2025 CC SA-BY Our Oakland
Hintil Ku'u Ča is a Native American Early Childhood Education and afterschool program that originated in the 1970s with a group of community parents and activists during the occupation of Alcatraz Island. The campus includes a large mural by Vogue TDK and others.
During the Occupation of Alcatraz (1969-1971) there were families with children, and people quickly realized the children still needed an education and created the "Big Rock School." After the occupation, people wanted that sense of community to continue. In 1973, Hintil was started at the Intertribal Friendship House using federal funding and the support of OUSD under superintendent Marcus Foster. It had a preschool, with an afterschool program through 5th grade. After several moves, in 1979 the school was moved to the campus of Carl Munck Elementary, where it has been since.
The school has faced ongoing budget pressures from OUSD. Corrina Gould, chair of the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, said “It feels like for American Indian people in general, we’re always doing reeducation.”
Although there is still a significant Native American population in and around Oakland, today the school is facing decreasing enrollment. It currently only has one preschool class.
OUSD Resolution, 1992
Beginning in 2024, Mike J. Marin and others started creating a documentary, "The School: The Legacy of Hintil Ku'u Ča":
The film features former students and teachers from various tribes reminiscing about teaching and learning cultural songs, stories, and languages. It was a place where they could be themselves and not hide their culture or be ashamed of it. Former students shared memories of attending other public schools and being asked if they lived in teepees and why the boys had long hair. Native American perspectives were central rather than consigned to some corner of a history lesson. 1
Links and References
- This Oakland preschool was born during the Alcatraz occupation. A new documentary tells its story Oaklandside May 9, 2025
- Hintil Kuu Ca Preschool ousd.org
