Reindeer Herding in Alaska

Collection

Identifier: MS 4-39-3

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection contains papers from the BIA Alaska Native Service, including letters from BIA personnel to herders, contracts with herders, loans to herders, reindeer counts, partnership agreements between herders, contract terminations, purchase orders, receipts for repayment of reindeer loans, and an Individual Indian Accounts Application.

Descriptions of reindeer ranges include the following: Stalker Range (Noatak), Commack Range (Noorvik), Skin Range (Selawik), Sheldon Range (Selawik), Keats and Gray Range –Government Escholtz Bay Herd (Kotzebue), Hadley Range (Buckland), Clark Range (Deering), Karmun Range (Deering), Goodhope and Dimmock Range (Deering, at Cape Espenberg), Kakaruk Range (Teller), Sigfried Aukongak Range (Golovin), Kotongan Range (Unalakleet), Stebbins Range (Stebbins), Steve Range –Government Andreafsky Herd (Andreafsky), Nunivak Range –Government Herd, and St. Lawrence Range.

Dates

1953-1959

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is available for viewing, and the papers may be copied.

Conditions Governing Use

Request for permission to publish or reproduce material from the collection must be discussed with the Librarian.

Historical

Reindeer were first introduced to Alaska in 1892 when Dr. Sheldon Jackson imported 171 deer from Siberia, with the goal to provide a stable food supply for Natives on the Seward Peninsula. In 1937, Congress passed the Reindeer Act, making it illegal for non-Native Alaskans to own reindeer (U.S. Congress, 1937). The majority of reindeer herds in Alaska are located on the Seward Peninsula and are owned by individual Native herders.

Extent

3 Volumes : 3 folders ; letters and papers

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was transferred to Historical Collections from the Government Documents section of the Alaska State Library in March 2011. (Accession number: 2011-008)

Processing Information

When dates were available, the correspondence and papers were arranged chronologically.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title: Finding aid for the Reindeer Herding in Alaska
Status: In Progress
Author: Processed by: Gayle Goedde, April 2011 ; ArchivesSpace finding aid by: Sandy Johnston
Date: 2019 June
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: Undetermined
Script of description: Code for undetermined script
Language of description note: English