Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 10/01/2023 Gr 5 Up—Prolific author Bruchac presents the history and legacy of the 1960s Indian occupations of Alcatraz Island. Bruchac dedicates the first half of the narrative to the history of the island and vignettes of Native Americans who were imprisoned there or played major roles in its occupations. This history also touches on residential schools, colonization, and the Indian Removal Act. The second half of the book explores Alcatraz's occupations, with its primary focus being the 19-month Indians of All Tribes occupation in 1969 and 1970. The occupation's legacy is complex, and this section explores Alcatraz as a Native American "pilgrimage site"; the work of Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon in regards to American Indians; many Native activists, including Richard Oakes and John Trudell; and sexism, erasure, and cultural appropriation of Native American culture by white people. Forty pages of back matter—including an extensive time line, references, and substantial index, and the contemporary and historical images included throughout—round out this densely packed, textbook-style presentation. Readers should expect a bit of jostling in the narrative's chronology and occasional conjecture, but the overall result is an illumination of what "turned out to be one of the most consequential events for Native Americans in the twentieth century." VERDICT Ideal for classroom use, this title provides an essential and frequently omitted voice to recent history.—Taylor Worley - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 10/15/2023 *Starred Review* In November 1969, a group of Native Americans, including representatives from several tribes, peacefully took over Alcatraz Island. The island, historically an important spiritual site for local Indian communities, had been commandeered by the U.S. government in the mid-nineteenth century, used first as a fort, then as a prison, and then basically abandoned in 1963. Despite the lack of fresh water and the island’s general state of disrepair, the Native American community continued to grow over the next 16 months, establishing an infrastructure (governing body, security, a clinic, school, and day care center) and hosting ceremonial celebrations and powwows that attracted thousands of visitors from all over the country. This history of American Indigenous peoples begins with pre-Western contact and documents their subsequent subjugation by outside powers, from Spanish conquistadors to the Mission system through broken treaties, relocations, boarding schools, and ongoing legal, judicial, and social discrimination. The Alcatraz occupation—the central event of the book—symbolized Native American unity and pride and emphasized a right to land that had been theirs for centuries. Although relatively brief, the occupation served as a catalyst for social and legislative affirmative action. This account is accessible and factual and offers vignettes and personal profiles that will resonate with readers. Photos, graphics, and rich back matter complement this narrative about an important milestone in American history. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.