It was another banner week for the Occupy movement. An occupier in Burlington shot himself to death. An camper was shot and killed after a fight in Occupy Oakland. Tuberculosis was linked to Occupy Atlanta.
An Occupy Portland man was arrested for throwing a Molotov cocktail. And another Boston occupier was arrested for selling drugs to a cop in a bathroom. Yet the Occupy movement is still going strong. How will this all end?
History never repeats itself exactly, but we’ve seen this Occupy movie before.
At 2 a.m. on Nov. 20, 1969, a group of 80 American Indians, led by San Francisco State student Richard Oakes, landed on Alcatraz Island and declared it their own.
The famous prison had been closed since 1963, and the federal government had declared the island “surplus” property. A lone caretaker, who said he was one-eighth American Indian, sympathized with the group and showed it to the deserted warden’s three-story residence. The occupation of Alcatraz had begun.
Unlike the Occupy Wall Street protesters, Alcatraz occupiers (who called themselves “Indians of All Tribes”) did have some demands. Specifically, they wanted Alcatraz returned to indigenous peoples and they wanted money to build and operate an Indian university or cultural center on the island.
General Services Administration head Robert Kunzig wanted the protesters removed immediately. But President Nixon worried that a raid would set off riots in surrounding Bay Area college campuses.
Nixon ordered federal officials on the scene in San Francisco to negotiate with the protesters instead. A U.S. Coast Guard blockade of the island was called off.
The Alcatraz occupiers received glowing coverage from the press, and Hollywood celebrities showered them with love. Jane Fonda, Marlon Brando and Dick Gregory all visited the island to show their support.
Creedence Clearwater Revival performed a concert for the occupiers and donated $15,000 for a boat to ferry supplies. By Thanksgiving 1969, 400 people were living on the island.
Like with Occupy Wall Street, the Alcatraz occupiers wanted to form a new society where everyone had an equal voice. General meetings were held every day, and every resident had an equal vote.
Non-Native Americans were also allowed to stay on the island, and many people who were drawn to the Haight-Ashbury scene also made their way to the island. Unfortunately, many of these people also brought drugs and alcohol with them. The nature of the occupation began to change.
More homeless made their way to the island, and many of the original occupiers went back to school or jobs. On Jan. 3, 1970, Oakes’ stepdaughter Yvonne fell to her death from a third-story balcony in the warden’s residence. Oakes left the island in despair.
In May 1970, the GSA cut all power to the island and removed the fresh-water barge. In June 1970, a fire destroyed the warden’s residence, doctor’s quarters and part of the lighthouse.
Occupiers blamed outsiders, but the media finally began to turn on the encampment. Stories of beatings and assaults began appearing in local papers. Financial contributions dried up, and the number of occupiers continued to dwindle.
Occupy Alcatraz ended with a whimper when U.S. marshals returned to the island in June 1971. Only 15 people — six men, four women and five children — remained. None was arrested.
Forty years later, Oakland City Councilwoman and former Occupy Oakland camper Desley Brooks told the San Francisco Chronicle:
“This is not the original crowd, not the one that was about the principles of Occupy Wall Street. What we have now is a mix: homeless, anarchists, gang members, and maybe a handful left who are really about Occupy.”
Occupy Alcatraz lasted 19 months. Obama better hope the sequel is a much shorter movie.
