Not Just a Water Tower

Alcatraz’s water tower, one of the most visible landmarks in San Francisco Bay, became a powerful platform for American Indians who occupied the island and broadcast their message of “peace and freedom” to the world. Standing on each other’s shoulders to paint the letters, they staked their claim to the island. The nineteen-month protest from 1969 to 1971 became the longest occupation of federal land in U.S. history and is credited with launching a national American Indian civil rights movement. When the National Park Service restored the water tower in 2012, original occupiers and family members were invited to repaint the historic message, and the National Park Service continues to work with the occupiers to restore their inscriptions around the island.

San Francisco, California · United States