Portrait of Elizabeth Peratrovich. Photo used with permission from the Alaska State Library image P01-3294.
By Annika Taylor
A Western alum was responsible for the first U.S. anti-discrimination law 20 years before the civil rights movement.
Elizabeth Wanamaker was a member of the Tlingit Tribe born on July 4, 1911 in Petersburg, Alaska. Her Tlingit name was Ḵaax̲gal.aat meaning a “person who packs for themselves.” As an infant she was adopted by Tlingit couple Andrew and Jean Wanamaker who were both Presbyterian Church missionaries in Angoon, Klawock, Kake and Klukwan.
Elizabeth went on to attend public schools in Ketchikan and the Sheldon Jackson School in Sitka. The Sheldon Jackson School later became a National Historic Landmark for its role in the transformation of Alaska Native cultures.
The Nelson Act, passed in 1905, provided that native and white children in Alaska be educated in segregated schools. Mixed blood children could attend white schools, so as long as they and their parents live a “civilized life.” A civilized life meant the abandonment of any tribal relationship. The condition essentially functioned as a citizenship test.
In a 1923 news article entitled “Man Never Too Old To Learn” written by Samuel C. Davis, a member of the Haida Tribe, and past Alaska Native Brotherhood [ANB] Grand Camp President, says:
“One thing I could not understand, is this: Why was it if Russia owned Alaska she made no laws to rule Alaska by? The only laws that I ever knew was the Thlingit and the Haida laws. I have been told that Russia did have laws, but those laws were only for inside of her forts and every Thlingit and Haida who entered that fort must obey those laws, but the moment he passed the gates on his way out his fear of obeying Russian laws ceased.”
This freedom was eroded in the painful transition of Alaska from Russia to the U.S.
Under the treaty that ceded Alaska to the United States in 1867, all inhabitants who did not reserve their natural allegiance to Russia, with the exception of members of native tribes, were “admitted to the enjoyment of all rights, advantages, and immunities of citizens of the United States.”
Alaska Natives were not considered American citizens. The unofficial criteria for American citizenship was Christianity as a religion and fluency in the English language.
Boarding schools, including Sheldon Jackson School, were created to facilitate assimilation and to eradicate native languages and cultures. Through an immersive English language education, students were taught skills other than those used in traditional Native occupations. Alaska Native life drastically changed through the forceful removal of students from their homes and by the promotion of Euro-American culture.
The assembly of students from around the territory however turned the school into a forum for sharing ideas about the pursuit of legal rights for Alaska Natives. The founders of the ANB were graduates of Sheldon Jackson School. At the time its creation in 1912 the ANB was the only organization that advocated for the rights of Native peoples. A sister organization, the Alaska Native Sisterhood [ANS], formed in 1915.
After completing her education at Sheldon Jackson School, Elizabeth moved south to attend Western, then known as New Whatcom Normal School. It was in Whatcom County that she married Roy Peratrovich on Dec. 15, 1931 as a first-year student. Both Elizabeth and Roy attended Sheldon Jackson School, and both had decided to attend Western with the goal of becoming teachers.
There is very little information about the time that Roy and Elizabeth Peratrovich spent at Western.
Though numerous sources cite Elizabeth as attending Western, and a marriage certificate indicates that she was in Whatcom County in the fall of 1931, neither her or Roy’s name appear in the Klipsun yearbooks during this period. The only mention of either of them is in the October 1931 Homecoming edition of the Northwest Viking. In a football game between what is now Central Washington University and Western, Roy played the position of halfback.
Elizabeth and Roy moved to Roy’s hometown, Klawock, after finishing their studies at Western. The family lived in Klawock where Roy worked as the village major, postmaster and a policeman. In 1940 Roy was elected Grand President of the ANB, and the Peratroviches moved to Juneau to be more effective in territorial politics.
It was Elizabeth who spurred her husband into becoming politically involved.
“She got me started and suggested we move where we could be of more use. She was the manager. She saw the possibilities. She never once stepped out in front … but made it look as if I made my own way,” Roy said of his wife.
Elizabeth was a talented speaker and leader in her own right and would later become the Grand Camp President for the ANS. She was an active member of the Presbyterian church and in addition to championing the rights of Native Alaskans was involved in the war effort and the American Red Cross War Fund during World War II.
Despite being American citizens at this time Native people were not welcome in the larger towns.
In Klawock there had been signs of discrimination but never as blatant as what the Peratrovichs experienced in Juneau. In Juneau there were signs that read “Natives not welcome” and “We cater to white trade only.” The Peratrovichs found a home in a safe neighborhood where they believed their children could play with their neighbors children and establish lasting friendships. But when the owners realized they were Native, the lease agreement was canceled.
“My mother had very strong feelings about right and wrong. She was appalled by just seeing these signs and wondering why they were there” said Roy Jr.
These experiences from moving to Juneau compelled the couple to write a letter to the territorial governor, Ernest Gruening. To his credit, Gov. Gruening had already been in communication with representatives from the ANB and businesses regarding the offensive signage across the state.
In their letter to Gov. Gruening, the Peratroviches referenced the sacrifices made by Native people in the war effort.
“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,” wrote the Peratroviches.
In 1943, with the help of the governor, the Peratroviches attempted to pass an anti-discrimination bill through Alaska’s Territorial Legislature titled “An Act to provide full and equal accommodation within the jurisdiction of the Territory, and to provide penalties for violations, and declaring an emergency, 1943.” The bill failed with a tied vote of eight in favor and eight opposed in the Alaska Territorial House Legislature.
Two years later in the next meeting of the Territorial Legislature two Alaska Natives had been elected to the body. When a new anti-discrimination bill was presented before the Territorial House Legislature they passed it, and the bill reached the Senate floor on Feb. 5, 1945.
Juneau citizens turned out in force for the Senate floor debate. According to attendees the gallery doors were both open, and the hall was full of people. Among them was Elizabeth who sat knitting as she listened.
Senator Allen Shattuck was a major combatant against the bill.
“Who are these people, barely out of savagery, who want to associate with us whites with 5,000 years of recorded civilization behind us?” Shattuck said.
During the public comment period Elizabeth rose to speak.
“I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind the gentlemen with 5,000 years of recorded civilization behind them of our Bill of Rights” said Elizabeth.
“There are three kinds of persons who practice discrimination. First, the politician who wants to maintain an inferior minority group so that he can always promise them something. Second, the Mr. and Mrs. Jones who aren’t quite sure of their social position and who are nice to you on one occasion and can’t see you on others, depending on who they are with. Third, the great superman who believes in the superiority of the white race” said Elizabeth.
The 1945 Anti-Discrimination Act was passed by a vote of 11 in favor and five against. Gov. Gruening signed the bill into law on Feb. 16, a date now honored by the state each year. The new legislation entitled all Alaskans to “full and equal enjoyment” of public establishments, set a misdemeanor penalty for violators of the law and banned posting of discriminatory signs based on race.
The Daily Alaska Empire wrote, “It was the neatest performance of any witness yet to appear before this session and there were a few red senatorial ears as [Elizabeth Peratovich] regally left the chambers.”In 2018, Elizabeth was chosen by the National Women’s History Project as one of its honorees for Women’s History Month and in 2020 the United States Mint commemorated her legacy on a one dollar coin.