Jack Reakoff – Living the Backcountry Lifestyle

Jack Reakoff resides 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Wiseman, Alaska and his life focuses on traditional subsistence activities like hunting and fishing for sustenance.

He relies on solar panels and a generator for his electricity needs, and receives his mail once every week. Email and Facebook keep him in contact with the outside world.

Early Life and Education

Jack Reakoff of Wiseman, Alaska lives and conducts tours of its historic cabins. Additionally, he works as a trapper, hunting guide, commercial fisherman and farmer; together with his fiancee they live off of the land harvesting meat from caribou and moose for sustenance. Reakoff shares his knowledge about Alaska river ice conditions through scientific research projects while serving on subsistence advisory committees.

Officer Tanner testified that Tierney told him she believed Reakoff assaulted her, before later retracting. Reakoff claimed this made the initial accusation insufficient to justify an arrest without probable cause and exigent circumstances; the district court disagreed; analogizing this case to one where an abuse victim makes false accusations that later recede.

Professional Career

Jack Reakoff lives a subsistence lifestyle as a trapper, hunter, commercial fisherman and tour guide in Wiseman. An expert on interior Alaska river ice conditions and winter travel who shares his knowledge through conferences, workshops and other events, Reakoff has become known to residents as an unofficial historian of Wiseman as one of its longtime residents, offering day tours for tourists to view historic buildings while staying up through cold nights helping visitors witnessing northern lights displays.

Personal Life

Jack lives the Alaskan backcountry lifestyle as a resident of Wiseman. Reliant upon wild resources for survival such as hunting and fishing for subsistence as well as picking berries to supplement his income he also serves on subsistence advisory committees and assists scientific researchers conducting scientific studies in Brooks Range.

Tierney is an active member of his community and leads tours with Northern Alaska Tour Company during summer months. On winter nights he stays up all night with visitors in his cabin that has been modified for guests, providing extra chairs and tripods to view the northern lights from. Tierney is well known as an expert guide who makes it clear from the beginning that his assault allegations were false. In his affidavit Tierney states this fact clearly.