Alaska Civil Rights: Elizabeth Peratrovich
Overview
This activity was produced in conjunction with The Library of Congress and the TPS at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
This activity will allow learners to: Demonstrate an understanding of the civil rights movement in Alaska and the role Elizabeth Peratrovich played in making that happen during the territorial days in Alaska.
Designed by Beth Hartley, Ph.D.
Program Title: Beth Hartley, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Graduate Elementary programs, University of Alaska Southeast School of Education |
| Instructional Level: Intermediate Elem to Middle school Target Audience: Pre-service teachers and middle school students |
TPS Western Region Location - Alaska |
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Resources: Standards and Guides
| STANDARDS Social Justice Standards Social Justice 11. Students will recognize stereotypes and relate to people as individuals rather than representatives of groups. 12. Students will recognize unfairness on the individual level (e.g., biased speech) and injustice at the institutional or systemic level (e.g., discrimination). 13. Students will analyze the harmful impact of bias and injustice on the world, historically and today. 14. Students will recognize that power and privilege influence relationships on interpersonal, intergroup, and institutional levels and consider how they have been affected by those dynamics. 15. Students will identify figures, groups, events and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice around the world. |
Discussion norms:
Equity of Voice Active Listening Respect for all Perspectives Safety and Confidentiality Be Present! Speak up!
(I reserve the right to pause or curtail any conversation or content that appears to be disrespectful or unsafe.) C3 Teachers: Inquiry Design Model D2.Civ.3.6-8. Examine the origins, purposes, and impact of constitutions, laws, treaties, and international agreements. D2.Civ.2.6-8. Explain specific roles played by citizens (such as voters, jurors, taxpayers, members of the armed forces, petitioners, protesters, and office-holders).
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Resources: Library of Congress and Vetted Primary and Secondary Sources
| RESOURCES (with references) The Daily Alaska Empire. Tuesday, February 6, 1945.) Superior race theory hit in hearing. The Daily Alaska Empire, Tuesday, February 6, 1945. Alaska State Library. https://vilda.alaska.edu/digital/collection/cdmg21/id/2058/ |
Library of Congress Teacher Resources Document: Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln. A., Seward. W. (1864). First emancipation proclamation, [Facsimile.]Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/lprbscsm.scsm0921/ Document: Frederick DouglasTucker, N (June15, 2020) Hearing Frederick Douglass: His speech on John Brown. [Blog].https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2020/06/hearing-frederick-douglass-his-speech-on-john-brown/Photos: US Civil Rights (Brown vs. Board of Education) - Ruby Bridges Encyclopedia Britannica (Eds)(Retrieved July 31,2022). Ruby Bridges being escorted by U.S. federal marshals as she leaves William Frantz Elementary School, New Orleans, November 1960 [photo] Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruby-Bridges (not LOC) United Press International telephoto (1960) Six-year-old Ruby Bridges, three-quarter length portrait, standing, facing front [photo] Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/item/00651757/ National Museum of the American Indian Peratrovich Family Papers. (1991). Recollection of civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich 1911-1958. National Museum of the American Indian. https://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=NMAI.AC.078_ref12 National Park Service Johnson, E. (Retrieved July 31st, 2022) The 19th Amendment, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and the ongoing fight for equal rights. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/dena-history-peratrovich.htm Sea Alaska Heritage Education Resources
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Student Learning Objectives: Content, Language, Vocabulary, SEL
Language Objectives: Students will compare and contrast the changes in equal rights for Alaska Natives past to present Students will write an editorial newspaper article for general interest regarding an issue of civil rights in Alaska and a call to action. Students will conduct close-reading identifying bias and point of view. Vocabulary: Civil Rights, Equality, Compare, Contrast, Advocacy, Rights vs. Responsibility, Bias, Discrimination Content Objectives: Students will be able to describe Alaska civil rights advocacy efforts by Elizabeth Peratrovich Students will conduct research on civil rights issues in Alaska. SEL Objective: Students will identify their possible roles in advocacy for equality in their world today. |
Additional Materials Needed
Materials needed: all documents referenced above and: Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act Anti-Discrimination Act, House Bill 14, from Session Laws of Alaska, 1945 Alaska Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (2002) Racism's Frontier: The Untold Story of Discrimination and Division in Alaska by Alaska. USCCR https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/sac/ak0402/main.htm LOC: Primary Source Analysis tool: https://www.loc.gov/programs/teachers/getting-started-with-primary-sources/guides/?loclr=blogtea |
Technology: computer, some form of projector, video player, computers with internet access for students, |
Consumables & Copies: paper/pen/pencil, copies of documents |
First Photos for discussion
Ruby Bridges being escorted by U.S. federal marshals as she leaves William Frantz Elementary School, New Orleans, November 1960
Photo: Meals at all hours: Alaska State Archives
Assessment of Student Learning
Newspaper article with rubric for the “Classroom [name] Times”
Formative: all discussion, preparation, and analysis work
Summative: Completed Newspaper article on topic - rubric
Culminating: Completed class Classroom Times Newspaper edited with published articles (social studies, reading, writing, research) themed for equity and civil rights in Alaska.
