Richard Oakes

Richard Oakes (May 22, 1942 – September 20, 1972) was a Mohawk American Indian activist and academic. He spurred American Indian studies in university curricula and is credited for helping to change US federal government termination policies of American Indian peoples and culture. Oakes led a nineteen-month occupation of Alcatraz Island with LaNada Means, approximately 50 California State University students, and 37 others. The Occupation of Alcatraz is credited for opening a rediscovered unity among all American Indian tribes.

Early life Richard Oakes was born on May 22, 1942, on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, a location known in Mohawk as Akwesasne, the US portion of a reservation that spills into Canada across the St. Lawrence River. Like many of his ancestors, Oakes spent most of his childhood fishing and planting beans. He then began working at a local dock area on the St. Lawrence Seaway, but was laid off at the age of sixteen, after which he worked as a high steelworker, a job that entailed a great deal of traveling. He reached San Francisco and decided to enroll at San Francisco State University. While studying at SFSU, Oakes worked as a bartender in the Mission District of San Francisco, which brought him in contact with the local Native American communities. who encouraged him to take a stand and fight for what he believed in. Oakes had also gained the support of many students. He went on to play an integral role in the Occupation of Alcatraz. Also in 1969, he married Annie Marrufo, who was part of the Pomo Nation, and Oakes adopted all five of her children. Oakes was considered a noted activist during the occupation according to The American Indian Quarterly.

Oakes had control of the island from the very beginning, with an organizational council put into effect immediately. Everyone had a job, including security, sanitation, day care, schooling, cooking, and laundry. All decisions were made by the unanimous consent of the people.

The occupiers proclaimed their purpose as "To better the lives of all Indian people" by making "known to the world that we have a right to use our land for our own benefit" through reclaiming Alcatraz "in the name of all American Indians by right of discovery."

In 1970 the island began to fall into disarray. On January 5, 1970, Oakes' 12-year-old adopted daughter, Yvonne, fell to her death onto concrete steps.

Soon after Alcatraz, Oakes was shot and killed near Annapolis, California, in rural Sonoma County by Michael Morgan, a YMCA camp manager. Oakes reportedly confronted him, and Morgan alleged he was in fear for his life, and responded by drawing a handgun and fatally shooting Oakes. Oakes was unarmed when he was shot. Morgan was charged with voluntary manslaughter, but was acquitted by a jury that agreed with Morgan that the killing was an act of self-defense. Oakes supporters contend the shooting was an act of murder, and that Morgan received support from a racially motivated jury and district attorney. Oakes was 30 years old.

Tributes In 1971, musician Leon Russell released a song about the occupation titled "Alcatraz". In 1984, television stations broadcast the ballet Song for Dead Warriors as part of the PBS Dance in America series. The ballet, choreographed by Michael Smuin, was inspired by Oakes' life. In 1999, San Francisco State University dedicated their new Multicultural Center after their former student. His student-led occupation led to the establishment of an American Indian Studies Department at SFSU. In 2012, the band Field Report paid tribute to Oakes and his occupation of Alcatraz in the song "Taking Alcatraz." In 2016 the artist Magneto Dayo and The Lakota Medicine Men paid tribute to Oakes, Russell Means, John Trudell, and others on a song called "The Journey" on the album Royalty of the UnderWorld. On May 22, 2017, Oakes was recognized with a Google Doodle to mark what would have been his 75th birthday.