Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Digital Display of Alaska Native Veterans’ Photo Album Online


Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has just posted scanned images from a historic photograph album of Tlingit veteran Stanley D. Peratrovich (1919-2002) online [click here to access]. Originally born at Klawock, Alaska, the photograph album contains images of Peratrovich’s time as a student at the Wrangell Institute during the late 1930s and then his journeys around Alaska during his service in the U.S. Army during the Second World War. Recently donated to SHI by Peratrovich’s widow, Evelyn M. Peratrovich, the photograph album documents Alaska Native life and military service during an important period in Alaskan history.

Stanley D. Peratrovich was born in Klawock, Alaska, on May 4, 1919 to James and Kathryn Peratrovich. His father was a Croatian immigrant to Alaska and his mother was Tlingit from the Kuiu Island area of Southeast Alaska, of the Raven Moiety and Dog Salmon Clan. Stanley Peratrovich was raised in Klawock but then sent to a boarding school, the Wrangell Institute of Wrangell, Alaska, where he completed his studies around 1938. Thereafter he enrolled in Washington State College (now Washington State University) at Pullman, Washington. While a college student, the Second World War began and Peratrovich enlisted, later serving from 1941 to 1945 in his home state of Alaska in the 297th Infantry Battalion, Company B, Harborcraft Detachment. During his time in Alaska he was based, operated at, or traveled to Haines, Seward, Whittier, Anchorage, Harbor Craft, Attu, and Adak. His two home ports were Seward and Adak.

After the war in 1948, Peratrovich married ex-army nurse Evelyn Taber in Walla Walla, WA. For the next decade or longer Stanley served as a boat captain for Harbor Tug & Barge in San Francisco, CA. After Peratrovich and his wife retired, they moved to Bainbridge, WA. In Peratrovich’s later years he was active in the American Legion and attended veterans’ reunions for the 297th Infantry Battalion. Stanley Peratrovich passed away on June 22, 2002, in Bainbridge, WA.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private, nonprofit founded in 1980 to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska.

Photograph credit: Image of Stanley Peratrovich circa 1941 in his military uniform. 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

A History of Leadership: Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand Officers


The Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has just released the most comprehensive to-date list of historic Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) Grand Camp officers. The list was largely compiled by SHI archival intern Alyssa Peterson, but with some assistance by SHI’s Archivist & Collection Manager Zachary R. Jones. Spanning from 1914 to 2012, this list is the first ever presented to the public. Although officers who served some years remain unknown due to lack of historical records to research, this list adds greatly to the understudied history of the ANS.

As articulated in mid-2012 online post, in 2008 Kim Metcalfe’s book In Sisterhood: The History of Camp 2 of the Alaska Native Sisterhood, the first book-length publication about the ANS, noted the dearth of study on the ANS. Metcalfe argued that the 1958 book by Philip Drucker, The Native Brotherhoods: Modern Intertribal Organizations on the Northwest Coast, remains one of the lone publications with information about the ANS, but Drucker’s research was incomplete. Although little published information is available on the founding of the ANS, both Peterson and Jones from 2011 to 2012 reviewed original Alaska Native Sisterhood and Brotherhood historic records to arrive at this list. The list of Grand Officers will be updated as more information is obtained, and Sealaska Heritage Institute welcomes feedback from ANS members and any historical records ANS members may desire to donate to SHI’s archival collection. In 2009 the ANB/ANS Grand Camp passed a resolution making SHI the official repository of ANB and ANS’s historic records, and SHI continues to reach out to ANB and ANS officials to obtain historic records so they can be preserved and studied so all can better understand ANB and ANS’s rich history.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private, nonprofit founded in 1980 to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska.

Photograph credit: ANS members at the 1955 Grand Camp Convention in Petersburg, Alaska. From the Rosa Miller Collection, Sealaska Heritage Institute Archives.


List of ANS Grand Officers
Working draft
Compiled by Alyssa Peterson & Zachary R. Jones
Sealaska Heritage Institute

Note:
The founding of the Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) requires additional research. Both Phillip Drucker’s early The Native Brotherhoods (1958) and Kim Metcalfe’s recent In Sisterhood (2008) were unable to speak to ANS’s founding and hypothesized that ANS was founded circa 1920.

In the historical record differing perspectives have been presented. In The Voice of Brotherhood, the official ANB/ANS periodical, it contained a 1962 article by ANS elder Josephine Ukas, who spoke about her being present at the first official ANS meeting and camp formation in 1914 at Wrangell. (Josephine Ukas, “Alaska Native Sisterhood started in fall of 1914,” Voice of Brotherhood 8, no. 8 (July 1962): 1) This makes the case that ANS was founded in 1914, though determining when the first ANS Grand President was elected still requires research. It should be noted that the 1977 Grand Camp keynote address by Roy Peratrovich argued that the first ANS Grand President was Nellie Branovich, but this also requires additional research. Herb Hope wrote that the first ANS grand president was Eva Blake of Sitka, with ANS being founded in 1923. (Herb Hope, "An Overview of ANB History," Alaska Native News 1, no. 12 (Nov. 1983): 13-15, 41.) Additional research and discussion on this topic is warranted. 

