Mitch Demientieff, an Athabascan leader from Alaska, died on Tuesday. He was 57.

Demientieff was elected mayor of Nenana when he was 18 and was elected president of the Tanana Chiefs Conference at age 19. He dedicated his life to preserving and promoting Alaska Native culture.

“His goal was to save the culture,” Kathleen, his wife of 24 years, told The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “I just stood behind him; that’s what chiefs’ wives do.”

In the early 1990s, Demientieff was appointed to the Federal Subsistence Board, where he served until 2006. He used his position to advocate for Native subsistence rights.

“He lived it, and loved it and protected it as best he could," longtime friend Orie Williams told the paper.

Funeral services will take place Saturday in Nenana.

Get the Story:
Nenana mourns loss of longtime civic leader Mitch Demientieff (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 12/3)
Native leader Mitch Demientieff dies at 57 (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 12/2)