Newspaper Article Rubric: attached
Lesson/Unit Sequence
Entry Activity/Task: Review each photo - What do you see? What is missing? What evidence do you have to make that claim/statement? Introductions/review of vocabulary: Civil Rights, Equality, Compare, Contrast, Advocacy, Rights vs. Responsibility, Bias, Discrimination (Create word-wall with representative icons/pictures of terms.) Question Connection: What do you understand about discrimination and bias? (no one right answer) Elicit background knowledge of Civil Rights Movement : Frederik Douglas 1860’s, Abraham Lincoln 1863 emancipation Proclamation, (MLK) 1960’s (photos, speeches etc.) Introduce and Discuss document (whole group) : Elisabeth Peratrovich https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/dena-history-peratrovich.htm Activity: Practice using the Primary Source Analysis Tool using pictures from the NPS document. Paired work activity. Questions: How long has the civil rights movement been going on in the U.S.? Do you think it is still going on? Why? What evidence to you have? Focused Activity/Task – Jigsaw research Research Set-up: Review research protocols, search terms, Primary Source Analysis Form, MLA formatting, primary vs. secondary sources.
Topics
Close Reading: for bias and point of view:
Alaska Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (2002) Racism's Frontier: The Untold Story of Discrimination and Division in Alaska by Alaska. USCCR https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/sac/ak0402/main.htm Conduct research in pairs or triads (or individually depending on student needs and learning style.) Writing:
Purpose: Conclusion Activity/Task: Create a Newspaper article about Alaska Civil Rights and Elizabeth Peratrovich or related topic for public interest. Attach a call for action to their piece. |
Student Learning Accommodations and Modifications
Student Learning Accommodations & Modifications
All material is offered with visuals and visual access (e.g., powerpoints). Students will have opportunities to conduct their work individually, or in a group, using real books from the library and/or online resources. Students with limited reading ability will be given specific texts at grade level or will be read to by peers and will summarize, either verbally or in dictation, what they understood. They may also illustrate their understandings. Role play will be conducted when discussing bias and point of view for kinesthetic and active learners. Students may provide a visual representation of their article, rather than a written one using PowerPoint VoiceThread, Prezi, etc. Presentations can be individual or in groups. Accessibility considerations will be provided, as needed. Visually presented material will have color and contrast modulated content for visually impaired learners as well as transcripts for students with hearing difficulties.
Multicultural Considerations
This particular unit is focused on Alaska Native and other endemic Indigenous peoples in the state of Alaska as a minoritized populations. There are about 20 distinct languages spoken in Alaska. Most within two main language groups. The two groupings include Inuit-Unangan (a.k.a. Eskimo-Aleut) and Na-Dene (a.k.a. Athabasan-Eyak-Tlingit).
Elizabeth Peratrovich was a Tlingit leader from southeast Alaska. The entire unit is an examination of the effects of colonization by two major nations and the power of a small group of individuals to aggressively advocate for change to better the lives and protect the livelihoods of the indigenous people in the state of Alaska in the late 1940s while Alaska was still a territory.
On a larger scale: students engage in discussions about discrimination and bias as connected with their own or their families' experiences with or knowledge of these acts. There is the intention that particular subcultures of American and Alaskan society will be discussed specifically including specific regions, or even countries where students have lived or originated. Intersectionality will be another term that will most likely be discussed.