Alaska Native elder and leader dies at age 77

John Schaeffer Jr., an Inupiat Eskimo elder and tribal leader in northwest Alaska, has died. He was 77.
Schaeffer was the first president and CEO of the NANA Regional Corp.
NANA Chief Operating Officer Lori Henry says Schaeffer died Aug. 25 in Kotzebue, his hometown. He will be buried in Kotzebue tomorrow (on Wednesday) following a memorial service at the high school gym.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
Schaeffer joined the Alaska Army National Guard’s Eskimo Scout battalion in 1957, s