On March 8, 1970, about 100 members and sympathizers of United Indian People's Council (later United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, or UIATF) occupied Fort Lawton, a 1,100-acre army post in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood. They were inspired by the passage of a bill signed by President Richard Nixon, which granted non-federal entities the ability to obtain surplus federal lands for below market value. The Native group wanted to create a cultural center for Indigenous peoples, while the City of Seattle wanted to build a city park, on the recently decommissioned surplus lands of Fort Lawton. After long negotiations and Congressional intervention, the protest ultimately resulted in a solution permitting development of both an Indian cultural center and a municipal park--Discovery Park--on the Fort Lawton site.

This image shows some of the Indigenous protesters encamped outside Fort Lawton's gate. At the end of the three-week initial occupation, Bernie Whitebear, Sin-Aikst or Sinixt (now one of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation), council chairman of the UAITF, explained, "Our encampment drew national and international attention to the plight of the American Indians. Now our talents can better be used in amassing public support for our claim to this land." After several years spent raising awareness and funds, the UAITF opened the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in 1977, directed by Mr. Whitebear until his death in 2000. As of 2025, the Daybreak Star Cultural Center continues to serve as an "urban base for Native Americans in the Seattle Area," by providing cultural, educational, and social services to local Indigenous communities.

Signs in image: Indians Don't [...uil...]. Open House. Red Power. Who Has More Rights. We Need a Cultural Center.
Handwritten on sleeve: Indians at Fort Lawton.
Date photograph was filed at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (date of photograph and file date may differ by a month or more): March 15, 1970.