Photographs from Indigenous Peoples’ Sunrise Gathering on Alcatraz Island

Sunrise on Alcatraz Island on Thursday.

Published November 24, 2018

ALCATRAZ ISLAND — Hundreds of American Indians and non-Native allies gathered on Alcatraz Island on Thursday, November 22, 2018 to celebrate the annual Indigenous Peoples’ Sunrise Gathering. This sunrise event is an alternative for San Francisco Bay Area American Indians to celebrate Thanksgiving that many American Indians call a day of mourning.

Morning Star Gali speaks to crowd.

“Today we stand in solidarity for our ancestors. We are the voices for the youth who have not developed their own or simply don’t have the platform, what ever the situation, we are the voice for the youth. We are descendants of our ancestors who prayed for us to be here today, we would like to give them thanks, we would like to acknowledge them and all the adversity they faced so that we can be here today. Our ancestors were resilient, our ancestors were loving welcoming not… hateful people, to hate someone is not our way, we depended on each other for survival, division was not the way of our ancestors,” said Morning Star Gali (Ajumawi Band of the Pit River Tribe).

“Today we are that prayer as we come together for the same purpose. To continue that prayer. We are not your mascot, we are not your advertisement, we are not your prey, we are our ancestors prayers.“

The International Indian Treaty Council organizes this annual event.

Christopher Burquez was on Alcatraz Island and took these photographs for Native News Online:

The sun’s brilliant sunrise can be seen coming through the American Indian Movement flag.

Lenny Foster (Dine’), spiritual advisor to Leonard Peltier, speaks to the crowd. Foster, who lives in Arizona, has been coming to the Indigenous Peoples’ Sunrise Gathering for decades.