By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Dressed to protect against driving rain, Sitkans marched Wednesday afternoon in honor of Tlingit civil rights icon Elizabeth Peratrovich and the 77th anniversary of the passage of the 1945 Anti-Discrimination Act.
About 100 marchers made their way down Lincoln and Katlian streets to the ANB Founders Hall, where many took turns speaking at an open-microphone event.
Topics ranged widely, with many speakers praising Peratrovich for her historic role as a leader in civil rights for Alaska Natives. Others spoke of the need for continued vigilance and advancing those rights. Others spoke about the herring fishery, religion and other issues.
Assembly member Crystal Duncan encouraged people to live up to the legacy of Peratrovich and other Native leaders of her generation.
“The work is not done… They provided the groundwork to lay out a pathway for us; we are the beneficiaries of that,” Duncan said. “So I appreciate that this day is a special day for me, it is a special day for all of you and it is a special day for people in Sitka who showed that by marching down the street. That seems like a small gesture. We did it in the pouring rain and it was meaningful.”
She extended appreciation toward those who came before her.
“If you are Alaska Native, you know you are the product of those who came before you, so I first want to gunalcheesh… to my biological aunties and uncles, and then all of my elders who are my aunties and my uncles. (Peratrovich) was 47 when she passed away. Can you imagine if she lived a full life like that of Walter Soboleff? I can’t imagine what she would have accomplished in her lifetime,” Duncan said.
Peratrovich’s courage was inspiring for Alaska Native Sisterhood Past Grand President Paulette Moreno.
“Courage is never easy. When there is unfair and unequal citizenship, when you are being looked at because of the color of your skin differently, because of the tone of your voice, because of your language – when you are disrespected on your own land, it is not OK,” Moreno said. “We are the First People of this land and our voice resonates.”
As part of the event, Moreno distributed gold $1 coins bearing Peratrovich’s likeness to children present at the hall. The coins were minted in 2020 to commemorate Peratrovich’s civil rights activism.
Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich was born in Petersburg in 1911. Her Tlingit name was Kaaxgal.aat.
Grace Larsen, of Sitka’s ANS Camp 4, spoke about Peratrovich’s legacy.
“She and her husband really fought for her rights and their rights. All in all, it came out to be everything was OK… For me it took all these years (but) we got our freedom and we got to learn our lifestyle,” Larsen said. She spoke to the Sentinel after the event, where audio problems prevented her from being heard throughout the room.
Not all speakers addressed big-picture topics. Peratrovich’s nephew Jim Nielsen recounted a story of being held by her as a child.
“My mother and Elizabeth were sisters and they grew up together… When I was born 68 years ago, she came up to visit my mom when I was born and held me,” Nielsen said.
Alice Walker Dundas, of Metlakatla, spoke of the incident of racial insensitivity that occurred at a Ketchikan-Metlakatla basketball game on Feb. 5.
“Metlakatla basketball, the Chiefs, went over to Ketchikan to play basketball and when they got ready to play basketball, the Kayhi Kings came in and they were dressed in cowboy uniforms. That was horrible – those poor kids,” Dundas said.
“There’s always been a big rivalry… please pray for Metlakatla, please pray for Ketchikan. Send somebody to them to talk to them and make them know that what they did is wrong, let them see a better way.”
Dundas is the mother of Metlakatla’s first woman mayor, Audrey Hudson.
In a follow-up interview, Dundas described the incident as “a big affront to our community. You know, we’ve been living by those people and supporting their businesses and we do a majority of our shopping over there (in Ketchikan). And then for them to have the nerve to do that to us… It definitely promotes prejudice,” she said.
Sitkans weren’t alone in honoring Peratrovich. Also on Wednesday, Alaska Public Media showed an episode of the children’s cartoon “Molly of Denali,” which tells Peratrovich’s story as seen through a child’s experience of 21st century racism. The episode can be seen on Alaska Public Media’s YouTube channel.
After the local event wrapped up, an online Zoom gathering in honor of Elizabeth Peratrovich was live streamed on the Grand Camp of the ANB and ANS Facebook page. The video is publicly available on that page.
In the conference call, Sealaska CEO and President Anthony Mallott said Peratrovich inspires him for a variety of reasons.
“To me, this day is meaningful for three specific reasons: one, yes we get to celebrate Elizabeth and her speech and the bill, but we get to celebrate first and foremost in my mind the work of the ANS and ANB… The second reason that it’s meaningful to me is that I love putting myself in the room with her at that moment. She was beyond courageous. She was smart, she was passionate,” he said.
Like Dundas, Mallott cited the Metlakatla-Ketchikan basketball game as evidence that there’s still room for improvement.
“There is so much more work to be done. That’s when we celebrate, reflect and then find the motive and inspiration to keep doing the great work that they showed us how to,” Mallott said. “And the Metlakatla team in Ketchikan that faced discrimination shows us we have more to do… I walked into a gym in Juneau, Alaska, when I moved from Yakutat when I think I was 11 years old… It was completely packed and the whole gym was chanting a derogatory Native chant, and it’s burned into my mind… To see something like that in Ketchikan, not as in-your-face, but just as hurtful to those that were there, it shows us that we have more to do.”
Like many other speakers, the president of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Richard Peterson, stressed the importance of continuing Peratrovich’s work into the future.
“This legacy of advocacy is still important,” Peterson said. “For example, there have been attempts to hinder our ability to vote. We need to stay vigilant and advocate at every opportunity. On Elizabeth Peratrovich day we honor her legacy of advocacy, for fighting for what’s right and standing up to injustice.”
Mt. Edgecumbe High School Principal Bernie Gurule leads students in a parade from the Gil Truitt Activity Center to the school dormitories Wednesday afternoon in celebration of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. The state boarding school, which started out as a BIA Native boarding school, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this week. Founders Week includes several schoolwide events including a banquet and a dance. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
