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Page 1

MEETING
OF
UNITED STATES COINAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
1:00 p.m.

United States Mint
801 9th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
(202) 354-7371

Reported by: Samuel Honig
Capital Reporting Company

Page 2

A P P E A R A N C E

Greg Weinman
April Stafford
Mary Lannin
Robert Hoge
Erik Jansen
Michael Moran
Steve Roach
Jeanne Stevens-Sollman
Dennis Tucker
Thomas Uram
Herman Viola
Jim Adams
Mike Unser

Page 3

C O N T E N T S

Mary Lannin
April Stafford
Jim Adams

1, 6, 31
8, 14
11, 15, 33

Robert Hoge

13, 16

Jeanne Stevens-Sollman

16

Mike Moran

18

Dennis Tucker

20

Tom Uram

23, 30

Herman Viola

25, 35

Erik Jansen

26, 34

Page 4

P R O C E E D I N G S
MS. LANNIN:

I call to order this meeting of

the United States Coinage Advisory Committee for
Tuesday, January 17, 2017.
If the members of the committee could announce
themselves, I can check them off the list.
Mike, I heard you, so you are here.
MR. MORAN:
MR. WEINMAN:

Yep, I'm here.
Actually, if you wouldn't mind,

because this is being transcribed by telephone, if
you could say your full name when you're
identified, at least for this first time.
MS. LANNIN:
MR. VIOLA:
MS. LANNIN:
MR. VIOLA:

Certainly, Greg.
Herman Viola.
Good morning, Herman.
Good morning.

MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
MS. LANNIN:

Jeanne Stevens-Sollman.

Good morning, Jeanne.

MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:

Good morning, Mary.

MR. TUCKER:

Dennis Tucker.

MS. LANNIN:

Good morning, Dennis.

MR. TUCKER:

Good morning.

Page 5

MR. URAM:

Thomas Uram.

MS. LANNIN:
MR. URAM:

Morning, Tom.
Morning.

MS. LANNIN:
MR. HOGE:

Marry Lannin is here.
Robert Hoge is here.

MS. LANNIN:

Robert Hoge is here.

MS. STAFFORD:
MR. WEINMAN:
MS. LANNIN:
MR. ADAMS:
MS. LANNIN:

We have a quorum.
Uh-hum.
Do we have anyone else?

Hi.

On the telephone, Jim Adams.

Jim Adams.

And your affiliation,

Jim?
MR. ADAMS:

Senior historian at the National

Museum of the American Indian.
MS. LANNIN:

Thank you.

And do we have

members of the press on the phone?
MR. UNSER:
MS. LANNIN:

Mike Unser from CoinNews.
Good morning, Mike.

Happy New

Year.
Is there anyone else?

I just heard a click.

Has Erik called in or Heidi?
MR. HOGE:

Mary, this is Robert.

When I

Page 6

called in, I was told there were 16 parties on the
line.
MS. LANNIN:
MR. HOGE:

Sixteen?
Yeah.

MS. LANNIN:

Okay.

Heidi, are you there?

Erik, are you there?
Okay.

Apparently not.

Let's keep going.
During this session, the committee will
consider the following items:

The discussion of

the letter and minutes of the previous meeting as
well as the review and discussion of design
concepts for the 2019 and 2020 Native American One
Dollar Coin Program.
So we have Mike here from the Mint staff.

Is

there anything that we need -- is there anything
that we need to talk about?
MR. WEINMAN:
Weinman.

Only that -- this is Greg

I will just, once again, remind you that

because this is being transcribed, before anybody
speaks, please identify yourself for the record.
We'll be keeping an ear out so that if we hear
somebody's voice and they haven't identified,

Page 7

we'll give you a friendly reminder.
MS. STAFFORD:

And if you don't mind muting

your telephones while you are not speaking, we
would very much appreciate it.
MS. LANNIN:
MR. MORAN:

Okay.
And that was April Stafford who

said that?
MS. STAFFORD:
MS. LANNIN:
MR. MORAN:
MS. LANNIN:
All right.

Yes, sir.
Gotcha.

There's only one smart ass around.
Yes, Michael.
The first item in our agenda is a

discussion of the letter to the secretary and the
minutes from our previous meeting.
comments on either documents?

Are there any

Okay.

Hearing no

further discussion, I move to approve the minutes
and the letter to the secretary.

Is there a

second?
MR. HOGE:
MS. LANNIN:
Robert.

