This raw, silent footage was shot during the Occupation of Alcatraz (November 20, 1969 – June 11, 1971), when 89 Native Americans and their supporters occupied Alcatraz Island and the derelict federal penitentiary, which closed in 1963. The footage is partially edited, and might represent an unfinished "rough cut" of a documentary film about the protest and especially John Trudell, a spokesman for the Indians of All Tribes (IAT) group. (At one point in the footage, signage for the College of Alameda is visible, so perhaps this footage was shot by a student or faculty member). The IAT protest on Alcatraz began shortly after the federal government declared the island surplus land, and plans were made to develop it. IAT claimed that, under the Treaty of Fort Laramie between the U.S. and the Lakota tribe, all retired, abandoned, or out-of-use federal land was to be returned to the Indigenous peoples who once occupied it. Red Power activists felt that the island qualified for a reclamation; the subsequent Occupation of Alcatraz had a brief effect on federal Indian Termination policies and established a precedent for Indian activism. The effort was led by Native American activists Richard Oakes, LaNada Means, and others. Despite difficulties including the death of Oakes' young daughter in an accidental fall, the group lived on the island together for 19 months. Finally, the U.S. government.shut off all electricity to the island and made it difficult for water to reach the occupants. After a fire destroyed a number of buildings on the island, the number of protestors began to diminish. On June 11, 1971, a large force of government officers removed the remaining 15 people from the island.

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