For my birthday, my daughter Brenna gifted me an excursion to Alcatraz Island. I’d never been. It’s a national park built around a former prison that was closed in 1963.
A couple of weeks ago, a coyote swam to Alcatraz Island. With no natural predators, the mice and birds there provided plenty to eat. Eventually, the coyote was removed to protect the island’s wildlife.
From November 1969 to June 1971, Indians from all tribes occupied Alcatraz to underscore indigenous rights. This history resonated deeply with me because I taught at a Navajo boarding school in the 1970s. At the time, I understood boarding schools as a complicated mix of education, cultural loss, and resilience—but I didn’t know that Hopi men were imprisoned at Alcatraz simply for refusing to surrender their children.
Later, we had a family birthday party. It was a really special time.
Marsh Travels 
Alcatraz is great. I have done that trip a couple of times. I had also read about the coyote. Pretty long, tough swim. What a sweet time to celebrate you. So glad you got to do something special and be with family for your birthday.
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