Second.

This is Robert.

Robert seconds.

Thank you,

All those in favor, please signify by

saying "aye."

Page 8

ALL SPEAKERS:
MS. LANNIN:

Aye.
Those opposed, say "nay."

Okay.

The ayes appear to have it, and the motion that is
reached is unanimous.
The next order of business is the review and
discussion of the design concepts for the 2019 and
2020 Native American One Dollar Coin Program.

We

now turn to April Stafford, narrator of the Mint's
design management team, to present the design
concepts for the 2019 and 2020 Native American One
Dollar Coin Program.
MS. STAFFORD:

April.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It is

Public Law 110-82 that requires the Secretary of
the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins in honor
of Native Americans and the important
contributions made by Indian tribes and individual
Native Americans to the development in history of
the United States.

The Act mandates a reverse

design for these coins with an image emblematic of
one important Native American or Native American
contribution each year.

Of course, the obverse,

as has been with the program, will retain the

Page 9

image of Sacajawea and her infant son.
The National Museum of the American Indian
identified themes, which were then reviewed and
endorsed by the following:

The Committee on

Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Congressional
Native American Caucus of the House of
Representatives, and the National Congress of
American Indians.
Today we will discuss the themes for the 2019
and 2020 Native American dollar coins.

Input from

this discussion will then be provided to our
artists and give them a direction and further
considerations as they begin designing for this
program.
So we'll start with theme one, which is for
the 2019 dollar coin.

The theme is "American

Indians in the Space Program."

American Indians

have been on the modern frontier of spaceflight
since the beginning of NASA.

American Indians'

service includes achievements such as the three
spacewalks from the International Space Station by
John Herrington of the Chickasaw Nation and dates

Page 10

back to the work of Mary Golda Ross.

She's

considered the first female American Indian
engineer and helped develop the spacecraft for the
Gemini and Apollo space programs.

I should note

that 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of the
Apollo 11 landing on the lunar surface.
The second theme for discussion today is for
the 2020 Native American dollar coin.

The theme

is "Elizabeth Peratrovich and Alaska's AntiDiscrimination Law."

The first anti-

discrimination law in the United States
prohibiting discrimination in access to public
accommodations was passed in the Alaskan
Territorial Government in 1945.

Elizabeth

Peratrovich of the Tlingit Nation, through her
advocacy for Alaskan natives and with her husband,
Roy, gave an impassioned speech in the Alaskan
Senate in support of the law.

She's widely

credited with getting it passed.

I'll also note

here that it is 2020 that marks the 75th
anniversary of Elizabeth Peratrovich's famous
testimony in support of our nation's first anti-

Page 11

discrimination law.
As we heard earlier, joining us today is Jim
Adams.

He is senior historian at the National

Museum of the American Indian.
Mr. Adams, is there any additional information
related to these themes that you would like to
share with our committee or you would like our
artists to consider?
MR. ADAMS:

Well, on the space theme, one of

the names to add to the list is Jerry Elliott, who
is Osage and Comanche and was the -- I'm not sure
the exact terminology -- the retrofit engineer for
the Apollo 13 re-entry and thought of the
trajectory which brought that spacecraft back and
received a Presidential Medal of Freedom for that
service.
And on the 2020 theme of the -- for
Peratrovich and the antidiscrimination law, as far
as I can tell -- and it is claimed that this is
the first antidiscrimination law in the U.S. -- in
the state or territory -- and inspired later
legislation, I think, about six to nine months

Page 12

later in New York State to pass its
antidiscrimination law, referencing the
territorial law in the debate.

And it was this

law that I think induced Branch Rickey to
integrate Major League Baseball.

So this is, you

know, one of those events in the obscure corner of
the world that has wide ramifications.
MS. STAFFORD:

Thank you so much, and I'll be

sure that our design manager, Roger Vasquez, will
reach out to you to ensure that we've captured
those names and information so that we can add it
to the information we provide to the artists.
Madam Chair, if -- of course, Mr. Adams is
here to answer any questions for the committee
members as well, as you begin your decision.
MS. LANNIN:

Thank you so much, Mr. Adams.

Thanks for attending.
I'd like to ask everyone to talk about five
minutes, if they could and talk -- I think we'll
talk about both of them as we go through.

So each

person that I call on, first, to the 2019 and then
we can do the 2020, if that's okay.

