Today in Alaska is Elizabeth Peratrovich Day!
Each February 16, we honor Elizabeth Peratrovich (Ḵaax̱gal.aat), a Tlingit woman of the Lukaax̱.ádi clan, Raven moiety, whose courage and conviction changed Alaska forever.
Born on July 4, 1911, in Petersburg, Elizabeth came of age during a time when Alaska Native people were openly demeaned and denied basic rights. Signs reading “No Dogs, No Natives” hung in shop windows. Families were turned away from public spaces. Discouraged from buying home in certain neighborhoods. And many were still challenged at the polls.
Rather than accept that injustice, Elizabeth chose to confront it.
As Grand President of the Alaska Native Sisterhood, working alongside the Alaska Native Brotherhood, she spent years advocating for equal treatment under the law. She carried not only her own voice, but the voices of Elders, children, and generations yet to come.
On February 16, 1945, she stood before the Alaska Territorial Senate after a legislator suggested that Native people were “barely out of savagery.” With steady resolve, she answered:
“I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind gentlemen with five thousand years of recorded civilization behind them, of our Bill of Rights.”
In that moment, she spoke truth to power; with dignity, clarity, and unwavering belief in justice. Her testimony helped secure passage of the Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, the first law in the United States to prohibit racial discrimination in public accommodations. Governor Ernest Gruening signed it into law 14 years before statehood and nearly 20 years before the passage of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Today, Elizabeth Peratrovich Day is more than a date on the calendar for many in Alaska. It is a reminder of what one determined voice can do. It is a call to carry forward her legacy; to stand up when something is wrong, to defend the dignity of our neighbors, and to remember that justice often begins with someone brave enough to speak.
It truly is up to us, not only to honour her legacy with our words, but pick up the mantle of challenging injustice where we see it.
[If you live in Alaska there are events in person and virtual being held all over the state where you can learn more about her life, watch "For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska" for free, as well as opportunities to engage with your local civic and advocacy groups.]
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