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‘Our footsteps are prayers’: Portraits from a sunrise gathering on Alcatraz Island

Decades after the island’s occupation, Native Americans continue to gather at dawn on Indigenous People’s Day to celebrate resistance, resilience, and return.

A person wearing colorful traditional clothing stands confidently with a cane in front of a rocky hill topped with a ruined building and lighthouse.
Jennifer Andrea Porras. | Source: Alexa Treviño for SF Standard
By Alexa LexMex TreviñoPhotography by Alexa LexMex Treviño

In the subtle predawn twilight over the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz became sacred ground. 

During the 46th Annual Indigenous Peoples Day Sunrise Gathering on Monday, I began a photographic portrait series to capture scenes in this living sanctuary, documenting Indigenous people in traditional regalia as they gathered in ceremony, dance, and prayer on the ancestral lands of the Yelamu, a local tribe of the Ohlone people.

The island — once a site of confinement — was transformed by drumbeats, song, and the faint shimmer of light peeking over the horizon.

For them, this is a day of resistance, remembrance, and return.

A woman wears a colorful feathered headdress and traditional attire with feathered arm bands, holding a fan, against a dusk sky background.
Portrait of Triga, who only gave first name. .

A person wears traditional regalia with a large feathered headdress, beaded necklaces, and a decorated belt, standing against a cloudy blue sky.
Raquel Britton.

Six people stand together outdoors at dusk, wearing traditional colorful Aztec feathered headdresses and vibrant ceremonial clothing.
(L-R) Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca, Jocye, Leticia, Julia,Traiga,Roberto, and Sandra.

Across the Americas and beyond, Native people came together as one on Indigenous People’s Day, offering footsteps as prayers, honoring ancestors, and affirming their truth: That this is Native land. That they are not gone. That they are not relics. That they have always been here.

“Danza es vida,” one dancer told me. “We dance for our ancestors and for our people.”

A person wearing traditional regalia with feathered headgear crouches on rocky ground under a twilight sky.
Ukiah Andre Smith, by Alexa Treviño for the Standard

Two people wearing traditional Native American regalia, including feathers and intricate beadwork, dance outdoors at dusk against a cloudy sky.
Moises and Paulina Salazer.

“I’m my grandma’s dreams,” said another, glowing in the first light of dawn.

Here, history was not confined to textbooks or monuments, but breathed through each step and song.

The annual ceremony on Alcatraz, organized by the International Indian Treaty Council, serves to honor the 19-month occupation of the island by Native American activists, which began in November 1969, as well as to highlight the ongoing struggles to protect sacred lands and celebrate a cultural history that spans thousands of years.

“I’m here today to surround myself in loving community,” one participant shared. “To remember why I am, and why we are.”

This year’s celebration held particular significance amidst the renewed efforts by the Trump Administration to reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison, an idea firmly opposed by the International Indian Treaty Council. But the chants rising over the island weren’t just a remembrance; they were a declaration of life. A call echoing through the past and resounding into the future. 

A woman wearing traditional attire holds a large feather, with a patterned headband and a red garment against a dusk sky.
Xochitl Bernadete Moreno.

Colorful flags and people wearing feathered headdresses gather under a dramatic, cloudy sky during a vibrant outdoor event.

A person wears an elaborate headdress with feathers and a skull, holding a round shield decorated with colorful skull motifs against a dusky sky.
Roberto Alverad.

A person wearing a traditional headdress with white feathers and beads looks thoughtfully into the distance against a cloudy sky.
Yvonne Marshall Lynn.

A person wearing a colorful woven hat, patterned scarf, and a beaded garment with a red rose design stands against a dark, cloudy sky.
Nizhoni Ellenwood.

Nikki Skinaway spoke words that stayed with me: “I came here to honor the ancestors and let the colonized world know we are still here. Our footsteps are prayers for all Indigenous peoples.”

These portraits are my offerings of presence. They carry memory, spirit, and resistance. As the sun rose, so did the truth: That those who came before are still here. Always have been. Always will be.

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AlcatrazCultureParksPhotography