Dr. Katie John, Ahtna Athabascan champion of Native rights before the Supreme Court of the United States: October 15, 1915 - May 31, 2013

Late this morning, I learned Dr. Katie John of Mentasta had died earlier in the day. I am not going to write much about Katie right now, other than to note she loved her Ahtna family, culture, and way of life so strongly that when it mattered she stood up to the State of Alaska and went out to catch salmon in the place where she had first fished with her a father as child. She fought for the right to continue doing so all the way to US Supreme Court. 

She won that battle, then, through quirks in the law faced the fight all over again. Finally, she persuaded an unsure Governor Tony Knowles, beset upon by powerful political and financial interests to file the final appeal and send her case back to the Supreme Court, not to play politics with her life, but to do what was right.

Over the weekend, I will search through my Katie John photographs and articles. Sometime early next week, I will put up a proper tribute to her. Then I will go to her funeral. I took this photo in May of 2010 at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks Interior-Aleutians Campus in Tok, just before the first of two ceremonies in which UAF awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree.

The woman behind her is granddaughter Kathryn Martin, who had just earned a bachelor's degree. The red sash designates the graduates as Native.

My own grandson, Kalib, graduated from pre-kindergarten today. I will put up a post on this either late tonight or early tomorrow. True, I recently switched this blog to a once a week schedule, but ever since, extraordinary circumstances have demanded I put up more than just one post a week. 

Index to full series. * Designates the main, story-telling, posts:

Dr. Katie John, Ahtna Athabascan champion of Native rights before the Supreme Court of the United States: October 15, 1915 - May 31, 2013

July, 2001: Enroute to Batzulnetas to cover historic meeting between Katie John and Governor Tony Knowles; In a couple of hours I will go to Katie John's Anchorage memorial

Katie John's Anchorage visitation: the void, the continuation 

*In 1999, Katie John gathered a host of young people together, most of them descendants, and took them camping at Batzulnetas

I pause this series until after the funeral, but here is Katie John with Governor Tony Knowles and the fish that made the difference

This morning at 4:00 AM - leaving Mentasta after Katie John's funeral and potlatch

*Katie John's funeral and potlatch: on the night before burial, dance wiped away the tears

*Katie John finished well - her descendants mourn, celebrate her life, bury her, eat, dance give gifts and prepare to carry on

One image from Katie John's victory celebration - the story of how she won her victory will soon follow

*Katie John and Tony Knowles at Batzulnetas: a fish escaped, the ice cream was hard and a Governor listened

*When Katie John became Dr. Katie John - closing post