Nearly half a century ago, dozens of Native American activists navigated from San Francisco to Alcatraz to occupy the island for six months to denounce the dispossession and abandonment of their communities. That peaceful protest detonated a national movement in favor of the civil rights of Native American tribes. This summer, to reassert their cause, indigenous groups will paddle canoes in actions similar to those of the historic events of 1969. In preparation, master canoeists are working in makeshift shipyards to build wooden vessels using the traditional techniques of the Ohlone and other Native peoples from the region. Fernando Andrés Torres reports from Berkeley. This report is part of the “Raíces” series on folk arts.
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