History of Reindeer in ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥
By the late 1880s, there were reports of starving ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Native populations in western ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ due to the decimation of marine mammals from the whaling industry and scarce numbers of caribou. Dr. Sheldon Jackson, a U.S. general agent for education and a Presbyterian missionary, lobbied for federal monies to assist ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Natives. He built mission schools and in the late 1800s introduced reindeer into ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ from Russia as a source of protein and revenue. Reindeer were brought to ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ on Captain Healy’s U.S. Revenue Cutter, the Bear. Siberian herders and then Saami herders were brought to western ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ to teach Native ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ns how to herd reindeer. The reindeer industry grew until there were over 600,000 animals present in the 1930s. Mismanagement and losses to wolves and caribou sparked a dramatic decline to only 50,000 reindeer by the 1950s. The Reindeer Act of 1937 allows only ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ Natives to own reindeer. Today there are approximately 30,000 throughout the state and 20,000 in western ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥, with most living on the Seward Peninsula and in island herds.
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