IV. Reindeer Progress in Alaska* 



BY 



Lillian E. Zeh 



THE herding and breeding of domesticated reindeer, introduced as 

 an experiment a number of years ago with animals imported from 

 Siberia by the Government, has now become the most prominent fea- 

 ture of the industrial education of the Eskimo and the main activity of 

 many native villages of Arctic Alaska. The progress in civilization 

 that has been made by lifting up the natives formerly living as savages, 

 and eking out a precarious existence by hunting with no other domes- 

 tic animal than the dog, to the estate of civilized, self-supporting herds- 

 men, as accomplished through the reindeer industry, is a remarkable 

 educational achievement. The Alaska Eeindeer Service has now reached 

 its most successful stage, as it marks the beginning of the period of 

 full utilization of all the reindeer owned by the Government for the 

 benefit of the native population. 



At the present time there is hardly a surplus Government rein- 

 deer north of the Kuskokwim river. This has been made possible by 

 the establishment of new reindeer stations, the employment of more 

 natives as chief herders, by accepting the largest practical number of 

 apprentices, and by transferring reindeer to both chief herders and 

 apprentices in lieu of salary or supplies, the chief aim and fundamen- 

 tal policy of the Government being to turn the reindeer over to the 

 natives as rapidly as they learn the industry and appreciate its value. 

 The total number of reindeer in Alaska at the last census was nearly 

 23,000, and of this number over 11,000 are owned by the natives. One 

 of the most striking and gratifying features is the large income which 

 the natives derive from the sale of reindeer products, their share for 

 the past fiscal year having been over $18,000. This amount does not 

 include the value of the reindeer skins used for clothing, nor that of 

 the meat consumed as food. These material benefits and the very con- 

 siderable income thus derived demonstrate the fact that the reindeer 

 industry has become one of the most prominent factors in the economic 

 life of the Eskimo. 



The total number of Ahiskan reindeer is distributed in herds among 

 twenty-eight stations, eighteen of these being owned by the Government 

 and ten by church missions. The T^apps own over three thousand. The 

 natives are very anxious to get deer and look upon them as a safe 



•American Fore.stry, January, 1913. 



