"It's easy to pass off the Alcatraz event as largely symbolic, but the truth is the spirit and dream of Alcatraz never died, it simply found its way to other fights.... Native sovereignty, repatriation, environmental justice, the struggle for basic human rights; these are the issues Native people were fighting for then, and are the same things we are fighting for today."
- Benjamin Bratt, famous actor and occupant on Alcatraz Island
"The Indians are protesting for a number of reasons. The first is that they get their water from the Missouri River and any oil spill puts their supply at risk. Second, the construction will dig up, and in fact may already have dug up areas the Sioux claim are sacred archaeological and burial sites. And finally, the Standing Rock Sioux say they weren't consulted by the Army Corps when they were investigating the pipeline." [1]
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"We are the first occupants of this country, of this nation and forever time and time and time again, we pay the costs for everybody to gain."
-Dave Archambault II, Standing Rock Sioux Chairman
"While most Americans take running water, telephones, and electricity for granted, many reservation families live without these amenities. On a seriously stretched budget, utilities are viewed as luxuries compared to food and transportation. Overcrowding, substandard dwellings, and lack of utilities all increase the potential for health risk, especially in rural and remote areas where there is a lack of accessible healthcare." [2]
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“The biggest impact is that people have recognized that their culture and traditions are important. They were afraid to speak their languages, and now we have language classes. We have ceremonies. We have things still going on that recognize our culture and our traditions. But bringing back our spiritual consciousness was, to me, the most significant impact.” |
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO TO HEAR A CLIP FROM THE PBS DOCUMENTARY, "ALCATRAZ IS NOT AN ISLAND"
Native Americans explain how the occupation impacted their lives. [Fortier, 2001]
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"These are questions faced by every Native American — Do I decide to live traditionally and identify with the centuries-old culture of my tribe? Or, do I decide to move to the city and adopt or accept a more modern, pan-Indian identity? How much of the dominant American culture do I want to let into my life?" [3]
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"The invisibility of Native peoples and lack of positive images of Native cultures may not register as a problem for many Americans, but it poses a significant challenge for Native youth who want to maintain a foundation in their culture and language. The Washington team’s brand — a name derived from historical terms for hunting native peoples — is a central component to this challenge." |