Elizabeth Peratrovich

            Elizabeth Peratrovich was born July 4, 1911 in Petersburg and later grew into one of the most important in Alaska history. Elizabeth was well educated and attended Sheldon Jackson College as well as Western Washington University. She married a Tlingit man named Roy Peratrovich December 15, 1913. They lived in Klawock where Roy served four terms as mayor. After having three children, one daughter and two sons, they moved to Juneau seeking better job opportunities but were instead greeted with a large amount of discrimination. Roy and Elizabeth Peratrovich became the leaders of the Alaska Native Brotherhood/ Sisterhood. This couple they presented the territorial governor, Ernest Gruening to ban racial discrimination in Alaska. In 1945 the bill reached the territory’s legislator and was passed after Elizabeth gave a very convincing testimony which swayed the majority of the counsel. Elizabeth Peratrovich died of cancer December 1, 1958 and was buried at the evergreen cemetery in Juneau, Alaska.