Film captures fire in the belly of resistance

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As with all significant moments in history, there is always more than one story to tell. The recollections of those who experienced Alcatraz from both the inside and out are what make James Fortier's documentary Alcatraz Is Not Island so compelling.

It's been more than 30 years since America woke up one morning to find out that a small group of Native Americans "held the Rock." It came at a time when the full weight of the United States government's policies of termination and relocation was being felt by urban Indians across the country, and by 1969 their frustration and anger reached a dangerous level.

With the Civil Rights movement and anti-Vietnam sentiments sweeping the nation and gaining public support, Native people started organizing on a political level. In the San Francisco area, a group of students calling themselves the American Indians United decided to capture Alcatraz, the most famous island in America. The occupation would go on to last 19 months and it is estimated that as many as 20,000 Native people visited the island during that time. Alcatraz had ignited a fire within. The spirit of the occupation and its charismatic leader, a young Mohawk named Richard Oakes, was infectious. Alcatraz galvanized Indian Country and gave birth to the Red Power movement.

Drawing from a vast circle of storytellers, a diverse and wide array of impressions and memories are shared in Fortier's Alcatraz. There are interviews with student activists and media supporters, with those who were on the island as children, and stories of the local neighborhood bar owner who helped organize the boats. As well Fortier has incorporated comments from President Nixon's political advisors about the occupation.

These collective insights strip Alcatraz of any militant romanticism that still lingers. The viewer is given an honest portrait of an historic event, one that has the human elements of disillusionment, naivete and idealism but of dreams, hope, strength of human spirit and a cry for justice.

As poet/activist John Trudell stated in the film, "Alcatraz was about spirit. For me it was like coming home!" Revisiting the occupation three decades later is a poignant reminder of how one idea, one person can make the difference of a lifetime.

The film has been almost completely financed out of James Fortier's and his partners' own pockets. With the budget coming in at around $130,000 US, the filmmaker has managed to get 90 per cent of the costs deferred. Using his contacts in the business, Fortier has also called on favors to get items like camera and lighting equipment donated.

The producers are trying to raise money to pay for music licensing and still photographs. Before the film is screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2001, the filmmaker plans on replacing the narration track with a more polished one and editing the film's current running time of 70 minutes down to a 56-minute version to meet television broadcasters' perimeters.

For more information on Alcatraz Is Not An Island contact Diamond Island Productions 650/738-9105.