Alaska Reindeer Herdsmen

ALASKA REINDEER HERDSMEN ALASKA REINDEER HERDSMEN A Study of Native Management in Transition by Dean Francis Olson Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research University of Alaska College, Alaska 99701 SEG Report No. 22 December 1969 Price: $5.00 Dean F. Olson, an associate of the Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research, is a member of the Faculty of Business, Uni versity of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He received his OBA from the University of Washington in 1968. iv PREFACE Reindeer husbandry is a peculiarly circumpolar endeavor. Of the three million domesticated reindeer estimated to exist in the northernmost nations of the world, just over 1 per cent are found in North America. The Soviet Union possesses about 80 per cent, and the Fennoscandian countries contain more than 18 per cent. There are about 30,000 in western Alaska, and the Canadian government estimates that some 2,700 range the Mackenzie River basin. Domesticated reindeer are not indigenous to North America. They were first introduced to this continent in 1892, when they were brought to western Alaska from various Siberian locations. The Canadian government purchased their parent stock from an Alaska producer in 1935. In each case, the objectives for importation were to broaden the resource base of the Native populations and to provide a means for social and economic de velopment in remote areas. The present study examines the role of Alaska reindeer as a Native resource. More specifically, it concerns the historical role of the Alaska Eskimo reindeer herdsmen, and examines their functions as managers of a re source and as instruments for social and economic change among their people. Although Alaska Eskimos have herded reindeer for nearly three-quarters of a century, this study represents the initial attempt to document their experiences and to examine the effects of imported reindeer upon their way of life. Previous work in this area is limited to journal articles by Dorothy Jean Ray (1965), Margaret Lantis (1950-1952), and Froelick Rainey (1941). Each of these articles is restricted in topic and time period treated. Ray deals exclusively with the importation period that ended in 1902 and the roles played during this period by government employees. Lantis v and Rainey confine their treatments to selected causes for the industry's failure in the late l930's. In no instance prior to the present study has there been an attempt to examine the historical role of the Native herdsmen and their performance as managers and as agents for cultural change. General Background Domesticated reindeer were introduced among the Bering Strait Eskimo by the U.S. Government in an effort to provide a resource base for the social and economic improvement of the Natives of that remote region. The animals were originally conceived of as a subsistence resource, but, with the discovery of gold on the Seward Peninsula in 1897, Native reindeer owner ship soon became an important commercial enterprise in support of local mining operations. By the early 1920's, reindeer herds had grown such that they could no longer be kept in individually owned herds. Native ownership associations were formed, with ownership shares issued to participating owners. At the same time, however, local mining operations began to slow and the number of reindeer greatly exceeded market needs. An abundance of reindeer and de clining market demand led to decreasing Native interest in the ownership and care of reindeer. Over-stocked ranges and numerous subsidiary causes re sulted in large scale reindeer losses during the late l930's and throughout the ensuing decade. During the l950's, several Eskimo herders attempted to establish them selves with herds, and interested and capable men were loaned government deer for five years in order to get their start. However, predation and losses to caribou continued to plague efforts to keep herds together. vi Interest in reindeer as a resource base for the social and economic improvement of the Bering Strait Eskimo has revived. Individual Native ownership has been reinstituted, and reasonably stable ownership experience is being developed in several privately owned herds. Market production has increased, and shipments of reindeer products to distant Alaskan cities are becoming frequent. The feasibility of sustained commercial production is again attracting widespread private and governmental attention. Native reindeer ownership and management have not become specialized occupational categories, nor have they become agents for social and eco nomic development among Bering Strait Eskimo. Reindeer production has been fitted to the traditional annual round of activities, instead of altering these activities, and has not produced a distinctive group or class in Eskimo society. The traditional criterion defining social relations among Bering Strait Eskimo -- territorial origin -- is still the major determin ant of relations between owners. The reindeer owner is very much a man caught between two cultures -- a man in transition. He is bound by barter transactions to a frontier credit network made up of local merchants. As a member of this network he creates markets for his products largely through his own acts of consumption. He is also simultaneously bound by field processing techniques to the village interpersonal reliance network. As a member of this network he ascends in village prominence to the degree that he magnanimously channels reindeer pro ducts to village use. Herd management is greatly affected by the sometimes opposing forces emanating from the two networks. Native owners have traditionally been producers, processors, wholesalers, and often retailers of their products. The meaning of reindeer ownership is derived from these multiple functions. According to state plans, these vii Interest in reindeer as a resource base for the social and economic improvement of the Bering Strait Eskimo has revived. Individual Native ownership has been reinstituted, and reasonably stable ownership experience is being developed in several privately owned herds. Market production has increased, and shipments of reindeer products to distant Alaskan cities are becoming frequent. The feasibility of sustained commercial production and governmental attention. Native reindeer ownership and management have not become specialized occupational categories, nor have they become agencies for social and eco nomic development among Bering Strait Eskimo. Reindeer production has been fitted to the traditional annual round of activities, instead of altering these activities, and the occupation has not produced a distinctive group or class in Eskimo society. The traditional criterion defining social rela tions among Bering Strait Eskimo -- territorial origin -- is still the major determinant of relations between owners. The reindeer owner is very much a man caught between two cultures a man in transition. He is bound by barter transactions to a frontier credit network made up of local merchants. As a member of this network he creates markets for his products largely through his own acts of consumption. He is also simultaneously bound by field processing techniques to the village interpersonal reliance network. As a member of this network he ascends in village prominence to the degree that he magnanimously channels reindeer pro ducts to village use. Herd management is greatly affected by the sometimes opposing forces emanating from the two networks. Native owners have traditionally been producers, processors, wholesalers, and often retailers of their products. The meaning of reindeer ownership is derived from these multiple functions. According to state plans, these viii will soon be separated and Native owners will soon become production special ists only. Given the near total absence of specialized activity among the Arctic Eskimo, and considering that the pleasures of ownership are realized mostly in the processing and distribution of reindeer products, it is doubt ful that Native ownership will survive this most recent challenge to its development. Methods Employed The data that form the basis for the study come from two principle sources. Library research, including many days spent in the Archives of the University of Alaska, provides much of the background materials for Chapters I through IV. Of particular note here is the recent acquisition by the University of Alaska of the 11 Lomen Papers, 11 containing otherwise unobtainable correspondence, ledgers, and field notes. 1 Government docu ments containing the annual reports of agencies charged with the admini stration of domesticated reindeer also proved informative. The published works of scholars such as Norman Chance, James Van Stone, Robert F. Spencer, Dorothy Jean Ray, Charles C. Hughes, Margaret Lantis, and J. Louis Giddings provided important insights and added perspective to the author's own field notes and observations.2 The field research portion of the study took place during the spring and summer of 1968. Between April and August, several weeks were spent in 1As will become evident in Chapter II, the Lomen family contributed quite importantly to the industrial environment of the Eskimo herdsmen from 1914 to 1939. 2For a partial list of works by these scholars, please see the Selected Bibliography. ix various villages on the Seward Peninsula living with the Eskimo owners and their families. The period of time spent with a given owner varied greatly from a minimum of two hours to a maxi mum of tv10 weeks, de pending upon the owner's own schedule of activities and his willingness to enter into dis cussion. As much as possible, the author tried to assist his host in whatever type of activity he was engaged in during the day, The 1ong arctic evening was devoted to conversations ranging in topic from village life in general to the herder's interpretations of the production and marketing of reindeer. The author formed several enlightening friendships and learned how to build a corral on frozen tundra, separate a cow and her fawn from a milling herd, extract warble fly larva, and operate a fishing seine from the rocky beaches of the Bering Sea.

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