Alaska Native Brotherhood & Alaska Native Sisterhood: Then & Now

A Timeline with Selected Highlights

“The Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) was founded in 1912 at a meeting held in the office of W. G. Beatty, General Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Alaska. This meeting was a landmark in the history of American Natives, the aboriginal inhabitants of North America. Twelve Southeast Alaska men and one woman are known as the organizers and founders of ANB. They acted in response to the growing sense of frustration felt by the Natives of Alaska” [1].

1912
ANB was founded in Sitka, Alaska

1914
ANB Founders Hall (Camp No. 1) was built on the Sitka waterfront 

1915
Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) was formed by a group of women in Wrangell, Alaska

1913-1917
Annual Grand Camp was held in Juneau, Sitka, Metlakatla, Wrangell and Juneau, respectively

1918
No Grand Camp Convention was held due to the influenza epidemic

1919 & 1928
Grand Camp was held in Sitka

1920s-1940s
ANB and ANS held increasing political power
“The ANB was active in the pursuit of voting rights and citizenship for Alaska Natives. In 1922, ANB leader and attorney William Paul successfully defended his great-uncle Chief Shakes against the felony charge of voting illegally. Thus, Alaska Natives won the right to vote two years before Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924″ [2].

1927
Grand Camp was held in Angoon
“The ANB voted to allow the ANS full voting privileges during this historic convention” [3].

1928
No Grand Camp Convention was held due to the depression

1929
Grand Camp was held in Haines
“The struggle of the Tlingit and Haida people to bring about a just settlement for lost lands and rights began at the ANB Annual Convention of 1929 in Haines. William L. Paul, Sr., ANB Grand Camp President, chose to present to the delegates the issue of pursuing the legal claims of the Tlingit and Haida Indians against the U.S. government. Paul, a Tlingit from Wrangell, was the first Native to practice law in Alaska. He returned from law school in 1918 and, with the encouragement of his brother Louis, joined the ANB. Founding father Peter Simpson had a strong influence on Paul. It was Simpson who first suggested the idea of pursuing the claims. Paul recalled the moment years later. In 1925, Simpson whispered, ‘William, the land is yours, why don’t you fight for it.’ The 1929 convention unanimously adopted a resolution requesting Congress to investigate the claims of the Tlingit and Haida people. One section of the resolution succinctly stated the case, ‘Whereas the U.S. government has locked up the forest so that what was formerly ours must now be purchased from a government that gave us nothing for it’” [4].

1938 & 1939
Grand Camp was held in Sitka

1942
No Grand Camp Convention was held due to the war

1945
The Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945 was passed, after persistent lobbying by Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich
“The brotherhood led a series of boycotts against businesses that discriminated against Indigenous peoples of Alaska and in 1945, lobbied successfully for the passage of the Antidiscrimination Act by the territorial legislature. It also successfully lobbied Congress to extend the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act to include Alaska. This contributed to economic development in southeastern Alaska by enabling several Alaska Native villages to apply for federal loans to purchase fishing boats and canneries” [2].

1948 & 1953
Grand Camp was held in Sitka

1956
ANB Harbor was built in Sitka

1958
Grand Camp was held in Sitka

January 3, 1959
Alaska Statehood took effect, while preserving the concept of aboriginal rights and Native Claims (thanks largely to lobbying of ANB and ANS)

December 18, 1971
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed

April 1975
The book Founders of the Alaska Native Brotherhood was published by Andrew Hope III in Sitka, under the auspices of Sheldon Jackson College and the ANB Education Program

1978
ANB Founders Hall on Katlian Street in Sitka was designated a National Historic Landmark

1980
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) was signed into law

Late 1980s
Major renovations were made to ANB Harbor

November 1987
The 75th Diamond Jubilee Grand Camp was held in Sitka [5]

1988
Alaska Governor Steve Cowper established April 21st as Elizabeth Peratrovich Day
The date was later changed to February 16 in observance of the day in 1945 on which the Anti-Discrimination Act was approved.

August 1991
The book A Recollection of Civil Rights Leader Elizabeth Peratrovich was published by the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA)

1992
ANB Harbor was deeded to the City of Sitka by the State of Alaska

2008
The book In Sisterhood: The History of Camp 2 of the Alaska Native Sisterhood edited by Kimberly L. Metcalfe was published by Hazy Island Books of Juneau

2012
100th Anniversary Grand Camp was held in Sitka
“About 160 delegates from Alaska and along the West Coast of the United States are expected in Sitka for the Alaska Native Brotherhood/Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand Camp Convention, which opens tonight and runs through Friday at Centennial Hall. The convention will be followed by a celebration Saturday of the 100th anniversary of the Alaska Native Brotherhood, which was established in 1912. Sitka is home to ANB Camp 1, and Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 4” [6].
Sitka’s ANS president during the centenary Grand Camp was Jean Arnold Kéinutlaa (supported by her husband, ANB member Robert “Spike” Arnold Koodaxgahaa).

2014
ANB Harbor was completely rebuilt
“ANB Harbor was built in 1956, although almost all of the docks and floats torn out over this past winter were installed in 1974, with bits and pieces updated in the 1990s. The State of Alaska deeded ANB Harbor to the City and Borough of Sitka in 1992” [7].

2014
The Book A Dangerous Idea: The Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Struggle for Indigenous Rights by Peter Metcalfe (with Kathy Holkhorst) was published by University of Alaska Press in Fairbanks

December 25, 2015
The ANB/ANS Annual Christmas Community Dinner was held at ANB Founders Hall
“The event is over four decades old. The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood also use the occasion to honor lifetime members: elders who are over 65 years of age and who have logged 25 years or more of service” [8].

November 25, 2020 
The ANB/ANS Annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner was held as a to-go event due to the Covid epidemic

July 4, 2022
The Elizabeth Peratrovich cedar bench was dedicated in front of Harrigan Centennial Hall

Summer 2024
The 17th Annual Sitka Farmers Markets (hosted by the Sitka Local Foods Network) were held at ANB Founders Hall

—

Sources Consulted:

1) Hope, Andrew III, Founders of the Alaska Native Brotherhood, Ltd. 1st ed., Sitka, Sheldon Jackson College ANB Education Program, 1975.

2) Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood, EBSCO, ebsco.com/research-starters/history/alaska-native-brotherhood-and-alaska-native-sisterhood

3) Past Conventions, Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand Camp, anbansgc.org/conventions/past-conventions/

4) T&H Historical Brochure, Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, ccthita.org/documents/T&H%20Historical%20Brochure.pdf

5) History of Alaska Native Brotherhood, Camp 14, camp14.com/history

6) ANB, ANS Convene; To Celebrate 100th, Daily Sitka Sentinel, sitkasentinel.com/7/2012-05-10-22-08-10/local-news/5030-anb-ans-convene-to-celebrate-100th

7) Despite higher fees, Sitka’s ANB Harbor a welcome upgrade, KCAW Raven Radio, kcaw.org/2014/07/03/despite-higher-fees-sitkas-anb-harbor-a-welcome-upgrade/

8) Food, cheer for all at Sitka ANB/ANS Annual Christmas Dinner, KCAW Raven Radio, kcaw.org/2015/12/24/food-cheer-for-all-at-sitka-anbans-annual-christmas-dinner/

Acknowledgements:

Jean and Robert Arnold, Ralph Brady, Debe Brincefield, Adriana Bryan, William Craig, Dawn Georgia, Ryan Haug, Gerry Hope, Peter Karras, Karen Lucas, Paulette Moreno, Kodi Richards, Chad Titell, Stephanie and Brian Weddell, Marie Young

Gunalchéesh (This would not have been possible without you.)