ANCHORAGE \u2014 John Schaeffer Jr., an Inupiat Eskimo elder and tribal leader in northwest Alaska, has died. He was 77.<\/p>\n
Schaeffer was the first president and CEO of the NANA Regional Corp., and is credited with protecting the subsistence lifestyle of his people.<\/p>\n
NANA Chief Operating Officer Lori Henry says Schaeffer died Aug. 25 in Kotzebue, his hometown. He will be buried in Kotzebue on Wednesday following a memorial service at the high school gym.<\/p>\n
A cause of death was not disclosed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of John and the early leaders, the land and knowledge of the NANA region are ours and we are firmly in control of our destiny,\u201d NANA said in a statement. \u201cHe was a great Hunter for us all. His legacy is written in the future of our people, a future he worked a lifetime to ensure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schaeffer joined the Alaska Army National Guard\u2019s Eskimo Scout battalion in 1957, serving as the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard starting in the mid-1980s until 1991. Guard officials say he was among the leaders in the state\u2019s response to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.<\/p>\n
He also was the first Inupiat two-star general in the nation, according to the Guard.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Schaeffer attended a dedication of a Guard hangar named after him in Kotzebue.<\/p>\n
He is survived by his wife, Mary, nine children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n
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