Page 13

Robert, would you mind starting?
MR. HOGE:

No, not at all.

Thank you.

I

think this is kind of challenging to represent
space.

We talk about space a lot in terms of coin

designs -- what's in the field and what isn't
there -- but with regard to Native Americans, to
try to relate it directly to them, I think this is
fairly challenging -- a fairly challenging project
and probably would be so with any group of people.
I don't know if we want to try and focus on a
single individual or not.

I mean, I kind of have

a question in my mind about that because the
Native American people just have such a broad
general contribution.
I think one thing we might want to consider is
incorporation of an arrow symbolic of flight
because I know so many of the native people have
chosen to use arrows or arrowheads as their
emblems in the various medals that we've reviewed
and the designs for the congressional medals over
the past years.

So I think maybe an arrow or an

arrowhead combined with something celestial, so to

Page 14

speak, might be an appropriate thought.
Apart from that, I think we might try to
introduce something that seems very high tech.
I'm not sure just what that might be but something
that looks dramatically electronic perhaps.

Did

you want me to continue to comment?
MS. LANNIN:

If you could continue to the

2020.
MS. STAFFORD:

Actually, Madam Chair, if I

could just interrupt for a second.

I want to be

sure that Mr. Adams feels comfortable interjecting
as he sees fit during the discussion.

I know that

over the years, when we've worked on Native
American dollar coins, in particular, there have
been several symbols which some may think iconic
and representative of the Native American culture
but, when they were actually incorporated into
designs, they caused some sensitivities.

And so,

for example, whether it's using a feather to
represent and give a nod to the Native American
culture or an arrowhead, for example.
So, Mr. Adams, I just want to be sure that if

Page 15

there's something that is suggested, that you just
want to make sure you manage our -- manage the
communications to the artists about what is
appropriate and what is not.

We really welcome

your input as we go along.
MR. ADAMS:

This is Jim talking.

Then I

should talk -- not wait for all the speakers but
to interject as we go along?
MS. LANNIN:

Yes, you can interject whenever

you feel that it's appropriate.
MR. ADAMS:

Yeah.

One point, rather than the

arrow, which is fine, but star imagery is also
very important in a number of tribes.

Actually, I

saw a scan of a portrait of Mary Ross, which is in
our -- the museum's collections, that has a sevenpointed star representing the Pleiades and the
origin of the Cherokee people.

So that's another

icon to keep in mind.
MR. HOGE:

Okay.

MS. STAFFORD:
MR. HOGE:
MS. LANNIN:

Thank you.

Thank you.
Robert, did you want to keep

Page 16

going and we'll do the 2020 one?
MR. HOGE:

Sure.

I -- with 2020

antidiscrimination, one thing we might want to
consider as a possibility that occurred to me is
the idea, once again, of the clasped hands because
this is people adjoining together, which isn't
exactly antidiscrimination, but it's more of the
positive aspect of actual coming together.

I know

we've seen this on other designs, but it's,
perhaps, something to consider again.

Again, this

is a concept -- antidiscrimination -- which is a
little difficult, I think, to capture in terms of
the iconic industry.
people's comments.
MS. LANNIN:

I'd like to hear other
Thank you.

Thank you, Robert.

you like to be up next?
Okay.

Jeanne, would

Jeanne, are you there?

Jeanne doesn't appear to be --

MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
MS. LANNIN:

Oh, there you are.

MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
though.
MS. LANNIN:

Hello.

Okay.

Good.

Okay.

It's my mute button,

Page 17

MS. STEVENS-SOLLMAN:
with it.

I'm not too compatible

Anyway, I agree with Robert with the

suggestion of doing something celestial on the
coin, and I think that, you know, Jim Adams'
interjection was very good.

I -- I mean the first

thing that I thought about with the space imagery
is could we do something celestial and then have,
perhaps, the space station also depicted in there
somehow?

I mean, we have to leave this up to the

artists, absolutely, but it seems to me that we
could have some interesting spacewalks or some
space stations.

But I really think we need to

have some celestial representation in there that's
very obvious for everyone who's holding this coin.
It would be wonderful somehow -- I don't know
how to put a profile of Mary Ross in here, but you
know, there's a lot that could be done in terms of
capturing what she was representing.

And that's

about all I have for '19 -- 2019.
And the Alaskan antidiscrimination law, you
know, we talk about clasping hands.

You know, I

think about -- it's a lot of dealing with a lot of

Page 18

different people.

