protestation when an idea of turning the Island into a national level park was considered by the San Francisco Interior Department. They demanded a governmental acceptance of their reclamation deed and condemned U.S government for not paying heed to the Indian Treaties. The Indian tribal desire behind the acquisition of Alcatraz Island was to reconstruct it as a place for spirituality, education, preservation of ancient Indian artifacts. Strict Governmental measures were taken to evict those Indians from that Island and the protestors also yielded to the internal conflicts. Far-reaching influence of the capture of Alcatraz Island was observed in the Wounded Knee event and Trail of Broken