WHAT: Elizabeth Peratrovich Day Celebration at Alaska Pacific University
WHEN: Monday, February 17, 2020, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
WHERE: Alaska Pacific University, Atwood Center Rasmuson Hall, 4455 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508
WHO: Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage Tribes Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska, and
Native People’s Action – This event is free and open to the public. The event will feature
Traditional dancing as well as speeches from community members and cultural leaders.
CONFIRMED PROGRAM (as of 2/14/20):
- Emcee: Anya Tyrrell
- Land Acknowledgement by Native Student Services:
- Natasha Gamachee
- Rachelle Griffitss
Overview of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day:
- Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 87
- Featured Speakers:
- Alyssa “Yax Yeidi” London, Entrepreneur
- Kevin McGee, NAACP
- Felix Rivera, Anchorage Assembly
- George Martinez, Alaska Humanities Forum
Call to Action:
- Kendra Kloster, Native People’s Action
CONFIRMED PERFORMANCES (as of 2/14/20):
Kingikmiut Singers, Southeast Alaska Dance Group
BACKGROUND: Elizabeth Peratrovich Day is celebrated on February 16 each year across Alaska. It is a day that
honors and respects this local civil rights icon. To many, she is considered the face of the Alaska Native
civil rights movement and was one of the lead proponents for passing the Anti-Discrimination Act of
1945 in Alaska, which was the first anti-discrimination law in the United States. It was passed almost 20
years before Congress established the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This celebration event will be hosted on the Alaska Pacific University campus in Anchorage, Alaska. Locally, the Municipality of Anchorage is Alaska’s largest Native village, with more than
23,000 Alaska Natives calling Anchorage home.