[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 18 (Thursday, February 17, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1660-S1661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. Stevens, Ms. Cantwell, and 
        Mrs. Murray):
  S. 448. 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 the 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, this week the people of my State of 
Alaska pause to recognize two giant figures in the fight for equal 
rights and justice under the law, the late Elizabeth and Roy 
Peratrovich. On February 16, 2005, the State of Alaska once again 
observed Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. Activities to celebrate the legacy 
of Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich are taking place in schools and 
cultural centers throughout Alaska this week. This coming Saturday, the 
Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage will conduct a day-long 
celebration of the Peratrovich legacy.
  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. Today, I rise to once again share the Peratrovich legacy 
with the Senate.
  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 antidiscrimination law. It was defeated. But Roy and 
Elizabeth were not defeated. Two years later, in 1945, the 
antidiscrimination measure was back before the Alaska Terrritorial 
Legislature. It passed the lower house, but met with stiff opposition 
in the Territorial Senate.
  One by one Senators took to the floor to debate the closely contested 
legislation. One Senator argued that ``the races should be kept further 
apart.'' This Senator went on to rhetorically question, ``Who are these 
people, barely out of savagery, who want to associate with us whites 
with 5,000 years of recorded civilization behind us?''

  Elizabeth Peratrovich was observing the debate from the gallery. As a 
citizen, she asked to be heard and in accordance with the custom of the 
day was recognized to express her views.
  In a quiet, dignified and steady voice this ``fighter with velvet 
gloves'' responded, ``I would not have expected that I, who am barely 
out of savagery, would have to remind gentlemen with 5,000 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 as 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 11 to 5. On February 16, 1945, Alaska had an 
antidiscrimination law that provided that 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 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 2 years later.
  Twenty-four years before Alaska's statehood and 18 years before Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of his dream for racial equity under the 
law, Alaska had a law protecting civil rights. 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, 6 years before civil 
rights legislation would pass nationally.
  In addition to the annual observance of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, 
the State of Alaska has acknowledged Elizabeth Peratrovich's 
contribution to history by designating 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 who has gotten all the credit for passage of 
the antidiscrimination
  Members of the Peratrovich family tell me that this is not entirely 
unjustified because without Elizabeth's stirring speech the 
antidiscrimination 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 
antidiscrimination 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 colleagues, the distinguished senior Senator from 
Alaska, Mr. Stevens, and my distinguished colleague from the State of 
Washington, Ms. Cantwell, I am pleased to once again offer legislation 
to recognize the contributions of Roy and Elizabeth Peratrovich with a 
Congressional Gold Medal. I invite all of my colleagues to join with me 
in cosponsoring this important legislation. Congressional Gold

[[Page S1661]]

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.
  With the opening of the very popular National Museum of the American 
Indian last year our Nation is focusing on the many contributions of 
our first people and the challenges they have faced throughout our 
Nation's history. It is 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 bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 448

       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 anti-discrimination 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 anti-
     discrimination 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) 19 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.

       Under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, the 
     Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the 
     gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 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. STATUS AS NATIONAL MEDALS.

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

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be charged against the United States Mint Public 
     Enterprise Fund such sum as may be appropriate to pay for the 
     cost of the medals authorized under section 2.
       (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.
                                 ______