My mom sitting in the Warden's House, Alcatraz Island 1969

My mom, Rosalie McKay-Want, taken on Alcatraz Island during the Spring of 1970 during the Indian Occupation. She was a UC student at the time of the Occupation, taking all her kids to the Island..all 5 of us--ages 5 to 16..

Inside Warden's House, Alcatraz Islaand Nov. 1969

Here i am sitting inside the living room of the Warden's House on the Island. Note the layered clothing we wore to keep warm....2 pants and several layers of shirts. Our first night on the Island was here in the Warden's House.

Women of the Occupation

/Some of the women that kept the day-to-day operations on the Rock going during the Indian Occupation from 1969-1970. From left to right, Sue Tiger, Shirley (Garcia) Guevera, Sandra Aguilar, Eldy Bratt, Justine Moppin, Rosalie McKay and Cecelia Peppilion. My mom, Rosalie McKay, brought me and my 4 siblings to the Island in November 1969. They all made sure people were fed, the living arrangements were made bearable as possible, and helped maintain as much normalcy for the families, children and fellow occupiers. There were many others too. This picture was taken years later during one of the re-unions, i'm guessing the 20th or 30th anniversary of the Occupation, possible 1980 or 1990.(foto by Ilka Hartmann)

Support On the Mainland

Grace Thorpe, daughter of Jim Thorpe, and Marilyn Miracle outside the Alcatraz Mainland office that served as the donation receiving center for the Alcatraz occupiers. I forget the guy's name, note the start of the Bay Bridge in the background. I took this in the spring of 1970.

Occupation Newsletter... Issue No.1

The first Island Newsletter edited by Peter Blue Cloud. I was lucky enough to be one of the contributors...some artwork here and there.

The Kitchen on the Rock

Here's Susie Tsosie (Hannan) and my mom, Rosalie McKay-Want getting ready to serve food to our fellow Indian occupiers. My mom was a student at UC Berkley at the time and i was a student at Alameda High School. I spent 9 months on the Rock from Nov. 1969 to August 1970...the most exciting time of my life. (photo courtesy of the Troy Johnson Collection).

Chow line on the Rock (Dec. 1969).

Eileen Conway, Ed Willie (my brother) and Margaret Lareiro. I forgot the names of the grown-ups in the picture. I took this in the Apartment Building where the Alcatraz guards families lived.