[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 125 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10573-S10574]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Campbell, and Mr. 
        Inouye):
  S. 2900. A bill to authorize the President to posthumously award a 
gold medal on behalf of Congress to Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich and 
Roy Peratrovich in recognition of their outstanding and enduring 
contributions to civil rights and dignity of the Native peoples of 
Alaska and the Nation; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I was proud to join with my colleagues 
and tens of thousands of America's first peoples, including a 
substantial contingent of Alaska Natives, in participating in the 
opening ceremonies for the National Museum of the American Indian. I 
don't have to tell you what a special week this was for the first 
peoples of America and particularly for my Alaska Native people. We 
take pride in our new National Museum of the American Indian and all 
that it represents. First and foremost, it represents a commitment on 
the part of the American people that the substantial contributions of 
American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians be preserved in 
perpetuity in a prominent location adjacent to the U.S. Capitol. It 
represents a commitment that the Native experience will not be lost to 
history.
  Today, I want to share with the Senate a piece of Native history that 
is very significant to the Native people of Alaska and indeed, the 
first peoples of our entire Nation. It is the story of a Tlingit 
couple, Roy and Elizabeth Peratrovich. Roy and Elizabeth are to the 
Native peoples of Alaska what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa 
Parks are to African Americans. Everybody knows about Dr. Martin Luther 
King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, but hardly anyone outside the State of Alaska 
knows about Roy and Elizabeth Peratrovich. That is going to change 
today.
  Elizabeth was born in 1911, about 17 years before Dr. King. She was 
born in Petersburg, AK. After college she married Roy Peratrovich, a 
Tlingit from Klawock, AK; and the couple had three children. Roy and 
Elizabeth moved to Juneau. They were excited about buying a new home. 
But they could not buy the house that they wanted because they were 
Native. They could not enter the stores or restaurants they wanted. 
Outside some of these stores and restaurants there were signs that read 
``No Natives Allowed.'' History has also recorded a sign that read ``No 
Dogs or Indians Allowed.''
  On December 30, 1941, following the invasion of Pearl Harbor, 
Elizabeth and Roy wrote to Alaska's Territorial Governor:

       In the present emergency our Native boys are being called 
     upon to defend our beloved country. There are no distinctions 
     being made there. Yet when we patronized good business 
     establishments we are told in most cases that Natives are not 
     allowed.
       The proprietor of one business, an inn, does not seem to 
     realize that our Native boys are just as willing to lay down 
     their lives to protect the freedom he enjoys. Instead he 
     shows his appreciation by having a `No Natives Allowed' sign 
     on his door.

  In that letter Elizabeth and Roy noted:

       We were shocked when the Jews were discriminated against in 
     Germany. Stories were told of public places having signs, 
     ``No Jews Allowed.'' All freedom loving people were horrified 
     at what was being practiced in Germany, yet it is being 
     practiced in our own country.

  In 1943, the Alaska Legislature, at the behest of Roy and Elizabeth 
considered an anti-discrimination law. It was defeated. But Roy and 
Elizabeth were not defeated. Two years later, in 1945, the anti-
discrimination measure was back before the Alaska Legislature. It 
passed the lower house, but met with stiff opposition in the Alaska 
Senate.
  One by one Senators took to the floor to argue against the mixing of 
the races. A church leader testified that it would take thirty to one 
hundred years before Alaska Natives would reach the equality of the 
white man.
  Elizabeth Peratrovich rose from the gallery and said she would like 
to be heard. She was recognized, as was the custom of the day. In a 
quiet, dignified and steady voice she said, ``I would not have expected 
that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind gentleman 
with five thousand years of recorded history behind them of our Bill of 
Rights.'' She was asked by a Senator if she thought the proposed bill 
would eliminate discrimination, Elizabeth Peratrovich queried in 
rebuttal, ``Do your laws against larceny and even murder prevent these 
crimes? No law will eliminate crimes but at least you legislators can 
assert to the world that you recognize the evil of the present 
situation and speak your intent to help us overcome discrimination.''
  When she finished, there was a wild burst of applause from the 
gallery and the Senate floor alike. The territorial Senate passed the 
bill by a vote of eleven to five. On February 16, 1945, Alaska had an 
anti-discrimination law that provided all citizens of the territory of 
Alaska are entitled to full and equal enjoyment of public 
accommodations. Following passage of the anti-discrimination law, Roy 
and Elizabeth could be seen dancing at the Baranof Hotel, one of 
Juneau's finest. They danced among people they didn't know. They danced 
in a place where the day before they were not welcome.
  There is an important lesson to be learned from the battles of 
Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich. Even in defeat, they knew that change 
would come

[[Page S10574]]

from their participation in our political system. They were not 
discouraged by their defeat in 1943. They came back fighting and 
enjoyed the fruits of their victory two years later.
  Nineteen years before the United States Congress prohibited 
discrimination in public accommodations in the Civil Rights Act of 
1964; eighteen years before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of his 
dream on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial--Alaska had a civil rights 
law. Elizabeth would not live to see the United States adopt the same 
law she brought to Alaska in 1945. She passed away in 1958 at the age 
of 47.

