My father was a beloved leader of the
Alaska Native people. He was honored with the title of Grand
President Emeritus of the Alaska Native Brotherhood in recognition of his
work on their behalf.
For many years he was employed by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, both as a Tribal Officer in Juneau and later as
District Superintendent in Anchorage. He and my mother Elizabeth
Peratrovich are best remembered for their lifelong efforts leading to the
passage of the first Anti-Discrimination Bill in the United States,
enacted by the Alaska Territorial Legislature in 1945.
Mother died in 1958 and he spent the rest
of his life grieving her loss. He died in 1989, just nine days
before the first annual observance of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day in the
State of Alaska.
This piece shows Dad
as he looked in 1945 during some of the proudest days. The bust will
soon join Elizabeth in the Smithsonian Insitute Musuem of American
Indians.
