We (the Fairbanks Coin Club, Alaska 4H Clubs and the Alaska State Legislature) tried to get the Elizabeth Peratrovich Dollar released to circulation. The US Mint grudgingly made them available to banks with stringent limitations, pretty much ignoring the wishes of the State of Alaska.

BYW, only 4,000 of the Peratrovich dollars were issued to banks in Alaska: 3,000 to Mt. McKinley Bank in Fairbanks (ordered for us to put into circulation), and 1,000 to the Tongass Federal Credit Union - far cry from the 5,000,000 requested by the Alaska State Legislature.

These were the first dollar coins released to circulation since... 2011?

I was getting low, so tried to order more after the first of the year and the bank was told the program had ended. At that point, I stopped handing them out as change.

Here's a thought - legislation to require any non precious metal commemorative coin minted by the U.S. Mint would be released into circulation at face value.

It would not have to be in huge numbers, but in some way that is better than what they did for us on the Peratrovich dollar. Even ordering them from the Mint website (at face value, plus surcharge for credit cards and shipping) would be preferable and more successful than what they did with the Peratrovich dollars.

In any case, The E-Sylum is a good place to plant a thought and perhaps someone with more influence than I could whisper in the right person's ear and maybe something could happen.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NATIVE AMERICAN COIN FIGURE PERATROVICH(https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n42a16.html)
PERATROVICH DOLLAR RELEASE LOBBIED IN ALASKA(https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n46a09.html)
PERATROVICH DOLLAR RELEASE BILL GAINS GROUND(https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n05a21.html)
PERATROVICH DOLLAR MAY CIRCULATE IN ALASKA(https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n08a27.html)