Salmon died October 11 at his home in Chalkyitsik. He was 95.

In a letter read at Salmon's funeral, recently resigned Diocese of Alaska Bishop Mark MacDonald called Salmon "my chief, my mentor, and my elder in the ministry of Jesus."

MacDonald, who is now National Indigenous Anglican Bishop of Canada and the bishop of the Episcopal Church's Navajoland Area Mission, said it is hard for him to imagine the future without that advice from him directly, "but we will look with hope and discernment for the elders that God will give us through His Spirit following Fr. David's passing."

He called Salmon "filled with the Spirit and believed in the full manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit in the Church, especially for leadership."

The Fairbanks, Alaska, Daily News-Miner, reported that tall spruce trees rise above his burial site next to the white-fenced grave of his wife Sarah Salmon.

The burial service was preceded by a three-hour service at the burial in the Chalkyitsik Community Hall. The eight-sided log building was overflowing with residents of the Black River village and the many guests who flew in from villages and towns around the state to pay their respects to Salmon, the Fairbanks newspaper reported.

"He was sitting in his favorite chair when he passed," Salmon's granddaughter, Patricia Salmon, told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

He died surrounded by family members and friends, including Second Traditional Chief Don Honea Sr. of Ruby, Alaska, she said.

Salmon was diagnosed with cancer earlier in the week and taken home October 10, the Associated Press reported.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin ordered state flags be lowered to half-staff October 15, the day of his funeral, in his memory.

"Alaska has lost a true treasure," she said.

An ordained Episcopal minister, Salmon had been the Interior's first traditional chief since 2003. The position is an honorary nonpolitical office and is held in high esteem, according to the Associated Press.

Salmon died 11 days after the 45th anniversary of his priestly ordination. He was ordained deacon on May 28, 1958. Then-Alaska Bishop William J. Gordon Jr. ordained him a priest on October 1, 1962.

The Gwich'in elder was well-known for his work in ethic and traditional tool-making skills, and he was renowned for his ministering and counsel, the News-Miner reported.

Salmon died 10 days before the opening of the 2007 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, where he was scheduled to address delegates.

During the funeral, MacDonald called on his listeners to continue the work that Salmon began.

"He said we must make potlatch for the youth to support and direct them in a positive and hopeful way; he told us to follow the Indian Law as the foundation of a hopeful future for the people; he explained that we needed to make the institutions that surround us -- government, education, and church serve Native Peoples and their future," he said.

A conversation with Salmon on these matters "became one of the most important factors in my acceptance of the position of the National Indigenous Anglican Bishop of Canada," MacDonald said.