It’s 4:30 in the morning, and tribal peoples from across the nation are marching to the parade ground on Alcatraz Island to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day.
They were also there to celebrate the 19-month occupation of Alcatraz by Indigenous people from 1969 to 1971.
"We still have many of our relatives, our aunties, our uncles, our educators that participated in that occupation, that are here on the island this morning."
Morning Star Gali (kac Ajumawi band of Pit River) is the California Tribal Liaison for the International Indian Treaty Council and the Executive Director of Indigenous Justice. She said this year’s celebration was complicated by the ongoing government shutdown.
Organizers worked with the National Parks Service and Alcatraz Cruises to ensure that people could still come to honor the sunrise.
"We are gathered under our First Amendment right. And so we are here to gather today in prayer, in celebration and recognition of Indigenous peoples here locally and around the world."
Casey Camp Horinek (Ponca Nation) celebrated her first Alcatraz Sunrise Ceremony with her grandson and her nieces. She came in part to honor her brother Craig Camp, who was an original occupier of Alcatraz in 1969.
"I love resistance to the status quo, particularly when we're living under a right wing regime that is trying to destroy us."
Earlier this year, President Trump began the process to reopen Alcatraz as a prison. There’s currently a 62 million dollar rehabilitation effort to correct seismic structural issues in the facilities.
Morning Star says this could affect their annual Thanksgiving Sunrise Ceremony. Because of the shutdown, the Department of the Interior was unable to provide comment.
This story was produced in partnership with News from Native California from Heyday. The fall 2025 issue on food sovereignty is available now. See more of their coverage on their blog.
