21 Facts About Belva Cottier

Belva Cottier was an American Rosebud Sioux activist and social worker.

Belva Cottier proposed the idea of occupying Alcatraz Island in 1964 and was one of the activists who led the protest for return of the island to Native Americans.

Belva Cottier planned the first Occupation of Alcatraz, and the suit to claim the property for the Sioux.

Belva Cottier's mother was an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux from Nebraska.

Belva Cottier's maternal grandfather, Alfred Barker, was a minister, married to Elizabeth.

Belva Cottier's father was Lakota and enrolled as a Rosebud Sioux.

Belva Cottier died when McKenzie was five years old and after his death, she and her mother lived on various reservations.

Belva Cottier's mother worked as a cook at the Cheyenne Agency Boarding School and at Fort Washakie, in Wyoming, later marrying Carl Sneve.

Belva Cottier's husband joined the Navy during World War II, and Belva Cottier relocated from South Dakota to Alameda County, California in 1943 with her mother and two daughters.

In 1963, when the government announced it was closing the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and returning Alcatraz Island to the City of San Francisco, Belva Cottier suggested to her husband that they claim the island based on provisions in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

Three weeks later, Belva Cottier led the effort to lay claim to the island through the courts.

In 1967, Belva Cottier was hired as a volunteer counselor at the Oakland American Indian Association.

Belva Cottier's position was initially undefined, but her duties included providing social services and driving Native Americans to appointments.

The Department of Health, Education and Welfare granted funds to evaluate indigenous health needs and Belva Cottier conducted a survey of families in Alameda, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties.

The study became the basis for establishing a Native American Health Center in San Francisco in 1972 with Belva Cottier serving as its executive director.

Belva Cottier was involved in organizing a conference in 1972 to unite the discussions of needs and the national quest for equality among urban Indians, as well as those living on reservations.

The Urban Indian Council which was formed during the conference was opposed by Russell Means and members of the American Indian Movement, but Belva Cottier pressed for a less radical approach to problem solving.

Belva Cottier believed the biggest problems facing urban Indians were unemployment and their isolation and invisibility in large cities.

Belva Cottier continued working at the Native American Health Center into the 1980s.

Belva Cottier died at her home in Livermore, California on May 2,2000, and was buried on May 9 at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.

Belva Cottier is remembered for her activism on behalf of Native Americans.