Monday is Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, an Alaska State holiday honoring a Lingít activist who testified before Alaska’s territorial legislature in Juneau to demand civil rights for Alaska Native people.
In the 1940s, the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood began petitioning Alaska’s territorial governor for civil rights protection. That included equal access to public facilities and services, banning racial discrimination in businesses open to the public, and no more signs that said things like “No dogs, no Natives.”
Elizabeth Peratrovich Day marks the anniversary of the Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act passed in 1945. It was the first anti-discrimination act to become law in any state or territory in the United States and came years before the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum.
Lingít author Shaankaláx̱t’ Ernestine Hayes said Peratrovich and her legacy inspire her, especially as she reads the news today.
“Not only are we facing the same challenges as she faced,” she said. “But we have her as a model, and if we stop and consider ‘what would she be doing right now, today?’ then we can use her example as the choices we should make.”
Hayes has written two memoirs, chronicling her life in and out of Southeast Alaska in the wake of Peratrovich’s advocacy.
She was selected as Alaska State Writer Laureate in 2016. In 2021, she wasnamedthe Rasmuson Foundation’s Distinguished Artist. Two years later, she was awarded a United States Artists fellowship.
One way Hayes thinks we can embody Peratrovich’s mission today: making sure that Alaska Native people continue to have a seat at decision-making tables.
“We need to ask ‘Has that discrimination that Elizabeth Peratrovich fought, has it just moved out of the restaurants and into the boardroom and into the organizing committees?’” she said.
And Hayes said Peratrovich’s fight against discrimination isn’t over – especially when it comes to pointing the mirror at ourselves.
“If we speak out, demonstrate against or protest against an administration that, as policy, is trying to destroy diversity and inclusion,” she said. “Then we really should be modeling that ourselves.”
She said having a state holiday to celebrate Peratrovich’s advocacy is a step toward deeper and more meaningful acknowledgement of the role Alaska Native people have had and continue to have in shaping our community.
“It’s certainly not our ultimate goal, which is inclusion, but I think it’s a good step, as long as we always remember there’s no real final step in nurturing our values,” Hayes said. “There’s always more to do.”
Peratrovich’s testimony is often credited with swaying the territorial legislature. Though no audio recording of her actual testimony exists, a version of it for kids has been memorialized in anepisodeof the PBS Kids show “Molly of Denali.”
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