The Brown Berets Occupy Catalina Island on August 1972 | Notes from Aztl�n

2.3.16

The Brown Berets Occupy Catalina Island on August 1972 | Notes from Aztl�n: The Brown Berets stated that the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo does not specifically mention any of the nine Channel Islands off the coast of California and thus argued that M�xico never ceded any of the Channel Islands to the United States at the end of the U.S. War on M�xico in 1848.

Many Chicanas/os-Mexicanas/os claimed that the United States illegally seized and occupied Mexican/Indigenous land. Some legal experts were prepared to argue that M�xico could reclaim those lands back in international court.

The occupation ended on September 23, 1972 when the Avalon City Council threatened to enforce a camping ordinance and thus have the Brown Berets forcefully removed and arrested.

Through the “invasion” of Catalina Island, the Brown Berets brought attention to the problems confronting the Chicana/o-Mexicana/o community as a result of its colonized status within the United States.