September 27 11.00 – 12.00 am 
| 
Alcatraz, San Franciso / Yelamu
Sponsor:
Price: free
Join us in San Francisco for “Poetry, Prose and Art at Alcatraz,” a compelling lecture at the Poetry Downtown Festival 2025 that delves into the role of creative expression during pivotal moments of American Indian activism. The event highlights how poetry, prose, and art became tools of resistance and resilience for the five Sicangu Lakota Indians who declared Alcatraz as Indian Land on March 9, 1964, and the following Occupation of Alcatraz from 1969 to 1971. This lecture explores how the arts united communities, amplified their demands for justice, and immortalized the spirit of these groundbreaking movements.
Topics:
- The cultural significance of the 1964 declaration and the Occupation of Alcatraz.
- Poetry and song as expressions of Indigenous resistance.
- The role of storytelling in mobilizing political movements.
- The creative legacy of the Alcatraz Occupation in shaping modern activism.
- Contemporary reflections on Alcatraz as a symbol of reclamation and hope.
