Alcatraz has a long and varied history. It began with the charting of the San Francisco Bay, when this barren, uninhabited island got its name, La Isla de los Alcatraces (Island of the Pelicans). The island was used as a military installation, then a military prison, and, most famously, a federal prison. After 29 years, many failed escape attempts, numerous infamous inmates and a stand-off with six prisoners that involved the Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and police, the prison was closed due to monetary constraints.
The Department of Justice decided that the roughly $5 million needed to repair and upgrade the prison, coupled with the rising cost of housing the prisoners — approximately $10 a day per prisoner in 1959 — was too high to justify maintaining the facilities. In the end they determined it was more cost effective to build a new, modern prison elsewhere. In 1963, Alcatraz was officially closed; however, the island would not stay empty for long.
During the late 19th century, many American Indian chiefs and tribal leaders who resisted the U.S. government had been sent to Alcatraz. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, these actions set the stage for the next chapter in Alcatraz’s history.
In 1969, a group known as Indians of All Tribes seized control of Alcatraz Island. They intended to set up a school and a Native American cultural complex, but the occupation was riddled with problems, including the high cost of getting supplies to the island. To fund supply trips, the island’s new inhabitants started stripping the copper wire and copper tubing from all the buildings on the island. They sold the scrap metal and purchased water and food.
The Indians who chose to stay managed to survive on the island and did so with little ado, until the end of 1969, when a little girl named Yvonne Oakes fell from a third-story window and died. The Oakes family was one of the last original activist families left on the island. After the death of their child they left the island, leaving the group with no leader.
In June 1970, a fire that started in one of the buildings damaged the warden’s house, an outbuilding, the lighthouse keeper’s house and the historic lighthouse. Before this time many prominent people had supported the Native Americans in their efforts, and the media had given them a lot of positive press. However, after the fire, public support began to wane and the media quickly turned on them. The Indians of All Tribes tried to blame the government, and the government in turn placed the blame back on them.
