A century after creation of Alaska’s oldest known indigenous peoples’ civil rights organization, Native leaders and other local dignitaries will rededicate a new Juneau bridge commemorating the group.
Saturday morning’s ceremonies will include a procession over the wider, just-completed Brotherhood Bridge that spans the Mendenhall River. Speakers will include Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President Sasha Soboleff, and Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand President Johanna Dybdahl. The designer of the original Brotherhood Bridge, Roy Peratrovich Jr., is also expected to attend.
This will be at least the fifth bridge crossing Mendenhall River at Glacier Highway. According to a fact sheet issued by the Alaska Department of Transportation, the first road crossing at the river was constructed in 1903 for a combined cost of $1,700. The first bridge was replaced in 1919, and again in 1931.
The original Brotherhood Bridge was constructed in 1965 and stood for nearly 50 years until it was recently dismantled. A $25 million replacement bridge designed to handle increased traffic has been under construction for the last 18 months.
Jeremy Woodrow, spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation, said it’s important that they continue to honor the ANB and the organization’s advocacy for Alaska Native civil rights.
“It was named as a way to show the importance of the Alaska Native Brotherhood to break down the racial barriers that were so prominent across the nation in the ‘50s and ‘60s,” Woodrow said. “That name holds true today and renaming the bridge, the new Brotherhood Bridge, shows that and carries that cultural importance on.”
Round, bronze medallions designed by Peratrovich and displayed on the side of the old Brotherhood Bridge were recovered, restored and installed on the new bridge. They’ll be unveiled just before Saturday’s ceremony.
“They look beautiful,” Woodrow said. “They really do shine right now and they’ll look great once they’re revealed.”
The Alaska Native Brotherhood was created in 1912 and the Alaska Native Sisterhood was created in 1915.
The Brotherhood Bridge rededication ceremony starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, with the procession starting at 8:30 a.m. at Vintage Business Park. Woodrow said spectators and participants can park in the Carrs/Safeway parking lot.
