in the Occupation of Alcatraz. Also in 1969, he married Annie Marrufo, who was part of the Pomo Nation, and Oakes adopted all five of her children. Alcatraz occupation In 1969, Oakes led a group of students and urban Bay Area Native Americans in an occupation of Alcatraz Island that would last until 1971. He also recruited 80 UCLA students from the American Indian Studies Center. Many other Nations had already attempted to circle the island in boats but all were unsuccessful. When boats stopped during their course, Oakes chose to swim through the rest of the Bay and directly took control of the island. Indigenous Americans of various Nations joined Oakes and staged the longest occupation of a federal facility by Native American people. The historic occupation was made up initially of young indigenous college students from around San Francisco and UCLA. Oakes was considered a noted activist during the occupation according to The American Indian Quarterly. Oakes had control of the island from the very beginning, with an organizational council put into effect immediately. Everyone had a job, including security, sanitation, day care, schooling, cooking, and laundry. All decisions were made by the unanimous consent of the people. The occupiers proclaimed their purpose as "To better the lives of all Indian people" by making "known to the world that we have a right to use our land for our own benefit" through reclaiming Alcatraz "in the name of all American Indians by right of discovery." In 1970 the island began to fall into disarray. On January 5, 1970, Oakes' 12-year-old adopted daughter, Yvonne, fell to her death onto concrete steps. After her funeral, Oakes and Marrufo left the island. Conflicts over leadership and the influx of non-indigenous Americans diminished the important stance of the original occupants. In June 1971 the United States government removed the remaining 15 occupants from the island. While Oakes and his followers did not succeed in obtaining the island, they did affect U.S. policy and the treatment of Indians. As a result of the occupation, the official U.S. government policy of termination of Indian tribes was ended and replaced by a policy of Indian self-determination. After Alcatraz and his death After leaving Alcatraz, Oakes continued his resistance. He helped the Pit River Tribe in their attempts to regain nearly 3 million acres of land that had been seized by Pacific Gas & Electric. Oakes