The reindeer and its peoples

Reindeer have several unique features, adaptations to living in one of the most extreme environments on the planet. But one of the most special characteristics of the species is not the large hooves for travelling across the snow, the thick fur to keep the cold out or their stomachs that can digest lichen: it lies in the relationships between reindeer and people.

In the Arctic, several Indigenous Peoples have over thousands of years forged a special bond with the reindeer. Among them are the Sámi, an Indigenous people in northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and on the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Over hundreds of years, reindeer herding has been deeply woven into Sámi culture and helped shape it into its current form.

Juhán Nikolaus Wollab Wollberg is a junior reindeer herder, and he continues a tradition that has been part of his family for many generations. To him, the best part of reindeer herding is the connection between the reindeer and the people.

“The reindeer connects us to the land, our history and to the ancestors. I think about the same things and face similar challenges as my ancestors ten generations ago,” he explains.

The role of the reindeer in Sámi culture

For Juhán Nikolaus, it’s important to recognise that Sámi culture is much more than just reindeer herding.

“But all Sámi culture is connected to the reindeer, in some way,” he adds.

The reindeer and reindeer herding do indeed play a central role. The animal’s presence is a recurring theme, a red thread connecting many different aspects of Sámi life. It’s present in the food, in sausage skins made out of intestines, meat sliced thinly and smoked into suovas, blood mixed with rye flour and turned into something vaguely reminiscent of a dumpling. The antlers can be shaped by skilful hands into everything from simple round buttons to beautifully carved hilts of knives. The reindeer’s role in Sámi culture is even visible in the language, as different Sámi languages hold many unique and specific words related to the reindeer or reindeer herding. In a time when all Sámi languages are considered endangered, reindeer herding remains as a context where the language is spoken, passed on to the next generation and thus kept alive. In conclusion: The reindeer is not all there is to Sámi culture, but the animal is a pillar which carries important parts of the cultural heritage on its shoulders.

“Without the reindeer, we wouldn’t necessarily have been here. We wouldn’t have had the same rights to our land,” Juhán Nikolaus points out.

The contract between the Sámi people and the reindeer

How did the reindeer then come to play such a central role in Sámi culture? How was this bond created between the animal and its herders? One explanation can be found in a Sámi story Juhán Nikolaus shares.

Long ago, in the age when animals still spoke to humans, the Sámi people made a deal with the first reindeer cow. The reindeer cow spoke to the Sámi, and she offered herself and her offspring to them. In exchange, she asked the Sámi to take care of her, protect her and make sure they used all of her, so that no part of her would be thrown away.

Being a reindeer herder can be understood then as upholding this ancient contract, by caring for the herd. This care shines through Juhán Nikolaus’s voice as he talks about checking in on the reindeer, skiing around the herd to keep predators away. Telling the calves to grow strong, so they can dig up food for the others and take care of the herd. Following the reindeer where they go, throughout the year as the seasons change.

“The reindeer provide us with everything, and make our life possible in the Arctic.”

Reindeer and caribou: both different and similar

When asked what he would like for others to know about reindeer, Juhán Nikolaus immediately highlights the difference between caribou and reindeer. While they technically are the same species, caribou is a term generally used in North America for the wild animals. In Eurasia, reindeer is the word used for all animals of the Rangifer tarandus species, whether they’re wild, semi-domesticated or domesticated. Despite being of the same species, they have vastly different behaviours, Juhán Nikolaus explains.

“Compare caribou to our reindeer. When they see a person, a reindeer might investigate, get closer. Caribou would flee in an instant.”

Semi-domesticated reindeer are more tolerant of people than caribou. But one thing caribou and reindeer share is again their special relationship with people. Across North America, several Indigenous Peoples hunt caribou and have done so for thousands of years. For example, the Nunamiut people in Northern Alaska, or the Gwich’in, one of the most northerly Indigenous peoples on the North American continent. Across the Arctic, this species of deer continues to connect Arctic Indigenous Peoples with their lands, traditions, and ancestors.

Learn more about reindeer and caribou.