The sight of the new one-dollar coin featuring an Alaska Native leader was met with celebration in Anchorage.
At the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood Convention, the U.S. Mint unveiled Saturday the tails design for the 2020 Native American one-dollar coin.
The coin honors Elizabeth Peratrovich and Alaska’s "Anti-Discrimination Law of 1945." The design features a three-quarter profile portrait of the civil rights advocate, as well as a formline representation of her Tlingit Raven moiety.
The reverse of the Sacagawea dollar coins is designed to honor Native American heritage. KTVA reports that Peratrovich is the first Alaska Native to be on U.S. currency.
She is credited with successfully advocating for the passing of the Alaska territory’s anti-discrimination law. Alaska became the first U.S. state or territory to enact such a law, which guaranteed equal voting rights and equal access to commercial services and accommodations.
While you won’t find the coins in circulation, you can buy them directly from the U.S. Mint for more than face value.
Earlier in the day, Governor Mike Dunleavy signed House Bill 126 into law, and establishes November as Alaska Native Heritage Month.
CORRECTION: The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood Convention was incorrectly referred to as Alaska Native Brothers and Alaska Native Sisters Convention in a previous story. This story has been updated to fix the error.
