About this item
"No Natives or Dogs Allowed," blared the storefront sign at Elizabeth Peratrovich, then a young Alaska Native Tlingit. The sting of those words would stay with her all her life. Years later, after becoming a seasoned fighter for equality, she would deliver her own powerful message: one that helped change Alaska and the nation forever. In 1945, Peratrovich stood before the Alaska Territorial Legislative Session and gave a powerful speech about her childhood and her experiences being treated as a second-class citizen. Her heartfelt testimony led to the passing of the landmark Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act, America's first civil rights legislation. Today, Alaska celebrates Elizabeth Peratrovich Day every February 16, and she will be honored on the gold one-dollar coin in 2020.
About the Author
Annie Boochever is a lifelong Alaskan and the author of the middle-grade Alaskan adventure novel Bristol Bay Summer. In addition to teaching high school English, she was an elementary music teacher and librarian for many years, during which time she wrote and produced award-winning musical plays for her students.
Annie earned a Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. She is currently developing Our Ancestor's Stories: Reader's Theater Adaptations of Southeast Alaska Native Legends from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian in collaboration with the Sealaska Heritage Institute.
Annie lives in Juneau, with her husband Scott Miller where she enjoys skiing, swimming, playing piano, and gardening. They have four grown children and a frighteningly intelligent Dutch dog named ZZ, but that's another story. Bristol Bay Summer is her first novel.
