Alcatraz Indigenous People's Sunrise Ceremony November 23, 2017

I had the honor of being invited to come to the 48th annual Alcatraz Indigenous People's Ceremony by an artist friend and long time participant in the ceremonies, Ernest Rivera. Ernie is part of Technical Services for the Arts, which provided the set up of the sound system for the occasion and its radio broadcast over KPFA. This is not a tourist event, no regular ferries run out to Alcatraz on this day. Rather it is to commemorate 525 years of Indigenous resistance, honoring ancestors and future generations and to recognize the occupation of the island by Native Americans from 1969 to 1971. Co-organized by the International Indian Treaty Council and American Indian Contemporary Arts it was an extraordinary and moving event.