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About The Female Occupation Leader / Author Dr. Lanada War J
On October 14, 2023, the National Native American Hall of Fame honored Dr. La Nada War Jack with induction. The prestigious ceremony took place at the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, OK. Dr. War Jack, enrolled member of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, is celebrated as a Native American author, activist, and trailblazer, notably recognized as the first Native American student admitted to the University of California at Berkeley in 1968.
During her remarkable journey, Dr. War Jack emerged as a pivotal figure in advocating for Indigenous rights. She played a leading role in the Alcatraz Occupation, a peaceful protest highlighting the injustices faced by Native peoples and the United States government's failure to uphold treaties with tribes. Her activism continued at UC Berkeley, where she contributed to establishing the first Ethnic Studies Program within the University of California system as part of the Third World Liberation Front Strike.
Driven by her commitment to social justice, Dr. War Jack served on the board of directors of the Native American Rights Fund for nearly a decade, focusing on treaty enforcement and Native rights. Additionally, she has held elected positions as a councilwoman for her tribes and contributed her expertise to numerous local and national boards.
Dr. War Jack's dedication extended to academia, where she shared her knowledge and insights with students at institutions such as Haskell Nations Indian University, Creighton University, and Boise State University as a Distinguished Professor. In 2019, she further solidified her legacy with the publication of "Native Resistance: An Intergenerational Fight for Survival and Life," a significant contribution to the discourse on Indigenous struggles. Those interested can obtain her book through her website at www.drwarjack.com.
Dr. LaNada War Jack has written a crucial history of the Native American Movement that should be read by all concerned about Indigenous peoples. Dr. War Jack's vital world view is the foundation of generations of the tribes resistance against colonization and institutional racism. This is a moving and powerful story well told by a relentless fighter for Native American rights and self determination from the boarding schools and relocation programs, to the Occupation of Alcatraz Island, and the Standing Rock protest. Native Resistance is a hard hitting history of the struggles for freedom and justice!
-Bea Dong, Eastwind Books of Berkeley, CA
Historical Snapshots
Bannock (Bah nah qwat) Chiefs
The last Indian Wars in the west were with the Ba nah qwat and Shoshonean bands of the Paiute, Shoshone and Banahqwat peoples called the Bannock War of 1878. This continued with the "Sheepeater Campaign" in 1880 to remove all of the remaining people onto the Fort Hall Reservation, Idaho.
Alcatraz Island, the sacred island of the Ohlone turned into the site of "Man's Inhumanity to Man" as a federal prison.
The island was central to Native people as the US government incarcerated the last chiefs of the Indian wars in the west on this island. Native students from UC Berkeley and SF State occupied this island for 19 months in protest of the genocide, ill governmental policies and over 500 Broken Treaties,
Gathering of the Chiefs
The goal was keep the peace and not give the calvary an excuse to kill Natives. Chief Eagle Eye is third to the left. He was called "Hyas Tyhe" Chief of Chiefs. He was a peace chief and diplomat and hosted many gatherings of tribes in his territory of Weiser and Indian Valley, Idaho. Left to him is "Oyotes" a powerful medicine chief from Oregon Territory. The US Government had bounties for the heads of these men.