We're not just doing, you know,

Native Americans, but this set the pace for all of
these laws.

And can we someway represent not just

Native Americans but also what they began, you
know, many, many hands -- many, many hands
encircling the, you know, United States or -- I
don't know, but it seems like we should be able to
somewhere grasp the fact that we're integrating
all of our people.
MS. LANNIN:
MR. MORAN:

That's all I have.

Thank you, Jeanne.
Yes, ma'am.

I'm starting first with '19.

Mr. Moran.

This is Mike Moran.
I think the topic is

dangerously broad in terms of the number of
participants in the space program for the Native
Americans.

I think we run the risk of a cluttered

reverse as a result of that.
I know that -- when I went in and did my
research this morning, Mary Golda Ross stood out
to me as iconic of the contributions and, also, in
her own way she had to overcome the fact that she
was both a Native American and an engineer -- a
woman as an engineer.

You go through her

Page 19

background and she's very, very representative in
that she's the great-granddaughter of John Ross,
who was the leader of the Cherokees during the
time of the expulsion and the "Trail of Tears."
She went through all the space programs starting
with the Skunk Work.
40.

She was one of the original

She worked on the P-38 Lightning.

She had a

lot to do with how we got to space, and she did it
in a way that overcame a lot of the many
prejudices from the World War II -- post-World War
II era.

I think she probably is the most fertile

ground.
I'm concerned that if you go too far -- reach
too far and too broad, you tend to blur the
individual contributions of the Native Americans.
A single space station up there, to me, doesn't
really convey much of the story of what they did,
but again, that's up to the artists.
I really feel like there's potential moving
onto number '20 for Elizabeth Peratrovich, and I
think the -- first of all, I caution:

Don't do a

storyboard with the governor of Alaska signing the

Page 20

bill with everybody standing around him.

It's not

going to go anywhere, and it won't look good on
the back of a coin anyway.

But I really think

that some of the Tlingit symbols for various words
could be very powerful on the back of the coin.
I also like Jeanne's idea of a wreath of
hands, so to speak, or a circle of hands, maybe,
surrounding the Tlingit symbol.

Some words that

would come to mind, maybe, would be "equality."
There's some very powerful imagines in their art
that are used for these symbols.

I think that is

the most likely the best potential for a good coin
design here.

Now, there's also a poster of

Elizabeth Peratrovich that is very good.

It's

almost like Rosie the Riveter showing that she
could overcome.

Those are there easily Googled,

but I really think that going back to the Tlingit
language has an awesome potential.

Thank you,

Mary.
MS. LANNIN:

Thank you, Michael.

Dennis,

please, your thoughts.
MR. TUCKER:

Yes.

Thank you.

This is Dennis

Page 21

Tucker.

Something I would point out for the 2019

design is that John Herrington is still alive.
don't think he's even 60 years old yet.

I

So I

think using a portrait of him or a figure of him
would not be appropriate for a modern coin.
But I do like the history behind the work of
Mary Golda Ross.

She designed rocket missiles and

satellites, and that would be something that she's
honored for.

After her active career as an

engineer, though, she was very active in
recruiting young women and Native Americans into
the engineering field.

So that might be something

that we explore -- her activity as a teacher and a
mentor.

Also, her background in school was as a

mathematician, and she spoke frequently about the
importance of mathematics in engineering and in
the space program.

So I wonder if there is some

sort of symbolism or devices that could capture
that -- the mathematical aspect of her education.
For the 2020 design, something that stood out
to me in Peratrovich's life is the fact that she
became very active as a member of the Alaska

Page 22

Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood,
and these are groups that were formed the year
after she was born.

So she was born in 1911, and

these groups, I believe, were formed in 1912.

So

this was a -- and then they were going to address
racism in Alaska, so this was a struggle and, you
know, something of importance in the Native
American life in Alaska since she was a baby, and
she became active in most groups.

This was -- I

mention this because this was a long struggle that
she was -- that she became active in.
I like the idea of clasped hands.

It is

something that has a numismatic history.

Clasped

hands go back, in the United States, to be Indian
Peace Medals.

Of course, in more modern times,

they've been used on these Westward Journey
Nickels and in other numismatic designs.

But I

think there's something there that nicely sums up
the concept of brotherhood and sisterhood between
Native Americans and other people that they live
among and who live among them.
thoughts on both of the designs.

