1969+Indian+occupation+of+Alcatraz

Home TIMELINE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT: Who Is A Person In America?

1969 Indian occupation of Alcatraz Arabella M.

The Island of Alcatraz, nativevillage.org
 * [[image:http://www.nativevillage.org/Inspiration-/alcatraz4.jpg]] ||  ||

A proclamation on Alcatraz Island tells new arrivals where they are, http://www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanisland/activism.html

** TASK I: **
Write a journal/newspaper style article in which you take a neutral stance (as a reporter) and give the facts about the actual event. What led up to the event? What happened during the actual event? Did it have an “end” or is it unresolved? You are to write about this event __when it happened__, you are assuming the role of a reporter in 1850, 1920, etc., __not someone looking back from 2011__. You need to cite your sources, and they must include information only available during that time period. At least one source must be primary and/or an eyewitness account. **Important - This work will be submitted to TurnItIn.com. We will provide you information about using this helpful resource**!


 * November 1969, San Francisco, California:**

About four weeks ago a man named Richard Oaks led a group of American Indians to the island of Alcatraz. As many know the island was originally a prison but was abandoned about six years ago. Mr. Oaks’s plan was to stay overnight on the island to “claim it as their own”, but just a few days ago another group of about 80 Indians ventured to the island. They claimed it as their own by what they called the “right of discovery,” and they proposed a proclamation that offered the United States a payment of 24 dollars; this was the same amount of money that the Dutch colonists paid for the island of Manhattan. So far there have been several rumors as to why they decided to do this. But the main reason is that they wanted to have a place that could be culturally their own. The idea of an Indian University was the main idea they wanted to propose. By looking at the island today you can see that they have already shown that they have “claimed” it. For example, teepees have been set up around the island. American Indians have “marked their territory” by writing things on the walls of the old prison; statements such as, “You are on Indian land,” “Welcome Indians,” and “Red Power” have been written all over the exterior walls. As of now no one is quite sure how the federal government is going to act in response to this situation. Whether we let them have their way and give them what they want culturally or we react negatively and demand they leave the island, sooner or later our government will find must find a way to deal with the American Indians’ demands. Task 1: Mastery Rubric A quality news article will: •open with an attention-grabbing headline •identify the author's name and the date of the publication (in the past) •develop the 5 W's in three power paragraphs •paragraph 1: contain an interesting lead •paragraph 2: correctly cite a secondary source (an indirect quote) •paragraph 3: c orrectly cite a primary source (eyewitness account) •maintain appropriate journalistic voice •read like an article written in the same time period as the event occurred •be free of mechanics and Works Cited e rrors


 * TASK II:**


 * Argument:** Why did the American Indians feel that they needed t occupy the island of Alcatraz?

PROMPT 1: Why did the majority of Americans not recognize the rights of members of this group? There were several reasons as to why the majority of Americans did not recognize the rights of the American Indians. One of the main reasons though was because of how different they were from the rest of society. “You didn’t see young people wearing braids or chokers or ribbon shirts in those days”, “People didn’t Sun Dance, they didn’t Sweat, they were losing their languages”, said Russell Means an Oglala Lakota Indian when describing what Indian life was like before the “takeover” of Alcatraz. When Americans during this time saw these people they would judge them and their culture. This caused many Indians to be ashamed of their heritage, and they were “dispirited, defeated and culturally dissolving”(Russell Means). If it wasn’t for the movement of occupying the island of Alcatraz many American Indians would have lost hope in their culture because of their fear of not being accepted into the American society. Because of the movement many Indians are now proud of their backgrounds, and Americans have accepted them culturally.

PROMPT 2: How did advocates for the minority group shed light on this injustice? There were many reasons as to why the American Indians in California felt that they needed to occupy the island of Alcatraz. The main reason was that by taking the island they would have a place that they could call “their own”. They wanted to establish an Indian University and or build a cultural center. Tom Joseph, a Shoshone-Paiute, and a student at UCLA at the time even said: “we need this place”. All the attention that they were getting from their occupation caused the government to make major changes towards Indians. The government soon sent federal marshals over to the island to remove all Indians from Alcatraz, and were ordered not to arrest anyone. They then put up chain linked fences and stationed guards around the island. The government then passed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. In the end the American Indians won what they wanted and earned more respect from our government and country. Work cited: "Indian occupation feels different in hindsight", Carl Nolte, San Fransico Chronicle, http://elibrary.com

"Alcatraz is not and island", http://www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanisland/activism.html

__Paragraph 1:__ Analyze the impact of the literary or artistic work for the minority group and/or American society as a whole.
 * TASK III: **



The photo above shows a group of American Indians on the island of Alcatraz holding an American flag during the time they occupied the island. By holding the flag on the land they wanted to claim as “their own”, it shows that they respected our country and that all they wanted was respect from us. They occupied the island not to anger our government, but to show that they were people too, and that they felt that they were not being respected in our society. By occupying the island that wanted to have a place that they could call their own so that the American people would see that they were people too and had the same rights as other Americans. They also wanted to make it clear that they had a historical and cultural claim to the island of Alcatraz. The island was once theirs, just like much of the rest of the land that is now the United States, and they felt that it should still be considered as theirs. Overall the main point that the Indians wanted to make was that they wanted to be respected by our country, and have the American people see them as people too.

Picture from: []

__Paragraph 2:__ CLOSING-- How did the event impact the debate on the argument? In the end the occupation by the American Indians on the island of Alcatraz got the attention of our government. They saw that what the Indians were saying was true, and the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act was created. By protesting to get our government’s attention, they gained respect from many American people, and today they feel that they are and have been treated more equally. This topic went with the argument, “Who is a person,” because it demonstrated that the Indians were not being treated as equal to other Americans. They are clearly people too. An outstanding product will. •showcase a work that expresses a profound idea about your event and the argument surrounding it It can be challenging to interpret a photograph as art, but certainly this is possible. •be the **best** example available, not simply the first one you find •demonstrate your ability to interpret the meaning of the literary or artistic piece You have analyzed the facts of this photo, but can you see anything deeper, more emotional and significant? •use the extended power paragraph format as a means to express your understanding of the event, argument, and how art literature and art can reveal emotions and ideas •reference sources accurately <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Be sure to use MLA formatted citations <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">•mechanics are clean and effective <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">Are you certain that this event led to the recognition of rights you discuss in your concluding paragraph? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">An outstanding time line entry includes the following: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">• Opens by identifying you, the author, and your event with a banner headline (see an example of a banner on the top of this page). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">• Under the banner, in the table place two graphics or photos that illustrates an important aspect of the event. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">• Thoughtful responses to each prompt are supported by credible sources representing diverse perspectives on the event. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">• Each response should be posted in order (follow template instructions), contain few mechanic errors and follow the power paragraph format. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: left;"> • The credibility of each cited source is established and internal citations accurately match the Works Cited.• TASK I and TASK II each introduce and cite two new sources; TASK III cites one new source.• The Works Cited lists 5 credible sources from the LC databases.
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 17px;">TASK III: Artistic Expression Element Rubric **
 * Rubric for the Time Line Page **