shaylyn martos / KALW News

It’s 4:30 in the morning, and tribal peoples from across the nation are marching to the parade ground on Alcatraz Island to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day.

They were also there to celebrate the 19-month occupation of Alcatraz by Indigenous people from 1969 to 1971.

" We still have many of our relatives, our aunties, our uncles, our educators that participated in that occupation, that are here on the island this morning."

Morning Star Gali (kac Ajumawi band of Pit River) is the California Tribal Liaison for the International Indian Treaty Council and the Executive Director of Indigenous Justice . She said this year’s celebration was complicated by the ongoing government shutdown .

Organizers worked with the National Parks Service and A

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