So those are my

Page 23

MS. LANNIN:
MR. URAM:
here.

Thank you, Dennis.
Thanks, Madam Chair.

Tom Uram.
Tom Uram

As I think about the '19 -- I'm getting a

lot of feedback here.

Is there -- are we okay

now?
MS. LANNIN:
MR. URAM:
better.

Yep.
Maybe that'll be a little bit

The '19 design, being that we're also

looking at the Apollo bill, it would be nice if
the dollar coin could somehow compliment the
commemorative program.

I think it could also

enhance the Sacajawea program and the dollar
program somehow if we could coordinate that, as
the artists are thinking about that, as it relates
to the other program for 2019.
And I think that some of the comments that
have been made, as it relates to design and so
forth, are right on.

I'm in favor also of keeping

it more in a broad text and concept and
illustration versus focusing on one person.

I

think you run into a lot of problems when you do
that and, once again, see how it coordinates with

Page 24

the Apollo commemorative program as well.

So I

think you have a lot of opportunity, and I think
the dollar -- if the Mint could somehow work it
out with legislation where you could have this
dollar coin marketed with, or in conjunction, and
packaging with the commemoratives, I think you
could really launch the dollar program off again.
As far as the 2020 program goes, I'm in favor
of a lot of concepts that have been discussed,
including the hands.

However, as Dennis

mentioned, it is a situation where other coins
have been done like this.

One that comes to mind

-- and I hope that we could do more than just that
-- and that is the 50 pence piece from the mid'70s that Britain did, which was a nice
commemorative, but we have to be very careful of
duplicating or appearing to duplicate the design.
So if we're doing hands, I think it has to be more
than just the hands.

It has to have some other

symbolic images and design traits that would be
conducive to what is trying to be achieved.
Madam Chairman, that's all I have to say.

Page 25

MS. LANNIN:
MR. VIOLA:

Thanks so much, Tom.
Thank you.

Herman.

This is Herman Viola.

And I want to say I'm really quite taken with a
lot of the suggestions.

When I first sat down

with this, I thought, boy, this is going to be a
tough one; but all of these ideas I think are
quite good.
(Inaudible) Indians in the space program -the thing about space, Indians are always into the
skies, always looking at the stars; and I think it
really would be nice to have some sort of
celestial image.

And, like, I kind of agree, if

you stick with just the image of one person, you
kind of lose that unless the artist can make it
all work out.

On the other hand, Mary Ross is

extremely significant because she carries the
legacy of John Ross.

And, you know, we always

will talk of famous men but here we have a woman,
but it would be nice if we could kind of
incorporate her somehow into this.
Now, Elizabeth Peratrovich, I -- she's a
member -- she's a Tlingit; she's a member of the

Page 26

Raven moiety, and I think it would be symbolic to
have -- if you've looked at the Raven design of
that moiety, it's very striking.

If we could

somehow tune that in and recognize that this is
really a truly Native American, I think that could
work.
But you know, the idea of the clasped hands, I
love the physical association, but I think that
may have been overdone.

So, like, I think,

though, you're all on the right track, and I'm
very pleased with this.
MS. LANNIN:

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Herman.

Has

either Erik or Heidi joined us?
MR. JANSEN:

I am here.

MS. LANNIN:

Erik, are you here?

MR. JANSEN:

I am.

MS. LANNIN:

Well, you are.

Could you speak

next, please, for both the 2019 and the 2020?
MR. JANSEN:

On the 2019 coin, I'm seeing a

similarity to the situation here where we had the
challenge of the iron workers, and we ended up
with a quite recognizable imagine -- an iron

Page 27

worker on a beam against the skyline, the
curvature of New York.

And I thought that worked

in a difficult situation, and I see a similar
situation here where we need an image -- in order
to be effective, we need an image that implies the
context of the contribution and maybe not just the
contribution; that is, designing rockets.

Having

said that, I think the coin needs to be about the
contribution and not the culture.

We're not here

to integrate the space program with the Indian
culture, per se, so I think we need to be careful
we don't get mission creep here.

This is not a

commemorative of NASA and the Indian -- or the
Native Americans', rather, contribution to that.
I like Mike Moran's thoughts here, and I agree
with Dennis.

I don't think a portrait is going to

be appropriate here.

Having said all of that, if

this could dovetail with the Apollo program of
2019, I think Tom's idea might make for some
interesting marketing opportunities here.

