A star is born:
takeover of fort lawton
In 1970, thousands of Natives and allies took to occupy Fort Lawton in protest of the City of Seattle's failure to support its new Urban Native population, aiming to reclaim the land as a community and cultural center for Urban Natives. This act of landback led to the founding of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation and Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center.
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In the 60s, the Seattle City Council sought to acquire surplus land from Seattle military base Fort Lawton and convert it into what would later be called Discovery Park. Washington Senators Henry Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson proposed and passed a bill allowing the city to obtain surplus at a steep discount. The Fort Lawton Planning Committee opened public comment for the land’s use, ignoring requestsfor a Native cultural center.
Fort Lawton showing officer's residences, January 23, 1934
Courtesy of University of Washington Special Collections.
taking back fort lawton
Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1970.
Courtesy of University of Washington Libraries
On March 8th, 1970, over 100 Native activists and allies entered Fort Lawton and peacefully occupied the newly surplus land in protest of the rejection. This demonstration quickly turned violent when military police on site stormed the protest. Tear gas was thrown and protesters brutalized, with more than 80 participants arrested for trespassing.
Within weeks, hundreds of Natives and allies joined the occupation from around the nation in support, establishing a temporary tipi camp at the main gate. In this time, Whitebear and other activists co-founded The United Indians of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF).
After three months, the encampment disbanded and UIATF took a new approach: Request that the BIA put a freeze on Fort Lawton’s surplus, preventing the City from acquiring it. During this freeze, UIATF formally requested part of Fort Lawton through the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. In response, the City of Seattle requested the entire fort via the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation. With competing applications, the General Services Administration mandated that the City and UIATF negotiate an agreement for the land.
Bernie Whitebear (Colville) was the primary organizer of the take over. Taking what he learned from the Indians of All Tribes occupation of Alcatraz in San Francisco, he collaborated with activists both local and from Alcatraz to occupy Fort Lawton.
Bernie Whitebear being taken to the stockade by military police, Seattle, 1970. Courtesy Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Bernie Whitebear, Jane Fonda, and Bob Satiacum at a press conference, Seattle, 1970. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Gathering the Masses: celebrities join in
Actors Marlon Brando and Jane Fonda notably participated in both Fish Wars and the Takeover of Fort Lawton. Brando had already been involved with the fish-ins when he invited Jane Fonda to participate as well. This created a connection between Fonda and Whitebear, who would later join (and be arrested) the occupation of Fort Lawton and loudly support this act of Landback.
A new era: Daybreak star
UIATF negotiated with the City of Seattle for four months before coming to an agreement: UIATF would lease 20 acres of land for 99 years, with the option to renew, and the full authority to build a cultural center. This agreement was finalized on March 16th, 1972, starting a five-year period of design and development on the cultural center with the Urban Native community.
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center opened its doors May 13th, 1977, with Bernie Whitebear serving as its director for 23 years until his death in 2000. This center contains a preschool, art gallery, gathering spaces, powwow grounds, and medicine garden. Today, Daybreak Star continues to serve the Native community by hosting events and classes, the annual Seafair Powwow, land restoration and food sovereignty projects with Na’ah Illahee, and holds space as a living archive of Seattle’s civil rights history.
Concept Drawing of Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, around 1971. United Indians of All Tribes Foundation.
Courtesy of University of Washington Special Collections.
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, Between 1988-1990.
Courtesy of University of Washington Special Collections.
remembering bernie whitebear
A member of Seattle's Gang of Four, Bernie Whitebear continued his activism in Seattle after the takeover, co-founding Daybreak Star, the United Indians of All Tribes, and Seattle Indian Health Board– which has now expanded into three locations across Seattle. 23 years after his transition in 2000, he leaves a remarkable legacy forever changing the lives of thousands of BIPOC in Seattle.
Bernie Whitebear, Seattle WA 1990. Courtesy of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
Sources
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. (n.d). City of Seattle Archives. https://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives/exhibits-and-education/online-exhibits/daybreak-star-indian-cultural-center
Denfield, D.C. (2008). Fort lawton to discovery park. History Link. https://www.historylink.org/file/8772
Reyes, L. L. (2006). Bernie Whitebear : an urban Indian’s quest for justice. University of Arizona Press.
Whitebear, B. (1994). Taking Back Fort Lawton: Meeting the Needs of Seattle’s Native American Community Through Conversion. Race, Poverty & the Environment, 4/5(4/1), 3–6. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41555277
Occupation of alcatraz. (2022). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Occupation_of_Alcatraz&oldid=1121132856