Alaska Reindeer Service facts for kids
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The Alaska Reindeer Service (ARS) was a special program created by the United States Congress on March 3, 1893. It was set up to help the people of Alaska, which was a U.S. territory at the time. The ARS was a big part of the education system in northern and western Alaska.
The main goal of the ARS was to bring reindeer to Alaskan villages. It aimed to teach indigenous peoples like the Inupiat and Yupiit how to care for and use reindeer. This training was done through an apprenticeship system. The idea was to help these communities become self-sufficient. For example, Sami herders from Norway were brought to Alaska. They taught Alaska Natives important skills like driving reindeer, milking them, building corrals, and working with herding dogs.
The ARS covered a huge area of Alaska. Its northernmost station was at Point Barrow, and the southernmost was at Ugashik. The westernmost station was near Cape Prince of Wales, and the easternmost was at Tanana.
Why Reindeer?
In the summer of 1890, Dr. Sheldon Jackson traveled through Alaska. He was in charge of education for Alaska and also a Presbyterian Minister. He sailed on the revenue cutter Bear with Captain Michael A. Healy. They visited many villages in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean, both in Alaska and Siberia.
They saw that the Inuit people in Alaska were struggling to find enough food. They relied on catching whales, seals, and walruses, which were becoming scarce. But just a few miles away, across the Bering Strait in Siberia, the climate and land were similar. There, thousands of tame reindeer supported many people. Reindeer provided meat and milk for food, and their skins were used for clothing and bedding. In winter, reindeer made it possible to travel quickly between villages.
Dr. Jackson and Captain Healy realized that bringing domestic reindeer from Siberia to Alaska would be a smart idea. It would give Alaskan Eskimos near the Bering Strait a steady supply of food and clothing. When Dr. Jackson returned to Washington in September 1890, he shared his idea with Dr. William Torrey Harris, the Commissioner of Education. Dr. Harris immediately supported the plan.
How the Service Started
At first, there was no money from Congress for the reindeer project. So, people asked individuals for donations to start an experiment. They raised $2,146. With this money, 16 reindeer were bought in 1891, and 171 more in 1892.
In 1893, Congress saw how important the project was. They approved the first official payment of $6,000 to bring reindeer from Siberia to Alaska. Congress continued to support the program with annual payments, which ranged from $5,000 to $25,000. For example, in 1919-1920, the payment was $7,500.
For nine years, the revenue cutter Bear helped with this effort. It carried agents between Siberia and Alaska. It also transported Siberian reindeer to Alaska. This work was very difficult. The coast was dangerous and not well mapped. There were long delays in risky waters. Agents had to bargain patiently with Siberians using sign language to buy the reindeer. It was hard work to move the deer from shore to the ship's boats, and then uncomfortable on board the ship to Alaska. Finally, there was much labor to land the deer on the Alaskan side. From 1892 to 1902, a total of 1,280 reindeer were brought to Alaska. In 1902, the Russian Government stopped allowing the export of reindeer.
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The first place chosen to receive the reindeer was Port Clarence, on the Seward Peninsula. This harbor was the closest to northeast Siberia. As the program grew, Teller Reindeer Station at Port Clarence became the main base. From here, herds were sent out each winter across northern Alaska to start new reindeer centers.
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In 1907, William Thomas Lopp became the superintendent of education for indigenous peoples in Alaska. He was in charge of all the Bureau of Education's work in Alaska. He was asked to go to Washington, D.C. to write down the rules for the reindeer service. Lopp had traveled widely in Arctic Alaska for a long time. He knew the people by name and spoke their language. In 1897-1898, he even helped drive a reindeer herd from Cape Prince of Wales to Point Barrow in the middle of winter. This was to help a group of whalers who were reported to be starving.
The rules for the reindeer service set up an apprenticeship system. Young Alaskans who showed promise were chosen by local superintendents to be apprentices for four years. At the end of each year, they received a certain number of reindeer. After successfully finishing their apprenticeship, they became herders. They would then be fully in charge of their own herds, but still supervised by school authorities. These new herders also had to take on apprentices and give them reindeer. This helped the program grow even more. To protect the reindeer industry for the native people, the rules said that female reindeer could not be sold to anyone who was not an Alaska Native.
The Canadian government also saw how successful the Alaska Reindeer Service was. In the 1920s, they bought a herd of 3,000 reindeer from Alaska. It took five years for the animals to be driven from Nome to Reindeer Station, Northwest Territories. However, few of the native Inuvialuit people in Canada chose to become reindeer herders.
Education and the Reindeer Service
The Alaska Reindeer Service was managed by the United States Bureau of Education. This was part of the Department of the Interior. The main office was in Seattle, and there were seven superintendents in Alaska. The ARS was a key part of the education system in northern and western Alaska.
The people who were in charge of schools in these areas were also the superintendents for the reindeer service. Teachers at U.S. public schools in areas with reindeer herds were also local superintendents for those herds. Special traveling teachers were hired to go from one reindeer herd to another. They taught the apprentices and herders basic school subjects. When possible, the apprentices also attended regular school classes near their herds.
