“I will pick you up at 3:45a.m. Be ready out front.” Those were the words of my friend, Teresa Almaguers, echoing in my ears when I finally laid down to bed at 12:00a.m. I did not want to go to sleep or I would miss my ride and the boat to the 40th Anniversary of the Alcatraz Sunrise Ceremony on Thanksgiving morning. I should have guessed I would doze off in those twilight hours and wake up at 3:30a.m., 15 minutes before she would pick me up.
As an Aztec Dancer, I am used to getting dressed quickly in order to be on time for many a ceremony and presentation. I had prepared all my things in the kitchen so that I could sneak out of the room and not wake up my two-year-old son or sister who was going to watch him. It was too cold to take him this year. I quietly dressed in my regalia in 10 minutes and stepped out into the frigid cold to await my ride.
Teresa pulled up and we rode up and down the Mission picking up her youth from People Organizing to Demand Environmental and Economic Rights’ (PODER) youth organizing program. We headed to PODER where Ras K’Dee, founder and director of SNAG magazine – a native youth run publication – was waiting in their SNAG bio-diesel bus. We all got in to the bus that had youth waiting for us
from SNAG and also the Friendship house. We went to pick up more young folks and jammed down to the pier so that we would not miss our bus. Arizmendi had given SNAG and PODER about 8 bags of sweet bread and over 20 pizzas to take with us to feed the masses.
We got to the pier for the 5:30 a.m. boat (we missed our 5:15 a.m. boat) and arrived at Alcatraz minutes before dawn. The air was crisp and cold, keeping everyone awake. Nearly 5,000 people were continuing to arrive to the rock in 20 minute intervals.
As the Aztec Dancers got dressed and waited, the Pomo dancers of the Pomo Nation, original people to the San Francisco Bay, blessed the ceremony with their prayer dances. There was a blessing and honoring of all Native people who have served in the armed forces for their land and people with the keeping of the flags. “We come from warrior societies and we always honor our veterans for protecting the people’s homeland and we welcome them home…to bring that healing to them,” stated the M.C. “We invite all veterans to join us in this veterans’ song.”
Prayers by the elders in the community were powerful in meaning to those who were there to listen and take it in. It was a time to commemorate and remember Richard Oakes who led the occupation of Alcatraz Prison 40 years before which lasted over 19 months in order to send a message to the world that we are still here and always will be to protect Mother Earth and all who live on her and to fight for the rights of all Native people.
Thanksgiving is a day to honor truth and history. Thanksgiving to all Native people is a day commemorating the massacre of 700 Mashantucket Pequot Indians in 1639 – unarmed men, women and children – during their green corn ceremony. And the history of Alcatraz goes way back before it was turned into a federal prison. The first prisoners were Hopi parents who refused to have their children be taken away by the government into boarding schools, and also Natives during the Modoc wars.
Andrea Carmen of the International Indian Treaty Council explains the current struggles of Native American communities, explaining that just two days prior to Thanksgiving this year, Canada joined in and signed the United Nations Declaration of Indigenous People’s Rights and that the U.S. is the only country left still holding out. “The U.S. knows that if they support this they would be recognizing 47 million Indians along with the treaties that were never followed through with hundreds of Indian tribes and their lands,” she states.
Founder and Director of the American Indian Movement (AIM), spirit name, Thunder Before The Storm, spoke of the current number of Natives living on this earth: 120 Million, with 16 Million in the U.S. alone. “There were 240,000 left during Wounded Knee in 1890,” he states, “so we have a lot to be thankful for as our communities grow strong. Alcatraz is a symbol of resistance.”
Ras K’Dee of Pomo-African descent is also co-host of KPFA’s Bay Native Circle (BNC), which airs Wednesday’s at 2p.m., and was also co-hosting the annual program of the Radio Free Alcatraz show from 6-8a.m. that morning along with Tony Gonzalez of AIM West, Morning Star Gali of BNC, Lakota Harden of BNC, Miguel “Gavilan” Molina of La Onda Bajita show, Janeen Antoine of (BCN), and Mary Jean Robertson of KPOO to name a few. Ras K’Dee stated how he brings his youth every year and this year there was a big response of 16 Native youth. “All my youth are here,” he said.” They were pretty excited to come. They are not forced. We didn’t have to convince them. They wanted to come participate, sing and pray. It’s a beautiful thing; we’ve been coming for a few years now and it’s a pleasure for me to be here with them.” He also talked about the sacred Shellmound sites located throughout California and the annual Black Friday protests of how Emeryville Mall was built over Shellmound sacred land.
Jeremy Goodfeather offered a morning song and sang with his acoustic guitar another song entitled “I’m Accidentally Brown”. The Mauri of the “far land of the South Pacific” gave a powerful prayer and dance. It gave everyone present a surge of energy as the sun had already come up. The Aztec dancers, comprised of many groups throughout California and led for many years by traditional Aztec dance group Teokalli, closed the ceremony off as we gathered around the fire and welcomed the sun. This ritual gives us hope for a better tomorrow and continued struggles for not only the rights of all Native peoples, but also for the end of industrial contaminations that affects us all on Mother Earth.
When I got home my sister told me my son knew I had left and cried for me for 2 hours into the night and kept pointing to the front door waiting for me to come through before sleep got the better of him. Jeremy Goodfeather reminded us of how he puts his family first and how they are always with him for all ceremonys. It made me miss my son, and I promised myself that next year, cold or not, I will bring my son bundled up with me to the rock.
To learn more about the Shellmound Sacred sites log into:http://ipocshellmoundwalk.intuitwebsites.com/shellmound.html
To listen to the Alcatraz gathering log on to KPFA’s page http://kpfa.org/archive/id/65584
This audio archive will be available until Thursday, Decemeber 9, 2010
Love this story… beautiful words that describes the power of ceremony and the history of thanksgiving. Thank you, Sandra Bustos Sandoval.