For her efforts to fight discrimination and stand up to the unfair, inhumane and degrading treatment of Alaska Native peoples, Alaska civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich (Tlingit) will be commemorated on a $1 U.S. coin. The exact design of the coin is still being determined, with 11 images up for consideration.
The coin is set to debut in 2020.
The coin is part of the U.S. Mint Native American Dollar Coins program, which honors and recognizes the important contributions made by Indian tribes and individual Native Americans. The design of one side of the coin changes each year; the other side features Sacagawea.
Born July 4, 1911, in Petersburg, Alaska, Peratrovich and her husband Roy, along with many others, fought against the cruel treatment that consigned Alaska Native people to a second-class existence. Peratrovich’s testimony was instrumental in the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, which prohibited racial discrimination in Alaska.
Peratrovich’s late son, Frank, was an original CIRI shareholder. Frank’s sons, Frank Jr. and John, are also original CIRI shareholders.
To view the candidate designs, visit www.usmint.gov.
