When Katie John became Dr. Katie John - closing post
Monday, June 17, 2013 at 6:46PM 
On May 14, 2011, 95 year-old Katie John traveled with granddaughter Kathryn Martin and other relatives approximately 50 miles from Mentasta to Tok. There, at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Interior - Aleutians campus, she would be awarded an honorary Bachelor of Laws Degree in front of a local crowd. The next day, she would travel to Fairbanks to be honored before all those who would attend UAF graduation ceremonies.
She holds a traditional ceremonial staff, adorned with an eagle feather
Kathryn Martin, who was about to receive her bachelor's degree, escorted her grandmother into the hall for the graduation ceremony. Red sashes desginate graduates as Native.
The moment she became Dr. Katie John. Vice Chancellor Bernice Joseph and Chancellor Brian Rogers had the honor of presenting the honor to her.
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After the ceremony, a young member of the Ahtna Heritage Dancers and almost certainly one of Katie's many descendants gave her matriarch a hug.
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Dr. Katie John, surrounded by her dancer descendants.
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The next day, Katie was given the honor of being the very first graduate at the UAF ceremony in Fairbanks to take her place in the hall.
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The Ahtna Heritage Dancers performed in honor of their grandmother and their heritage.
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Deja vu all over again. Same angle, even. It just happened this way.
Graduates Katie and Kathryn grandmother and granddaughter, right after Katie received her diploma.
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After she received her diploma and returned to her place in the auditorium, Dr. Katie John placed her hand to her lips...
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...and blew a kiss to me. And for me, that was the highlight of the whole ceremony.
Dr. Katie John observes as her granddaughter flips her tassle.
Then Katherine flipped her grandmother's tassle.
Katie John, relaxing at home in Mentasta. May she rest in peace. May her good works never be forgotten. May her descendants catch salmon from the Copper River until the end of human time.
This closes my series on Dr. Katie John.
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
Reader Comments (2)
She has a beautiful face and so full of character. A lifetime is written on that face.
Thank you for this series of posts about an extraordinary woman.