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Miller, Carol (audio interview #1 of 1)
This is the single, short interview conducted for an American Indian Studies class. Few details about the interview process were noted, but the narrator and interviewer probably were familiar with each other as a result of their participation in the American Indian Studies program.
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- 2019-12-18
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- Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-1:18)... Discussing the occupation of Alcatraz, Miller notes that the Indians decided to occupy the island on the basis of the 1860 treaty drawn with the Sioux that stated that all lands taken by the federal government and not used would revert back to the Indians. The Indians felt that the land should go to them instead of the government selling it to private parties. Indians from all over the US went to Alcatraz to occupy it. Ultimately, they were physically removed. The occupation lasted from the fall of 1969 to June,1971. Miller was there in the fall of 1969 about two weeks after the occupation began. (1:18-5:25)... When Miller first reached Alcatraz, strategies were being discussed for education of the children, supply routes, staying warm, and staying healthy. There was no real advance planning and most of the Indians had only known about going about a week beforehand. Most of the Indians came from the south bay area of San Francisco. [Editor's note: following Richard Oakes recruitment campaign at UCLA, about 80 new recruits came from southern California.] Miller was working in Palo Alto and living in San Mateo and her cousin and she decided to get in on the occupation. going over to Alcatraz. They went by boat but the first time they tried the blockade was set up and they could not get in. They had to try again and the next time the blockades were down. Miller was dropped off on the east side of the island and when she arrived there were about 150-175 Indians there. (5:25-7:29)... When Miller arrived on Alcatraz the mood was like a big camp out and it was fun. Several restaurants sent food and they accepted donations through the Indian Center in San Francisco. Water was shipped in and paid for by Buffy Ste. Marie. Miller left her job and at that time she felt she would stay as long as it took. (7:29-10:05)... Miller got a tour of the island when she first got there and made a visit to the medic. She found a place to stay in the attic in the warden&aposs office. Jobs were given out as needed and everyone helped each other. Hers was to make a school for the children. There were twelve or thirteen children on the island and most stayed the whole occupation one child did die from a mortal wound. [Editor&aposs note: Richard Oakes&apos thirteen year old stepdaughter died after falling three flights down a stairwell.] (10:05-10:44)... The US government claimed that the island was unsafe but Miller did not feel that way. She felt safe during her stay there (10:44-11:51)... The media and television cameras came out while the Indians occupied the island it could still be reached by boat. Miller recalls that a someone from a television crew made a styrofoam totem pole for publicity. (11:51-13:36)... Everyone ate together and it was a giant buffet they ate whatever came across on the boat. The fog and the cold were the main problems. There were police boats in the water watching them although they never disembarked when she was there. Both sides watched each other. (13:36-15:17)... There was an abundance of food. Miller recalls that someone sent over a turkey once. It was alive and stayed where the food was prepared it ran around and would grab food. Everyone stayed away from it. (15:17-16:44)... Miller believes that the best thing that happened on the island was the sense of unity among people from all the tribes. One of the requirements to go over to the island was that you had to be Indian. (16:44-18:58)... The main goal in occupying Alcatraz was to get land given back to the Indians for their purposes. Moreover, it was to open the eyes of the populace that Indians were standing on treaty rights. Although there have not been other occupations of the size of Alcatraz, there has been smaller ones. (18:58-20:56)... The government looked at the occupation of Alcatraz as a civil disturbance in the city of San Francisco and basically looked the other way. Miller left because she got sick and the cold got to her she had to recover for a week and a half after she returned home. She did not have any problems getting off the island. She went back to work for about three weeks and then went back to school. <End of tape
- Carol Miller, a Wintu from Northern California, joined the occupation of Alcatraz in 1969, when she was only twenty years old. She remained there for two years. No further biographical data is available on Miller except that she was a student in the American Indian Studies program at the time of the interview.
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