  The State of Alaska has acknowledged Elizabeth Peratrovich's 
contribution to history by designating February 16 of each year as 
Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. It has also designated one of the public 
galleries in the Alaska House of Representatives as the Elizabeth 
Peratrovich Gallery.
  But what about Roy? Why has his role not been recognized? Roy 
Peratrovich passed away in 1989 at age 81. He died 9 days before the 
first Elizabeth Peratrovich Day was observed in the State of Alaska. 
Perhaps it was because Roy was still alive at the time this honor was 
bestowed; it is Elizabeth that has gotten all the credit for passage of 
the anti-discrimination law.
  Members of the Peratrovich family tell me that this is not entirely 
unjustified because without Elizabeth's stirring speech the anti-
discrimination law would not have passed. But they also point out, as 
does the historical record, that Elizabeth and Roy were a focused and 
effective team. History should recognize that the anti-discrimination 
law was enacted due to the joint efforts of Roy and Elizabeth 
Peratrovich. I rise today to do my part toward that end.
  Joined by my colleague, the distinguished senior Senator from Alaska, 
Mr. Stevens, the distinguished Chairman of the Senate Committee on 
Indian Affairs, Mr. Campbell and the distinguished Vice Chairman of 
that committee, Mr. Inouye, I offer legislation to recognize the 
contributions of Roy and Elizabeth Peratrovich with a Congressional 
Gold Medal. Congressional Gold Medals have been awarded to a number of 
African- Americans who have made contributions to the cause of civil 
rights, among them, Rosa Parks, Roy Wilkins, Dorothy Height, the nine 
brave individuals who desegregated the schools of Little Rock, Arkansas 
and others involved in the effort to desegregate public education.
  As our Nation focuses on the many contributions of our first people 
and the challenges they have faced throughout our Nation's history with 
the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian, it is high 
time that we also acknowledge the work of American Indians, Alaska 
Natives and Native Hawaiians in the struggle for civil rights and 
social justice. Honoring Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich's substantial 
contribution with a Congressional Gold Medal is a fine start.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2900

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Elizabeth Wanamaker, a Tlingit Indian, was born on July 
     4, 1911, in Petersburg, Alaska.
       (2) Elizabeth married Roy Peratrovich, a Tlingit Indian 
     from Klawock Alaska, on December 15, 1931.
       (3) In 1941, the couple moved to Juneau, Alaska.
       (4) Roy and Elizabeth Peratrovich discovered that they 
     could not purchase a home in the section of Juneau in which 
     they desired to live due to discrimination against Alaska 
     Natives.
       (5) In the early 1940s, there were reports that some 
     businesses in Southeast Alaska posted signs reading ``No 
     Natives Allowed''.
       (6) Roy, as Grand President of the Alaska Native 
     Brotherhood and Elizabeth, as Grand President of the Alaska 
     Native Sisterhood, petitioned the Territorial Governor and 
     the Territorial Legislature to enact a law prohibiting 
     discrimination against Alaska Natives in public 
     accommodations.
       (7) Rebuffed by the Territorial Legislature in 1943, they 
     again sought passage of an antidiscrimination law in 1945.
       (8) On February 8, 1945, as the Alaska Territorial Senate 
     debated the anti-discrimination law, Elizabeth, who was 
     sitting in the visitor's gallery of the Senate, was 
     recognized to present her views on the measure.
       (9) The eloquent and dignified testimony given by Elizabeth 
     that day is widely credited for passage of the 
     antidiscrimination law.
       (10) On February 16, 1945, Territorial Governor Ernest 
     Gruening signed into law an act prohibiting discrimination 
     against all citizens within the jurisdiction of the Territory 
     of Alaska in access to public accommodations and imposing a 
     penalty on any person who shall display any printed or 
     written sign indicating discrimination on racial grounds of 
     such full and equal enjoyment.
       (11) Nineteen years before Congress enacted the Civil 
     Rights Act of 1964, and 18 years before the Reverend Dr. 
     Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his ``I have a Dream'' 
     speech, one of America's first antidiscrimination laws was 
     enacted in the Territory of Alaska, thanks to the efforts of 
     Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich.
       (12) Since 1989, the State of Alaska has observed Elizabeth 
     Peratrovich Day on February 16 of each year and a visitor's 
     gallery of the Alaska House of Representatives in the Alaska 
     State Capitol has been named for Elizabeth Peratrovich.

     SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.

       (a) Presentation Authorized.--The President is authorized, 
     on behalf of the Congress, to posthumously award a gold medal 
     of appropriate design to Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich and 
     Roy Peratrovich, in recognition of their outstanding and 
     enduring contributions to the civil rights and dignity of the 
     Native peoples of Alaska and the Nation.
       (b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the 
     presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of 
     the Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') 
     shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and 
     inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.

       The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of 
     the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 under such 
     regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, and at a price 
     sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
     materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and 
     the cost of the gold medal.

     SEC. 4. NATIONAL MEDALS.

       The medals struck under this Act are national medals for 
     purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.

     SEC. 5. FUNDING.

       (a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to 
     be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise 
     Fund such sum as may be appropriated to pay for the cost of 
     the medals authorized by this Act.
       (b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of 
     duplicate bronze medals under section 3 shall be deposited in 
     the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
                                 ______