Thanksgiving morning. Before dawn. The lights of the streets lamps, and the homes and buildings of San Francisco reflect in the water near Pier 33.

This is where the boats depart for Alcatraz. 

On Thanksgiving morning before dawn, the ferries run every 15 minutes, taking people to a sunrise gathering. An Indigenous People’s Alcatraz Thanksgiving ceremony. 

The boats arrive to the island in the middle of the bay. People get off. Climb on to the island. They huddle against the chilly air and the cold winds that whip across San Francisco Bay. Lights from the cities across the water flicker in the distance. A ceremonial fire is lit. Drums beat as the sun rises. Songs are sung. Words are said. Dances danced.

Prayers spoken.

Stories told.

Resistance remembered.

This event is sacred. A ceremony to challenge the Thanksgiving myth. A ceremony to remember the innocent Indigenous peoples killed and pushed aside by the European conquest of America. And to honor the struggle of those who survived. As they say, “To honor the resistance of our ancestors and give thanks for the survival of our Peoples, sacred places, cultures and ways of life.”

The location for this ceremony is not by accident.

See, in 1969, just a week before Thanksgiving, 14 members of the group Indians of All Tribes landed on Alcatraz Island, launching an ongoing Native American occupation of the island that would last for 19 months and inspire movements and organizing around the country.

The notorious Alcatraz prison, which once held criminals like Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly, had closed six years before. Now Indigenous peoples held the island. They demanded that it be returned to them—Native Americans—the original inhabitants of this region going back thousands of years. 

They said that under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, all abandoned federal land should be returned to the peoples who once lived there. Therefore it was their right.

The occupiers protested ongoing US policies toward Native Americans. They denounced the US governments never-ending list of false promises and broken treaties. They demanded land rights and sovereignty. They said they wanted to found a Native American cultural center on the island. A museum. A university.

On Thanksgiving, hundreds of people arrived to show their support for the occupation. At the height of the occupation, 400 people lived on the island. Most were students. And they resisted. Month after month.

One of the members of the movement there launched a daily radio show, Radio Free Alcatraz. They also founded a newsletter. Active resistance in the San Francisco Bay. 

Federal officials would eventually cut off electricity and water to the occupation, and roll in with troops to remove the remaining occupiers from the island in June 1971. But the occupation would leave a lasting legacy.

Their resistance is still remembered. As numerous people in news reports have said over the years, “We consider Alcatraz to be the spark of the modern-day indigenous movement around the world.”

“The rock is kind of like our march on Washington. It’s kind of like our I have a dream speech for creating a greater Indigenous future.”

The occupation of Alcatraz would inspire other movements and occupations over the decades including all the way to Standing Rock and the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016. 

And Alcatraz is remembered every Thanksgiving morning. With a sunrise ceremony. And unthanksgiving ceremony. To honor those who stood up, on Alcatraz and everywhere else. Honoring their ancestors. And the sacrifices they made. Honoring the resistance of Indigenous peoples in the past. The present. And the future.

Hi, folks. Thanks for listening. I’m your host, Michael Fox. 

I attended one of these Thanksgiving sunrise gatherings on Alcatraz island many, many years ago. It’s a powerful ceremony with an incredible history.

I’m placing some links in the show notes to videos and news reports about the ceremony and the Alcatraz occupation, as well as a couple of videos with footage from back in the day. I used a couple of clips from these in today’s episode.

Folks, if you have not heard, I have more incredible news. You might remember that Stories of Resistance recently won a Gold Signal award for best history podcast. Well last week, it also won a Gold Anthem Award in the category of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We are honored.

This is episode 78 of Stories of Resistance. If you don’t already subscribe to the show you can follow the links in the show notes. Stories of Resistance is produced by The Real News. Each week, I bring you stories of resistance and hope like this. Inspiration for dark times. And please, if you like what we do, rate us, leave a comment or a review, and help us spread the word.

As always, thanks for listening. See you next time.