Katie John’s Day Alaska welcomes a New Holiday BY BEN LUCERO
Open your calendar books and put a reminder in your cell phones, May 31st is officially marked as Katie John’s day. The state of Alaska has declared it, and Governor Mike Dunleavy has signed senate bill 78 making the new holiday part of Alaska tradition. This year, Alaskans have one more hero to commemorate for her undying resolve.
A bill originally put up for vote 6 years ago, has finally came to fruition through a strong group of supporters who sought their cause till the end. Acknowledging the late Katie John is a great way to observe her legacy and spread her message to future generations.
In her lifetime she constructed the first written alphabet in Athna Athabascan, as well as crafting tapes on proper pronunciation of the language. But her indelible mark on history will be for her devotion to fighting for native Alaskan’s right to subsistence hunt. She stood up to the Alaska state government for the right to protect her people’s way of life.
Throughout her life she was faced with countless obstacles that hindered her progress, but her true story of success is that she climbed over every hurdle to fulfill her goal. Honoring May 31st as her day can be an occasion to teach our kids that same message; success is going through failure and stress and not giving up until you reach your goal. A fight to be and practice her culture; Katie John dedicated her life to furthering her culture’s identity. Honoring this day to her will foster a stronger sense of what being an Alaskan means to the next generation that grows up learning her story in school.
