In the early morning of Nov. 20, 1969, some 80 Native Americans sailed to Alcatraz and set up camp. They would stay on the craggy outcropping until federal marshals removed them on June 11, 1971. The group’s demands included establishing a Native American university and cultural center.
“We will purchase said Alcatraz Island for $24 in glass beads and red cloth, a precedent set by the white man’s purchase of a similar island about 300 years ago,” read their proclamation. That other island was, of course, Manhattan, bought from Native Americans by the Dutch in 1626.
Soon after their arrival, the group found buckets of terra-cotta-colored paint, believed to be left over from the nearby Golden Gate Bridge. Some took to spelling out declarations of native sovereignty and painting raised red fists on the island’s dilapidated prison buildings, including the water tower.
pictures and NY Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/us/al ... ntemail1=y