Working List:

1927 for 1928:
Grand Pres: Elizabeth (Kadashan) James
Vice: Mrs. Bessie (Edwards Miller) Visaya
Secretary: Mrs. Samuel Martin (Louise Josephine Jackson ?)
Treasurer: Mrs. James Grant
S@A

1928 for 1929:
Grand Pres: Elizabeth (Kadashan) James
Vice: (?) Bessie Edwards Miller Visaya
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1929 for 1930:
Grand Pres: Elizabeth (Kadashan) James
Vice: Minnie Jackson
Secretary: Mrs. Louise Martin
Treasurer: Mrs. James Grant
S@A: Rachel Peratrovich

1930 for 1931:
Grand Pres: Mrs. Margaret Ridley
Vice: Mrs. Louise Martin
Secretary: Mrs. Ruth Hayes
Treasurer: Mrs. Paul Jones
S@A: Mrs. William Johnson

Note: Elizabeth (Kinninook) Baines elected as Grand President [?] sometime during 1931-1933. Number of terms served unknown.

1934 for 1935
Grand Pres: Mrs. Jimmie Hensen
Vice:
Secretary: Cecilia Kunz
Treasurer:
S@A

1936 for 1937:
Grand Pres: Mrs. A. Zuboff
Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A

1937 for 1938:
Grand Pres: Bessie Edwards Miller Visaya
Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A

1939 for 1940:
Grand Pres: Lucille Ridley
Vice: Mary Williams
Secretary: Edith Bean
Treasurer: Elizabeth Basco
S@A: Eva Simpson

1940 for 1941:
Grand Pres: Mrs. Laura Holler
Vice: Mrs. Edith Haldane
Treasurer: Elizabeth Basco
Secretary: Erma Lawrence
Treasurer:
S@A:

1941 for 1942:
Grand Pres: Helen Sanderson
Vice: Elizabeth Peratrovich
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1943 for 1944:
Grand Pres: Helen Sanderson
Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1944 for 1945
Grand Pres : Elizabeth Peratrovich
Vice: Flora Cook
Secretary: Edith Smith
Treasurer: Matilda Gamble
S@A: Mable Johnson

1945 for 1946:
Grand Pres: Elizabeth Peratrovich
Vice: Josephine Peele
Secretary: Clara Natkong
Treasurer: Marie Tagaban
S@A: Mrs. Josephine Williams

1947 for 1948
Grand Pres: Amy Hollingstad
Vice: Josephine Peele
Secretary: Clara Natkong
Treasurer: Marie Tagaban
S@A: Mrs. Josephine Williams

1948 for 1949
Grand Pres: Amy Hollingstad
Vice: Josephine Peele
Secretary: Phyllis Gunya
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Elizabeth Williams

1949 for 1950
Grand Pres: Clara Natkong
Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1950 for 1951
Grand Pres: Mildred Sparks
Vice: Elizabeth Williams
Secretary: Edith Smith
Treasurer: Sophie Peck
S@A: Mabel Johnson

1951 for 1952
Gran Pres: Mildred Sparks (?)
Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1952 for 1953:
Grand Pres: Mildred Sparks
Vice: Elizabeth Williams
Secretary: Beatrice Anderson
Treasurer: Sophie Peck
S@A: Mabel Johnson

1953 for 1954:
Grand Pres: Amy Hollingstad [Hallingstad]
Vice: Sophie Peck
Secretary: Edith Smith
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Mabel Zuboff

1954 for 1955:
Grand Pres: Amy Hollingstad
Vice: Clara Natkong
Secretary: Edith Smith
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Mabel Zuboff

1955 for 1956:
Grand Pres: Amy Hollingstad [Stella Martin?]
Vice: Martha Carle
Secretary: Katherine Williams
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Elise Austin

1956 for 1957:
Grand Pres: Stella Martin
Vice: Edith Bean
Secretary: Katherine Williams
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Elsie Austin

1957 for 1958:
Grand Pres: Stella Martin
Vice: Edith Bean
Secretary: Katherine Miyasato
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Elizabeth Williams

1958 for 1959:
Grand Pres: Helen Sanderson
Vice: Evangeline Nickerson
Secretary: Katherine Miyasato
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Juanita Larsen

1959 for 1960:
Grand Pres: Martha Bradley
Vice: Flora Theile
Secretary: Florence Demmert
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Elsie Austin

