Peoples of the Reindeer

REINDEER

• The reindeer is a deer living in flocks in the northernmost parts of Europe, Asia and North America.The reindeer are a ruminant and both the male and female reindeer carry antlers. It does not take to heat very well and tends instead to seek the high mountains during hot summer days.In the summer the main food is grass, leaves, herbs and fungae, of which the reindeer builds its fat to last the poor grazing of the winter. Then it feeds largely on various lichens and shrubs, continuously using the fat saved up during summer.
  
• The reindeer is well adapted to snow and cold. The winter fur is thick, consisting of a layer of wool close to the skin and long hairs covering it, filled with air. The reindeer can save both water and energy when it is cold. The supply of winter grazing depends not only on the size of the grazing land and its supply of lichens but even more so on the availability of the food. Ice crusts on the ground or a hard ice surface on the snow are among the greatest problems for reindeer herding. The grazing conditions on large clear cuts are worsened due to unfavourable snow quality and damaged lichens. The lack of tree pendent lichen is a serious risk for malnutrition for the reindeer when the grazing from the ground is inavailable on large areas.

REINDEER RESOURCES

• The reindeer have been a valuable resource for the Sami and other herding cultures. It is difficult to imagine the Sami surviving without the reindeer. In traditional herding, reindeer were used for food, clothing, trade (reindeer as a form of money), and for labor. Even before reindeer herding began the Sami lived on wild reindeer.
• Before the 17th century the Sami were able to live on wild reindeer for clothing and meat. They would have a few tame reindeer as draft animals.
• The Sámi people do not own any land. The right to free access to grazing for the reindeer is based on old customary rights.
• Like the Sami many other traditional Reindeer herders do not own any land, and they must migrate with the herds in order to obtain the substance of the reindeer.
  

HERDING SEASONAL ROUND

Spring Winter (March-April)

• In March and April the movement from the winter grazing land to the summer and calving lands in the mountains takes place.
• The mountain reindeer seeks out its calving place on the south slopes of the low mountains or in the sparse mountain birch region where bare spots on the ground show early.
• The food consists mostly of lichens.

Spring (April-May)

• In May the reindeer calves are born in the low mountains and in some regions in the forest land.
• The reindeer cows ordinarily have their calves on the same time and place each year
• The reindeer cow has one calf per year, weighing 4-6 kilos.
• The calf from the previous year is rejected before or during the calving. During this time the grazing consists of lichens, grass, herbs and leaves.
• The calving time is very sensitive to disturbances since the reindeer cow easily might abandon the new-born calf due to too much disturbance.

Beginning of Summer (June)

• After the calving time a calm period arrives for both the reindeer and the herders. The reindeer now seeks out birch forests, marshes and brooks where the fresh vegetation comes quickly.
• Fine grazing in the beginning of summer gives the grown reindeer the opportunity to gain whatever weight they might have lost during winter.
• For the reindeer herder this is a time of building and repair of enclosures, buildings and other facilities for reindeer herding.

Summer (June-July)

• This is the time when the reindeer go high up into the mountains or on the wide ranges where the heat and the insects are less bothering. The reindeer are especially sensitive to parasite flies with reindeer as hosts.
• This is an extremely hectic time for the reindeer herder, working evenings and nights for several summer weeks, taking advantage of the cooler climate at night. The collecting of the reindeer can take many days, according to the weather conditions.
• In the enclosure the calf follow the reindeer cow. This makes it easy to spot the ownership of the calf. With the lasso one catches the calf and marks it. The mark is a combination of cuts made in the calf’s ears. Each owner has his special mark.

Autumn (September-October)

• The reindeer are mostly in the low mountain region. The early frost nights in late summer lessens the nutrients of the grazing.The reindeer dig up roots and plant parts.
• The first snow influences the reindeer’s choice of grazing plants, and they mostly eat various ground lichens. In the latter half of September the bull slaughter is completed.
• It is a calm period for the reindeer herder, who now has time for fishing for household needs and other things needing tending to in a reindeer herding enterprise.

Beginning of Winter (November-December)

• This period begins when frost and snow stays permanently. The reindeer look for grazing land with remainders of green vegetation, grassy forest areas and marshes.
• During the beginning of winter the reindeer are gathered for separation into winter groups and for slaughter. The main part of the autum slaughter is done in November-December.
• After the slaughter the winter herd consists of some 75 per cent female animals. This is also the time to divide the reindeer into their respective winter grazing group.

Winter ( December-March)

• In the winter land the various winter groups graze in the coniferous forest belt mainly. The grazing mostly consists of lichens and berry plants. The reindeer is well adapted to an arctic climate.
• Winter grazing is the limiting factor in reindeer herding. The great problems are icing of the grazing land or hard ice crusts on the snow. Snow conditions for the reindeer deteriorate due to large clear cuts with unfavourable snow conditions and destroyed or damaged lichen cover.
• Winter groups therefore have to move between different grazing lands. The task of the reindeer herder in winter is to guard the edges of the herd and protect it from predators.

Peoples of the Tundras and Sea Shores

• Four main marine regions: Artic, Northwest Atlantic, Northwest Pacific or “Northwest Coast”
• Four Primary Culture Areas: Yupik/Inupiat/Inuit: Northwest Atlantic, Artic. Aleut: Northwest and northeast pacific, Northwest coast Northeast pacific.

ARCTIC

• The Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. In the northern hemisphere, the Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean (which overlies the North Pole) and parts of Canada, Greenland (a territory of Denmark), Russia, the United States (Alaska), Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
• The Arctic is mostly a vast, ice-covered ocean (which is sometimes considered to be a northern sea of the Atlantic Ocean) surrounded by treeless, frozen ground. It teems with life, including organisms living in the ice, fish and marine mammals, birds, land animals and human societies.

• Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes. Tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturi, meaning treeless plain. It is noted for its frost-molded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing seasons. Dead organic material functions as a nutrient pool. The two major nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen is created by biological fixation, and phosphorus is created by precipitation. Characteristics of tundra include:


• Extremely cold climate
• Low biotic diversity
• Simple vegetation structure
• Limitation of drainage
• Short season of growth and reproduction
• Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material
• Large population oscillations

VERSUS.

Sub-Arctic Coastal Regions

• The harsh climate of North America's Subarctic region, which covers most of Canada, inhibited population growth. Agriculture was impossible due to short summers and extended annual freeze periods. Indigenous communities survived as nomads, hunting moose and caribou and fishing for needed food and living resources.


• The Subarctic culture area stretches from the Labrador Sea to within a few miles of the Bering Sea, and encompasses six Canadian Provinces, two Territories, as well as much of Alaska. The northern boundary between Arctic and Subarctic shows up in the vegetation change from treeless tundra (Arctic) to forests (evergreens in the west and evergreens mixed with deciduous species in the southeast). The area is a vast, harsh one within which to live, a land of physiographic and seasonal climatic extremes. The climate is characterized by short, warm, bright summers, low percipitation, and long, exceedingly cold winters.