Wrangell Sentinel -

A former co-chair of the Alaska Federation of Natives, former board president of the Sealaska Corp. and a retired Democratic state legislator died last Friday at his home in Angoon. Albert Kookesh was 72.

Kookesh was fighting prostate cancer. Alaska public radio reported that after being treated at a hospital, he made the decision to return to his home village on the coast of Admiralty Island.

In remembrances posted online and shared on social media, he was praised for his work with Southeast Alaska’s regional Native corporation, his efforts to preserve Tlingit culture and his state work on su...