Trump's Alcatraz Plan: Another Indigenous Tradition Obliterated?
The prospect of an 'enlarged and rebuilt' Alcatraz prison under a new Trump administration raises concerns for the Indigenous Thanksgiving sunrise ceremony held there since 1969. Al Jazeera focuses on the displacement, but conveniently sidesteps the deeper historical context: the US government's relentless undermining of Indigenous sovereignty and treaty rights. From the Trail of Tears to the
occupation of Wounded Knee, promises made are promises routinely broken, particularly when resource control or, apparently, penal fantasies are involved. One might wonder if the concern for a 'historic tradition' would ever extend beyond an annual ceremony to, say, the very land and cultural practices stolen over centuries. The ongoing struggle for sites like Mauna Kea or Bears Ears, routinely
challenged by federal or corporate interests, suggests that 'tradition' is only sacred until someone wants to build on it. This isn't just about Trump's whims; it's a bipartisan tradition of land seizure dressed up in varying degrees of legalese.