Not

that the coin should be driven by the marketing
opportunities, but I think thinking that way up

Page 28

front is a worthwhile project.
Concerning the 2020, I think there are some
incredible symbols coming out of the Tlingit Tribe
here.

The gnomonic art, which is very notable and

identifiable to, I think, Northwestern Native
American artwork, might be something integrated
here.

And in terms of symbols, I'm a little

concerned that clasping hands might be an Anglo
symbol but not necessarily one that really
resonates with the Native American culture.

When

you kind of dig into the culture here, the
interesting symbols and concepts that I see, which
are somewhat allied to diversity, might be the
moiety as Herman described; that is, the relative
relationships within clans -- the raven, the
eagle, the wolf.

Now, these are symbols that may

be lost, I think, to many of the numismatic or,
certainly, American culture but are definitely
emblematic of the concept of all inclusion and the
contribution of all, yet the independence of all.
I'd like to see, potentially, one of the more
notable symbols from the Tlingit culture would be

Page 29

the totem poles.

Now, a totem pole is

historically not something related to diversity.
I think it's probably more related to one's
lifetime contribution to the concepts of
stewardship and giving to the community.

So

there's some inappropriate blurring there, but in
terms of an image, an icon, which might
reverberate in United States culture, maybe
there's something we could work with there that
wouldn't (inaudible) or misappropriate a Native
American concept into what we're trying to map
into here.
Finally, I feel 2020 -- I think every artist
should probably read the speech which was given in
this effort; and out of that speech, I think there
are a number of phrases, and I'll leave that to
the artist to pull out the ones that are
significant to them in their view of this, but I
think the words of that speech may be one of the
sources of inspiration for an artist.
MS. LANNIN:
joined us?

Thanks so much, Erik.

Thank you.
Has Heidi

Page 30

MR. URAM:

Mary, Tom Uram again.

Can I just

make a comment regarding what Erik just said?
MS. LANNIN:
MR. URAM:

Yes.
Erik mentioned about the totem.

Probably one of the most famous iconic totems is
the 1958 Canadian dollar.

So the artist might

want to take a look at that and see -- not to copy
it, obviously, or to have something added but use
that as part of -- I think that's a great idea as
far as the symbolism goes, and it might be part of
the design of a broader spectrum, but the '58
dollar was the one to certainly -- it's iconic.
And I might offer, there was a commemorative
in 1967, I think, was the 100-year anniversary of
the purchase of Alaska's "Seward's Folly."

That

particular commemorative medal, which you can see
the art on the web, it also has an inspirational
totem mixed with some other images, which -- not
to say we could copy that but might be an
inspirational stepping-off point to try to bring
together the concept of stewardship, community,
and its related connection to diversity.

Page 31

MS. LANNIN:
thoughts on this.

Okay.

I have just a couple of

Okay.

So 2019 the American

Indians in the space program.

I think building on

the contributions of Mary Golda Ross are very
important.

Dennis brought up some very

appropriate concept that said John Herrington is
still alive.

In fact, I think he's only 58.

And I do like the idea of an arrow, and I do
like the idea of the celestial imagery.

And I was

wondering if there was a way to create an arrow
made out of equations, you know, some of the
mathematical models and formulas that would have
been appropriate to the space station and any of
the work that Mary Golda Ross was doing, and the
arrow could be heading toward a celestial star or
a concept of a space station or something like
that.

Certainly, the new movie that's out talking

about the contributions of women onto the early
NASA programs would be helping this claim.
And then in regard to Elizabeth Peratrovich, I
read part of her speech, and she was not going to
take any guff from anyone.

One of the things that

Page 32

I learned about the Raven Clan and the Tlingit is
that it's matrilineal, and so all of the honors
and all -- everything passes through the mother.
And so the idea of some man that was sort of not
in her tribe telling her what she couldn't do was
probably ingrained in her very early on.

So the

idea of clasped hands, I think, is too European.
What about hands ripping up a sign saying "No
Native Americans."

That's one thought for a pair

of hands.
The other thought, which is much more
universal and a little more peaceful, would be -I like Erik's idea of the totem pole.

Could a

totem pole be rising from an outline of the state
of Alaska?

And possibly put -- well Juneau is the

capital, so I guess it could be in the same
position where Juneau is.

She did all of this

with her husband on their own money.
imagine that -- traveling all over?
amazing.

All right.

Can you
It's pretty

Those are my thoughts.

