Last updated: December 3, 2024
Person
Katie John
Image cropped for website. Original by Erik Hill / Anchorage Daily News
Quick Facts
Significance:
Alaska Native advocate and cultural expert
Place of Birth:
Near the Slana River, Slana Alaska
Date of Birth:
October 15, 1915
Date of Death:
May 31, 2013
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve joins other Alaskans in celebrating Katie John Day on May 31.
In 2019, the Alaska State Legislature designated May 31st as an official state holiday in honor of Katie John for her contributions in defense of Alaska Native customary and traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering rights.
Katie John exemplified the qualities of grit, determination, and perseverance. Katie's family grew up living a subsistence lifestyle, fishing for salmon in the upper Copper River drainage, near Batzulnetas on Tanada Creek. In 1964 the newly designated state of Alaska closed this traditional fishing site. Through years of litigation, Katie John petitioned the state and the federal government to allow for traditional fishing at Batzulnetas. As a result of her determination and vision, her name is synonymous in Alaska with rural subsistence rights. Katie is gone now, but her legacy lives on. She was an exceptional steward of her tribal traditions and was inducted into the Alaska Women's Hall of Fame in 2014 for her advocacy and leadership.