1960 for 1961:
Grand Pres: Amy Hollingstad
Vice: Elizabeth Williams
Secretary: Florence Demmert
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Elsie Austin

1961 for 1962: (50th Convention)
Grand Pres: Elizabeth Williams
Vice: Edna Peratrovich
Secretary: Stella Martin
Treasurer: Mildred Sparks
S@A: Elsie Austin

1962 for 1963:
Grand Pres: Elizabeth Williams
Vice: Edna Peratrovich
Secretary: Stella Martin
Treasurer: Irene Inman
S@A: Elsie Austin

1963 for 1964:
Grand Pres: Elizabeth Williams
Vice: Lottie Nannauk
Secretary: Stella Martin
Treasurer: Edith Bean
S@A: Leona Davis

1964 for 1965:
Grand Pres: Elizabeth Williams
Vice: Lottie Nannauk
Secretary: Frieda Peele
Treasurer: Lucy Roberts
S@A: Dolores Anderson

1965 for 1966:
Grand Pres: Lottie Nannauk
Vice: Frieda Peele
Secretary: Stella Martin
Treasurer: Lucy Roberts
S@A: Mae Daily

1966 for 1967:
Grand Pres: Lottie Nannauk
Vice: Lucy Roberts
Secretary: Stella Martin
Treasurer: Teresa Stitt
S@A: Gertrude Wolfe

1967 for 1968:
Grand Pres: Lottie Nannauk
Vice: Marlene Sprague
Secretary: Mary Jones
Treasurer: Teresa Stitt
S@A: Gertrude Wolfe

1968 for 1969:
Grand Pres: Lottie Nannauk
Vice: Marlene Sprague
Secretary: Mary Jones
Treasurer: Teresa Stitt
S@A: Gertrude Wolfe

1969 for 1970:
Grand Pres: Stella Martin
Vice: Gertrude Wolfe
Secretary: Mary Jones
Treasurer: Teresa Stitt
S@A: Mary Jackson

1970 for 1971:
Grand Pres: Gertrude Wolfe
Vice: Teresa Stitt
Secretary: Mary Jones
Treasurer: Jackie Dailey
S@A: Mary Jackson

1971 for 1972:
Grand Pres: Gertrude Wolfe
Vice: Lucy Roberts
Secretary: Ethel Gonzales
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Geraldine Gardner

1972 for 1973:
Grand Pres: Mary Jones
Vice: Lottie Nannauk
Secretary: Ethel Gonzales
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Geraldine Gardner

1973 for 1974:
Grand Pres: Mary Jones
Vice: Geraldine Gardner
Secretary: Ethel Gonzales
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Mary Jackson

1974 for 1975:
Grand Pres: Mary Jones
1st Vice: Martha Benzel
2nd Vice: Johanna Hotch
Secretary: Ethel Gonzales
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Marilyn Wilson

1975 for 1976:
Grand Pres: Barbara Lewis
1st Vice: Johanna Hotch
2nd Vice: Ethel Gonzales
Secretary: Connie Simpson
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Marilyn Wilson

1976 for 1977:
Grand Pres: Barbara Lewis
1st Vice: Johanna Hotch
2nd Vice: Connie Simpson
Secretary: Gloria Beaton
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Marlene Fred

1977 for 1978:
Grand Pres: Johanna Hotch
1st Vice: Harriet Knudson
2nd Vice: Geraldine Gardner
Secretary: Irma Young
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Marlene Fred

1978 for 1979:
Grand Pres: Johanna Hotch
1st Vice: Geraldine Gardner
2nd Vice: Marlene Fred
Secretary: Irma Young
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Joan Lewis

1979 for 1980:
Grand Pres: Johanna Hotch
1st Vice: Emma Widmark
2nd Vice: Sally Kookesh
Secretary: Irma Young
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Joan Lewis

1980 for 1981:
Grand Pres: Emma Widmark
1st Vice: Sally Kookesh
2nd Vice: Joni [Joan?] Lewis
Secretary: Carol J. McQueen
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Mary Guthrie

1981 for 1982:
Grand Pres: Emma Widmark
1st Vice: Joan Lewis
2nd Vice: Rowena Nathan
Secretary: Carol McQueen
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Mary Guthrie

1982 for 1983:
Grand Pres: Emma Widmark
1st Vice: Rowena Nathan
2nd Vice: Mary Guthrie
Secretary: Carol McQueen
Treasurer: Jackie Dailey [?]
S@A: Rosie Fay

1983 for 1984:
Grand Pres: Ethel Lund
1st Vice: Carol McQueen
2nd Vice: Virginia Thomas
Secretary: Selina Everson
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Rosie Fay

1984 for 1985:
Grand Pres: Ethel Lund
1st Vice: Carol McQueen
2nd Vice: Rosie Fay
Secretary: Selina Everson
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Marge Byrd

