also planned to create a "mobile university" dedicated to creating opportunity for Native Americans, but this never came to fruition. As a result of his activism, he endured tear gas, billy clubs, and brief stints in jail. Soon after Alcatraz, Oakes was shot and killed in Sonoma, California, by Michael Morgan, a YMCA camp manager. Oakes reportedly confronted him, and Morgan alleged he was in fear for his life, and responded by drawing a handgun and fatally shooting Oakes. Oakes was unarmed when he was shot. Morgan was charged with voluntary manslaughter, but was acquitted by a jury that agreed with Morgan that the killing was an act of self-defense. Oakes supporters contend the shooting was an act of murder, and that Morgan received support from a racially motivated jury and district attorney. Oakes was 30 years old. Tributes In 1971, musician Leon Russell released a song about the occupation titled "Alcatraz". In 1984, television stations broadcast the ballet Song for Dead Warriors as part of the PBS Dance in America series. The ballet, choreographed by Michael Smuin, was inspired by Oakes' life. In 1999, San Francisco State University dedicated their new Multicultural Center after their former student. His student-led occupation led to the establishment of an American Indian Studies Department at SFSU. In 2012, the band Field Report paid tribute to Oakes and his occupation of Alcatraz in the song "Taking Alcatraz." In 2016 the artist Magneto Dayo and The Lakota Medicine Men paid tribute to Oakes, Russell Means, John Trudell, and others on a song called "The Journey" on the album Royalty of the UnderWorld. On May 22, 2017, Oakes was recognized with a Google Doodle to mark what would have been his 75th birthday. References External links SF State, Richard Oakes Multicultural Center San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive: Alcatraz videos. Video:short Oakes interview @2:40 Native Circle, May 2010 History – Richard Oakes "Richard Oakes - His Path to Alcatraz" Famous for changing the history of indigenous peoples' rights. 1942 births 1972 deaths Deaths by firearm in California Native American activists Native American studies San Francisco State University alumni