Our book club read a novel based on a true story about transporting two giraffes across the U.S.

This reminded me about a story I read in National Geographic about transporting reindeer from Boosekop in Norway to Seattle, Washington, and then further to Circle Alaska. In the 1890’s, the idea of raising domesticated reindeer took root in Alaska leading to a herd being imported to replace dwindling numbers of free-range Caribou as a regional food source for the Indigenous people. The Sami people of Northern Norway had been herding the reindeer successfully for centuries.  

So, in February 1889, a herd of 533 reindeer sailed from Norway, with 72 Indigenous Sami herders, 418 sleds and 500 tons of lichen to feed the reindeer. They arrived in New York on February 27th, then loaded on a train for a cross-country ride to Seattle. The herds health declined due to lack of lichen as they arrived in Haines, Alaska.

It wasn’t until 1929, that the herd was replenished, and a new trek was started from Western Alaska to the Northwest Territory in Northern Canada. As previously mentioned, the Canadian government was looking to replace deteriorating Caribou herds. These herds were the main food supply of the Inavialait people.

The journey began in December 1929 with 12 men, 8 dogs, and 3,442 reindeer. This trip started just east of the Seward Peninsula; traveling northeast they went through the Howard Pass in the Brooks Range. They stopped for fawning in May 1931 on the other side of the Brooks Range. By July, a summer blizzard stampeded the herd, causing a backtrack of 150 miles. About a year later, another storm dispersed the herd, slowing the trip once again.  

In March 1935, they finally arrived at Kooryuak, Canada on the Delta of the MacKenize River. They arrived with a herd of 2,370 reindeer: a loss of 1,072 animals. However, under the stewardship of the Inavialait people, the herd has since thrived. This allows them to harvest a small number of reindeer each year for aq regular supply of meat. They have a processing plant to carry out the harvesting. Because reindeer can be herded, they became easier to manage. Caribou now reindeer have sustained them for centuries. 

Many years ago, I read Farley Mowat’s “People of the Deer.” In the book, they stated that the Canadian government tried to change the native people’s diet from deer to a variety of food. It didn’t work.  This animal protein had been a staple for many centuries and had kept the people healthy.