Alice E. Brown (May 11, 1912 – February 1, 1973) was a member of the Kenaitze Tribe of Dena'ina peoples, who worked for Native Alaskan rights. She was involved in defending the rights of Alaska Natives and disenfranchised groups in Alaska. She was the only woman to serve on the original Alaska Federation of Natives' Board of Directors and pressed for passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Brown was posthumously inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.
Biography
Alice Elissa Hedberg was born on May 11, 1912, in Kenai,[1] District of Alaska, several months prior to the creation of the Territory of Alaska.[2] Her parents were Anastasiia Nutnal'ta (known also as Nancy) and John Hedberg (known as Moosemeat John) and she was a member of the Kenaitze Tribe.[3] In the 1930s, she married Elmer Brown and they raised their family in Anchorage.[4]
Brown served her community in various capacities, including as a field representative of the Kenaitze Indian Association and as a member of the Rural Affairs Commission Greater Anchorage Area Borough Advisory Health Board, and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).[1][5] In 1966, when the Alaska Federation of Natives was founded, Brown was the only woman appointed as a member of the Board of Directors.[6] In 1967, Brown was appointed by Governor Walter Hickel to serve on the Task Force on Land Claims.[7] The committee made their recommendations in 1968 and requested hearings to be held to approve distribution of land in fee simple to native villages with protected hunting and fishing rights for 100 years, shares in mineral rights to be paid to natives for specified lands and the organization of business corporations to disburse funds for tribal interests. Main opposition to the recommendations came from miners, but hearings in the Senate commenced before the year was out.[8] In 1969, Brown went with other native leaders to testify before the House. Her testimony focused on the plight of urban natives, who until that time had to return to their native villages for any social services provided based on their indigenous status.[9] The following year, she was selected as chair of the Alaska Native Political Education Committee.[10]
Finally, in 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was passed and signed into law.[1] Brown was selected to attend the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment to be held in Stockholm, Sweden,[6] but could not attend due to poor health. She died on February 1, 1973, in Anchorage, Alaska.[3]
Posthumously, in 2000, a collection of manuscripts and archival materials about her and her father was donated to the Anchorage Museum Atwood Resource Center by John "Eddy" Brown[11] and in 2009, Brown's personal papers regarding her work on land rights issues was donated to the University of Alaska by her granddaughter, Rebecca Lyon.[1] In 2010, she was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame.[12][6]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d Gatlabayan 2010.
- ^ Naske & Slotnick 1994, pp. 92–95.
- ^ US census 1940, p. 10A.
- ^ Gatlabayan & July, 2010.
- ^ a b c Alaska Women's Hall of Fame 2010.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1967, p. 6.
- ^ The Alaskool Project 2001.
- ^ House Committee of Interior and Insular Affairs 1969, pp. 650–651.
- ^ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 1970, p. 1.
- ^ Brown 2000.
- ^ Juneau Empire 2010.
Bibliography
- Brown, John "Eddie" (2000). "Moosemeat" John Hedberg: and Honoring Alice E. Hedberg Brown. Anchorage, Alaska: Anchorage Museum Atwood Resource Center. OCLC 761324895.
- Gatlabayan, Mariecris, ed. (2010). "Guide to the Alice E. Brown papers 1965-1973". Consortium Library. Anchorage, Alaska: University of Alaska. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- Gatlabayan, Mariecris, ed. (16 July 2010). "Alice E. Brown papers part 2: Multiple pathways, same destination". Consortium Library. Anchorage, Alaska: University of Alaska. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- House Committee of Interior and Insular Affairs (1969). "Statement by Alice Brown". Hearings, reports and prints of the House, 91st Congress First Session on H.R. 6716. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office.
- Naske, Claus-M.; Slotnick, Herman E. (1994). Alaska: A History of the 49th State (2nd ed.). Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-2573-2.
- "1940 U.S. Census, Anchorage, Alaska Territory". Family Search. Washington, DC: 1940 U. S. National Archives. October 22, 1940. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- "37 Named to Land Claims Task Force". Fairbanks, Alaska: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. November 11, 1967. Retrieved 10 July 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Alaska Women's Hall of Fame announces its new inductees". Juneau, Alaska: Juneau Empire. March 2, 2010. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- "Alaska Native Land Claims". The Alaskool Project. University of Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska: Institute of Social and Economic Research. 2001. Archived from the original on March 30, 2002. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- "Alice Brown". Anchorage, Alaska: Alaska Women's Hall of Fame. 2010. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- "CIRI Spotlight: Alice E. Brown". Anchorage, Alaska: Cook Inlet Region Inc. May 1, 2010. Archived from the original on July 10, 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- "Native unit backs three". Fairbanks, Alaska: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. August 7, 1970. Retrieved 10 July 2016 – via Newspapers.com.