Causes And Effects Of The Native American Occupation Of Alcatraz Island

What were the Causes and Effects of the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz Island?
Dating back to the first occurrence of European colonization in the New World, Europeans have advanced their agenda of territorial expansion through the conquering of indigenous peoples. Clashes of culture brought forth a series of conflicts between Native Americans and European settlers that centered around differing religious beliefs and land ideologies. A tidal wave of new diseases also severely weakened the Native American population across the continent, leaving them vulnerable to the increased influx of European settlements. Over the span of 500 years, European impact would eradicate an estimated 60 million Native Americans ("Native North Americans”). military aggression and unjust U.S. government policies, the Native American occupations of Alcatraz Island set out to rein in nationwide attention to the unjust conditions inflicted on Native Americans in the past that continued to the present. The first occupation of Alcatraz Island occurred in 1963. Prior to the occupations, the U.S. had transitioned into Termination policy, seeking to resolve reservation poverty by relocating Native Americans from Indian reservations to cities. By the 1960s, over 60% of the 40,000 Native Americans in San Francisco were settled there as a result of federal work programs; while in cities, Native Americans continued to face poverty as they became exposed to the declining job market and lack of housing ("Native American Civil Rights”). In response to the Termination policy and overall poor living conditions on reservation land, six Lakota mean sought out to occupy the former San Francisco Bay prison. The group cited the Sioux Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868, stating that "an abandoned federal facility must revert back to Indian ownership” ("Occupation of Alcatraz"). However, overall, the occupation received little attention from the media and federal government with both groups refusing to view the event as a sign of a serious issue brewing in America ("Occupation of Alcatraz"). While the occupation failed to produce immediate action, the event would prove not to be completely unsuccessful as it would set the foundation for the second and third occupations of Alcatraz Island in