Fred Kirsteatter

Fred Kirsteatter was born in Healy Lake, Alaska in 1953 to Paul and Margaret Kirsteatter. He was the last child born in the old Healy Lake village. Fred was raised in a subsistence lifestyle and learned traditional Native values and ways from his mother. Fred collected lithic artifacts and brought them to the attention of archaeologist, Robert McKennan and others. These artifacts and later investigations documented the long antiquity of the Healy Lake community. After being homeschooled as a child, Fred attended Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon, attended a summer program at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and earned a college degree from the University of Vermont. He returned to Healy Lake and became chief, succeeding his mother, Margaret Kirsteatter.  He also worked as Director of Wildlife and Parks for the Tanana Chiefs Conference, and after becoming paralyzed served on the State of Alaska's Vocational Rehabilitation Committee from 1985-1990. Fred has two children. His stories appear in Mendees Cheeg Naltsiin Keey': An Oral History of the People of Healy Lake Village (annotated and edited by Donald G. Callaway and Constance A. Friend, Revised June 2007). Fred passed away on July 14, 2012, a few days before his father, Paul Kirsteatter.