A bipartisan resolution recognizing the heritage, culture and contributions of Alaska Native, American Indian and Native Hawaiian women has been introduced in Congress by Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Tom Udall, D-NM.
There are 19 co-sponsors.
Murkowski noted that Congress passed legislation 30 years ago declaring March as Women’s History Month, but said she felt that more recognition of these women was needed.
“Before women were allowed to enroll in the armed services, Alaska Native women were volunteering for the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War Two,” she said.
And before there were national anti-discrimination laws, Elizabeth Peratrovich, a Tlingit woman, secured passage of the Alaska Territory’s Anti-Discrimination Act in 1945, she said.
