Thanksgiving on Alcatraz: Remembering the 1969 Native American Occupation

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. In 1969, Alcatraz was the site of a 19-month long Native American occupation that inspired movements and organizing around the country.
That legacy lives on until today.

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Written and produced by Michael Fox.

Resources:

• Indigenous peoples Thanksgiving Sunrise gathering November 27, 2025
• The Occupation of Alcatraz Island
• Sunrise Ceremony Marks 50th Anniversary of Alcatraz Occupation
• A look back at the takeover of Alcatraz Island
• Indigenous Peoples Day Alcatraz Sunrise Ceremony 2015
• Occupation of Alcatraz, 11-29-1969
• Free Radio Alcatraz
• Richard Oakes delivering the Alcatraz Proclamation (1969)

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