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With a rousing speech to the Alaskan
Territorial Legislature in 1945, Elizabeth Peratrovich became a Tlingit hero,
inspiring the passage of an anti-discrimination bill.
In straightforward prose enhanced by
photographs, Boochever (Bristol
Bay Summer, 2014) outlines
the history of Peratrovich’s fight for equality in Alaska at a time when harsh discrimination
affected every area of Native peoples’ lives. A Tlingit woman born in 1911, Peratrovich
was raised in the traditional lifestyle of subsistence gathering and grew up
bilingual in English and Tlingit. As an adult during World War II, she bristled
at the U.S. Army’s destruction of Aleut villages and the forced removal of
their residents. With grace and composure, Peratrovich pursued her fight for
equity, befriending the state’s governor; finding an ally in an airline owner,
who helped her fly around Alaska for free; and accepting help from an orphanage
director who watched her kids while she traveled, changing hearts and minds.
With incredible determination she left her mark on everything from education to
health care and the juvenile criminal justice system. The U.S. Mint will honor this
Native American freedom fighter with a $1 commemorative coin in 2020, making
this work timely. Reflections by Peratrovich Jr., Elizabeth’s son, on his
mother’s passion and inspiration add life to an otherwise skeletal account of
the facts.
A brief overview of the life of a
notable activist who deserves greater recognition. (map, afterword, timeline,
glossary, bibliography) (Biography.
12-18)
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