Wednesday, May 22, 2024 – The Sámi reindeer connection in Alaska

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Reindeer weren’t always in Alaska, but now there’s a strong connection for Alaska Native herders. It all started in 1891, when the U.S. Government signed onto a plan by a Presbyterian missionary to recruit Indigenous European Sámi people in order to spark economic development and relieve food insecurity in Alaska. The program took off, but was greatly hampered by subsequent policy decisions. Somewhere along the way, the Arctic reindeer herding lifestyle meshed well with the state’s Iñupiaq and Yup’ik residents.

GUESTS

Dr. Sean Asikłuk Topkok (Iñupiaq and Sámi), director of Center for Cross-Cultural Studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

Bonnie Scheele (Iñupiaq), reindeer herder and program manager for High Latitude Range Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Northwest Campus

Marlene Wisuri (Sámi descendant), chair of the Sámi Cultural Center of North America

Varpu Lotvonen, University of Alaska Fairbanks Anthropology PhD dissertation Ballad of the Laavlaaqs: The Relational Worlds of Sámi Reindeer Herders in Alaska

Martha Jane Sara Jack (Yup’ik and Sámi), daughter of a Sámi reindeer herder in Alaska

Here’s an extended interview with Martha Jane Sara Jack. She talks more about her Sámi father and reindeer herding in Alaska. She also talks about the recent return of the remains of her Sámi cousin, Mary Sara, that were taken by the Smithsonian Institution in 1933.  

Break 1 Music: Reindeer (song) Pamyua (artist) Caught in The Act (album)

Break 2 Music: Fancy Dance (Song) Yellow Hammer (artist) Yellow Hammer (album)