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Changing course through Alaska Native Brotherhood, Sisterhood

Published on February 11th, 2010

By TAMMY JUDD

The Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded in 1912 by about a dozen Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida men in Sitka with the goal to fight discrimination against Alaska Natives and get their rights recognized and to gain compensation for lands. A counterpart organization, the Alaska Native Sisterhood, was created to aid the ANB.

According to the Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Alaska Native Sisterhood Web site, it is the oldest indigenous persons' civil rights organization.

In 1914 the Alaska Native Brotherhood constructed a building in Sitka for its meetings. The Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall was listed as a National Historic Landmark on the national Register of Historic Placed in 1978.

The group is credited with establishing Alaska Native as U.S. citizenship in 1924 when Congress passed an act making all Native Americans citizens.

From 1940-1945, Roy Peratrovich served as ANB grand president and his wife, Elizabeth, was grand president of the Alaska Native Sisterhood in 1945.

In 1941, Roy and Elizabeth, who was then serving as grand vice president, jointly signed a letter to Alaska Gov. Ernest Gruening regarding a business establishment in Douglas with a sign which read, "No Natives Allowed."

The Peratrovich's pointed this out as being "un-American" and that Native Alaskans should be "entitled to every benefit that is accorded our so-called White Brothers."

"We pay the required taxes, taxes in some instances that we feel are unjust, such as the School tax. Our Native people pay the School tax each year to educate the White children, yet they try to exclude our children from these schools.

"In the present emergency our Native boys are being called upon to defend our beloved country, just as the White boys. There is no distinction being made there, but yet when we try to patronize some business establishments we are told in most cases that Natives are not allowed.

"The proprietor of 'Douglas Inn' does not seem to realize that our Native boys are just as willing as the White boys to lay down their lives to protect the freedom that he enjoys. Instead he shows his appreciation by having a 'No Natives Allowed' on his door.

"We were shocked when the Jews were discriminated against in Germany. Stories were told of public places having signs, 'No Jews Allowed.' All freedom-loving people in our country were horrified at these reports, yet it is being practiced in our country. ..."

The Peratrovichs asked the governor to use his influence to eliminate discrimination "not only in Juneau or Douglas, but in the whole Territory."

The ANB and ANS are credited with helping secure the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Act by the Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1945; and the Tlingit and Haida councils were able to use its funds to give a loan to the Alaska Federation of Natives in its efforts to bring about the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.

In a letter to the editor to the Anchorage Daily News in 1971, Roy Peratrovich reiterated some of the organization's accomplishments including fighting for rights of Indian children in public schools, having worker's compensation laws extended to Alaska Natives, helping an Indian woman who was denied the right to vote and helping bring old age pensions for Alaska Natives.

He wrote "Through the efforts of this organization, Alaska now has one of the best anti-discrimination bills of any state."

In a 1977 keynote address given by Roy Peratrovich at the ANB/ANS 65th annual convention in Hydaburg and in which he reiterated many of the groups' accomplishments can be read in its entirety at: www.alaskool.org/projects/native_gov/recollections/peratrovich/RPeratrovich_keynote.htm