Does anyone else -- Mr. Adams, would you like
to jump in here at all?

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MR. ADAMS:

Yeah.

Actually, on the 2020 coin

of the Elizabeth Peratrovich, the mention of the
totem pole made me think.

Another distinctive

feature in the Northwest architecture are these
elaborately carved doors, and I think maybe the
image of a door opening might be more appropriate
-MS. LANNIN:
MR. ADAMS:

Ooh.

Oh, yes.

-- since, in effect, this is a

bill to open doors.

Also, when you talked about

totem poles, I keep thinking about the phrase "the
bottom of the totem pole."

It's exactly the

reverse of the idea we want to get across.
MS. LANNIN:
MR. ADAMS:

But -- okay.
But also, going back to '19 -- the

'19 coin, I should add, Jerry Elliott is also
alive, so that kind of leaves Mary Ross as the one
honoree that can be -MS. LANNIN:

Exactly.

MR. ADAMS:

-- would fit the protocol.

But

also, looking over her biography, not only is she
from this distinguished Cherokee family, her early

Page 34

education was within the Cherokee Nation,
including -- I think she attended the Northeastern
Teachers' College, which is the offshoot of the
women's college that was founded by the Cherokee
Nation.

Back in the 1870s or '80s was, I think,

one of the first women's colleges in the country.
So she has not only this great success in the
space program but has done it with a background
that was basically provided by an Indian country.
MS. LANNIN:
comments?

Okay.

Does anyone have any other

Thank you, Mr. Adams, very much.

MR. JANSEN:

A thought coming off of

Mr. Adam's idea there of using kind of -MS. LANNIN:

Erik, identify yourself, please.

MR. JANSEN:

All right.

Erik.

In that case, I'm

Stepping off of Adam's idea of this kind of

using ethnic house, the oval -- a door with the
totem pole and then maybe -- as you often see
ideas springing from someone's mind, a cloud
flowing out of the doors to the sky with the
symbols of the sky with a spacecraft to
recognizable.

Something like that, so you're

Page 35

merging -- the visual being the flowing of the
ideas to the space exploration out of the home of
Native culture.
MS. LANNIN:

Just an idea.
Okay.

Does anyone else have any

last words, any other further discussion?
MR. VIOLA:

Well, this is Herman.

And I like

the idea of showing the doors to a Lincoln home
because they are beautifully carved as Jim says,
and you won't see that kind of symbolism
elsewhere, but it certainly is "open the door and
come on in."

You know, Native people are very

welcoming, and that's why those totem poles were
there.

They were kind of family markers, and when

you were walking around, you knew whose house you
were welcome to have dinner at.
MS. LANNIN:

Okay.

Good.

I do like the door

opening idea as well because it lends itself to, I
think, some very interesting art.
Does anyone else have any other comments?
right.

All

If there's no further business before the

committee, I move to adjourn.
MR. VIOLA:

Second.

Is there a second?

Page 36

MS. LANNIN:

And who said second?

Who

seconded?
MR. VIOLA:

Herman.

MS. LANNIN:

Herman.

Okay.

Sorry.

All in

favor of adjourning, say "aye."
ALL SPEAKERS:
MS. LANNIN:

Aye.
Those opposed, say "nay."

In the

opinion of the charity, ayes have it, and the
meeting is adjourned.

Thank you all very much for

attending.
(Whereupon, at 1:41 p.m., the meeting
concluded.)

Page 37

CERTIFICATE OF NOTARY PUBLIC
I, SAMUEL HONIG, the officer before whom the
foregoing proceeding was taken, do hereby certify that
the proceedings were recorded by me and thereafter
reduced to typewriting under my direction; that said
proceedings are a true and accurate record to the best
of my knowledge, skills, and ability; that I am neither
counsel for, related to, nor employed by any of the
parties to the action in which this was taken; and,
further, that I am not a relative or employee of any
counsel or attorney employed by the parties hereto, nor
financially or otherwise interested in the outcome of
this action.

SAMUEL HONIG
Notary Public in and for the
District of Columbia

Page 38

CERTIFICATE OF TRANSCRIBER
I, CINDY FORRISTER, do hereby certify that
this transcript was prepared from audio to the best of
my ability.

I am neither counsel for, related to, nor
employed by any of the parties to this action, nor
financially or otherwise interested in the outcome of
this action.

1/22/2017

CINDY FORRISTER

Page 39