Unveiling a Fresh Perspective: Exploring the Controversial Demise of the ‘Face of Red Power’

On September 20, 1972, a tragic event unfolded in the woods of Sonoma County. That day, a white man named Michael Oliver Morgan fatally shot an unarmed Indigenous father, Richard Oakes, with a single bullet to the heart. This shocking incident is the subject of an in-depth article by Jason Fagone and Julie Johnson from the San Francisco Chronicle. While Oakes may not be a household name, he played a significant role as the “face of Red Power” for Native American rights and sovereignty. His leadership of the occupation of Alcatraz Island, a government-owned property, had garnered attention and influence in the years leading up to his untimely death. The article delves into the details of what unfolded on that fateful day, shedding light on the circumstances surrounding Oakes’ shooting by Morgan, a YMCA camp caretaker.

Morgan claimed self-defense, asserting that Oakes, a Mohawk residing on a nearby Native reservation, had lunged at him. He was later acquitted by an all-white jury, a verdict that devastated Oakes’ family and continues to affect them today, according to the story. Oakes’ nephew, Leonard Oakes Jr., adamantly states, “He was assassinated. That’s what we felt from the get-go.” The article also reveals that Morgan had expressed anti-Native views, as did a sheriff’s deputy who allegedly provoked him towards violence just six days prior to the shooting, as described by multiple eyewitnesses to the FBI. The case was investigated by detective “Butch” Carlstedt, now 90, who stands by his belief that the physical evidence contradicts Morgan’s claim of self-defense. “I’ll never forget it,” he asserts. “I had a confession. I had a victim. I had a weapon. I had a bullet.” Read the full story here. (Or explore other longforms.)