1985 for 1986:
Grand Pres: Carol McQueen
1st Vice: Rosie Fay
2nd Vice: Marge Byrd
Secretary: Selina Everson
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Millie Guthrie

1986 for 1987:
Grand Pres: Trudy Wolfe
1st Vice: Marge Byrd
2nd Vice: Sue Sargent
Secretary: Selina Everson
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Millie Guthrie

1987 for 1988:
Grand Pres: Trudy Wolfe
1st Vice: Marge Byrd
2nd Vice: Sue Sargent
Secretary: Selina Everson
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Millie Guthrie

1988 for 1989:
Grand Pres: Sue Sargent
1st Vice: Millie Berry
2nd Vice: Selina Everson
Secretary: Mary Harris
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Lindsay Buxton

1989 for 1990:
Grand Pres:
1st Vice:
2nd Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1990 for 1991:
Grand Pres: Selina Everson
1st Vice: Mary Brown
2nd Vice: Marge Byrd
Secretary: Dorothy McKinley
Treasurer: Evelyn Hotch
S@A: Lindsey Buxton

1991 for 1992:
Grand Pres:
1st Vice:
2nd Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1992 for 1993:
Grand Pres: Mary Guthrie
1st Vice: Millie Stevens
2nd Vice: Dorothy Owen
Secretary: Vicki Soboleff
Treasurer:
S@A:

1993 for 1994:
Grand Pres: Millie Stevens
1st Vice: Dorothy Owen
2nd Vice: Donna Ashenfelter
Secretary: Vicki Soboleff
Treasurer: Geraldine Williams
S@A: Johanna Marvin

1994 for 1995:
Grand Pres: Jackie Martin
1st Vice: Marietta Hopkins [?]
2nd Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1995 for 1996:
Grand Pres: Selina Everson
1st Vice: Kimberly Strong
2nd Vice: Jackie Martin
Secretary: Maureen Obert
Treasurer: Geraldine Williams
S@A: Valerie Gamble-Houston OR Linda Guthrie [tie in ballot – re-ballot not noted]

1996 for 1997:
Grand Pres: Kimberly Strong
1st Vice: Jackie Martin
2nd Vice: Lavina Jack
Secretary: Maureen Obert
Treasurer: Geraldine Williams
S@A: Monica Wolf

1997 for 1998:
Grand Pres: Kimberly Strong
1st Vice:
2nd Vice:
Secretary: Janice Jackson
Treasurer:
S@A: Monica Wolf

1998 for 1999:
Grand Pres:
1st Vice:
2nd Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A:

1999 for 2000:
Grand Pres: Jackie Martin
1st Vice:  Janice Johnson
2nd Vice: Monica Wolf
Secretary: Doloresa Cadiente
Treasurer: Georgiana Hotch
S@A: Cecelia Wolf

2000 for 2001:
Grand Pres: Jackie Martin
1st Vice: Doloresa Cadiente
2nd Vice: Monica Wolf
Secretary: Della Cheney
Treasurer: Johanna Dybdahl
S@A: Cecelia Tavoliero

2002 for 2003:
Grand Pres: Doloresa Cadiente
1st Vice: Cecelia Tavoliero
2nd Vice: Della Cheney
Secretary: Sonya Smith
Treasurer: Adeline DeCastro
S@A: Ellie Jackson

2004 for 2005:
Grand Pres: Johanna Dybdahl
1st Vice: Cecilia Tavoliero
2nd Vice: Della Cheney
Secretary: Sonya Smith
Treasurer: Marietta Hopkins
S@A: Ellie Jackson

2006 for 2007:
Grand Pres: Johanna Dybdahl
1st Vice: Libby Watanabe
2nd Vice: Micalyne Kunz-McGhee
Secretary: Ellie Jackson
Treasurer: Marietta Hopkins
S@A: Sarah Lampe

2007 for 2008:
Grand Pres: Johanna Dybdahl
1st Vice: Libby Watanabe
2nd Vice: Micalyne Kunz-McGhee
Secretary: Nathalie Abbot
Treasurer: Marietta Hopkins
S@A: Sarah Lampe

2009 for 2010:
Grand Pres: Micalyne Kunz-McGhee
1st Vice: Marietta Leask
2nd Vice: Sarah Lampe
Secretary: Beverly Russell
Treasurer: Marietta Hopkins
S@A: Ronda (Butler) Lofftus

2010 for 2011:
Grand Pres: Janice Jackson
1st Vice:
2nd Vice:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
S@A: Ronda (Butler) Lofftus

2011 for 2012:
Grand Pres: Mary A. Brown
1st Vice: Victoria Canul
2nd Vice: Beverly Russel
Secretary: Rhonda Butler
Treasurer: Marietta Hopkins
S@A: Brenda Louise