Alcatraz is Not an Island

Running time: N/A

Many view Alcatraz simply as an abandoned prison and tourist attraction. For some, however, it is an inspiration. The year 1969 saw the occupation of Alcatraz Island by Native American activists in one of the most turbulent periods in modern American history. Director James Fortier's superb re-telling of events shows the nascent Native American struggle to establish identity in a sea of cultural arrogance and indifference. It also details the complex rationales and personalities behind the occupation--an event that sparked a cultural renaissance that paralleled the civil rights movement of African-Americans in the fifties and sixties. Reviewed by Ed Soohoo