Part 3
The Real Escape from Alcatraz
The second part of this week’s lesson deals with Alcatraz. Not Alcatraz the federal prison, not Alcatraz the tourist spot, but Alcatraz before it WAS Alcatraz, when it was the “Rock Rainbow” to the native inhabitants of the land. This reading is the second from a non-European perspective and follows the theme of “Meeting of Cultures”. We’ll learn that when the cultures of the native people and the American settlers met, there was only one 
culture that survived intact, that of the American settlers. In this reading, you’ll hear the author’s longing for the return and restoration of his people’s lost way of life. As you read the selection, dismiss the contemporary image of Alcatraz and replace it with its original image as “Allisti Ti-Tanin-Miji”...the Rock Rainbow.
If you could ask an ancestor- a great-grandparent, for example- a question about the past, what would you want to know? What knowledge has been lost that you feel should be preserved for future generations?
When cultures meet, including cultures of newer and older generations, many things can change, some for the better, and some for the worse. The author of this story, Darryl Babe Wilson, was aware of this problem. He writes in the story of his grandfather, “The volumes of knowledge that were buried with him are lost to my generation.” In this story, Mr. Wilson records for us one piece of knowledge preserved from his grandfather’s culture.
Darryl "Babe" Wilson is a writer, storyteller and professor. A member of the Pit River Tribe (Achoma'Wi/Atsuge'Wi) in Northern California, Darryl recently earned his doctorate degree and is now teaching Native American studies courses at Cal State Hayward. For this documentary, Darryl retold the story of "Diamond Island," his people's oral story of how Alcatraz Island contained a "truth" that shined like a diamond, and how this "truth" or jewel was once recovered but then lost by the people of Pit River. Darryl also spoke on camera of the history of the island from a Northern California Native American perspective, as well as the incidents of Northern California Indians, and Indians from as far away as the Hopi reservation being "shipped" to Alcatraz as prisoners when the island was a military prison at the turn of the century. (http://www.turtle-island.com/docu.html)
Places or events can hold different meanings and mysteries for different generations or cultures.
The author offers his beliefs and attitudes as he shares a story that his grandfather told him years earlier. A bold escape from Alcatraz a century before was a key event in the history of his people, yet is little known today. The writer wonders how and if later generations will come to understand and appreciate their heritage.
Read the Diamond Island: Alcatraz excerpt.
Did You Know?
Isla de los alcatraces”, or Island of the Pelicans, was once home to thousands of birds. Early settlers drove the birds away; eventually European settlers remade the island as a fortress, then a military prison, and then a maximum-security penitentiary. Strong and cold currents churn past “The Rock”, making escape supposedly impossible. Read more about the island’s recent history.
Why might ThanksgivingThanksgiving celebrates the Pilgrims giving thanks to God for His protection and provision, and also conjures images of Pilgrims receiving help from the Native inhabitants. remind the narrator of Grandfather’s ordeal? What inference can you draw from the use of the word ordealThe word ordeal suggests that Grandfather has been through something terrible.? Remember that you can see my “2¢ worth” by scrolling your mouse arrow over the highlighted text.
What kind of personGrandfather seems to be a very simple-minded person who is from the ‘old world’ of doing things. do you see Grandfather being? What are some possible reasons for Grandfather’s apparent urgencyPerhaps Grandfather senses that his life is nearly over and that we wants to share a powerful family story with his grandson before its too late. to tell his story?
Did You Know?
You read about the Round Valley Reservation. This reservation is in northern California, about 20 miles inland from the Pacific and about 175 miles north of San Francisco. Oklahoma, which has the greatest population in the USA ( California is second), was a destination for many Native Americans who were “removed” from their traditional lands.
Forum Posting:
Cultural Clash
How can the necklace be interpreted as a symbol of the clash between Grandfather’s culture and another that opposed it?
Go to the Cultural Clash Forum to discuss your answer.
How do Grandfather’s efforts to recollect his tale for a grandson who “wrote things down on paper” represent a meeting of cultures?Maybe Grandfather realizes that his grandson’s work is part of a written tradition, which can record and preserve for others that which he offers in his traditional oral manner. Grandfather is also making a distinction between his former culture and his grandson’s culture.
Think about what the author was feeling and trying to express as he relates his thoughts in the green paragraph as he realizes how different he is from his grandfather.
“Truth, it is truth that will set us free.”
What do you think about this statement that Grandfather attributes to an old chief named Charlie Buck? What kind of freedom is he referring to here? How does this freedom compare to the freedom that Jesus spoke of when he stated that “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”?
Don’t miss the point that the “diamond” of Alcatraz is not a jewel but a truth to be discovered and passed on. Grandfather does not know where the truth that was supposed to help their people has gone. He believes it may be hiding deep inside Mount Shasta.
Read the supplementary Alcatraz websites:
Assignments:
Continue to work on your Power Point assignment.
Review your Vocabulary Vault words!