The 1867 Treaty of Cession transferred ownership of the Alaskan Territory from Russia to the United States. It referred to the indigenous people of Alaska as ‘uncivilized native tribes’ which subjected them to the same policies as all other Native Americans. Various acts in the nineteenth century were intended to strip Natives of their lands and tribal rights, such as the 1884 First Organic Act and the 1885 Major Crimes Act.
Frustrated by the changes forced upon their way of life, the Tlingit founded the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) in response. Twelve men and one woman met in Sitka in 1912 to establish an organization to fight the discrimination of Alaska Natives and to encourage and preserve Native culture. Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) was founded in 1914. ANB/ANS fought for Natives to have the same citizenship and rights to education as non-Natives. Initially, the territory adopted the position in 1915 that Natives could become citizens only if they renounced the beliefs and practices of their culture. ANB/ANS fought these terms and their efforts contributed to the passing of the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, granting citizenship to anyone born within the territory of the United States.
Discrimination continued in Southeast Alaska, with signs barring Natives from establishments. In 1945, led by the Peratrovich’s of Sitka, ANB/ANS convinced the territorial government to pass The Anti-Discrimination Act, nearly 20 years before the US Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Alaska Native Brotherhood continues to fight legislation that conflicts with Native practices, most recently the federal law making the collection and ownership of eagle feathers illegal.
In Haines, the Haines ANB formed in 1916. The original hall was an old mine building from Douglas, dismantled and reconstructed here. The day the new floor was completed, the ANB basketball team challenged F Company at the Chilkoot Barracks (Fort Seward) to a game. Basketball became a key way to get younger members involved with the Brotherhood.
The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand Camp is the oldest known indigenous persons’ civil rights organization in the world.
Learn more about ANB / ANS history and how to support contemporary civil rights in Alaska.
We encourage you to engage with the following resources:
Alaska Native Brotherhood & Alaska Native Sisterhood
American Civil Liberties Union – Alaska
How the Alaska Native Brotherhood Changed Alaska History
Listen. Learn. Stand in Solidarity.
The Haines Sheldon Museum remains committed to preserving and promoting the history, art and unique blending of diverse cultures within the Chilkat Valley. As our nation grapples with major contemporary injustice, we recognize that cultural institutions must confront their own colonial histories and legacies of inequality. We promise to listen, to learn, and work harder to this end.