Human role in reindeer/caribou systems subject of international gathering of arctic researchers

Posted 01/25/01

Twenty Arctic researchers from Russia, Scandinavia and North America will gather at Dartmouth's Minary Conference Center from Jan. 31-Feb. 4 to begin planning the first major circumpolar research project on the relationship between humans and reindeer/caribou.

Sponsored by the Institute of Arctic Studies at Dartmouth, the retreat will offer the interdisciplinary group opportunities to explore the effects that global climate change, industrialization and economic and political instability have had on reindeer, caribou (both of the Rangifer species) and native peoples.

"The species is the most significant terrestrial animal for indigenous Arctic peoples," said Gail Osherenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of Arctic Studies and co-organizer of the event. "The Dene and Inuit of interior Canada and Alaska depend on caribou, while the Nenets, Sami, Evenk, Chukchi and many other indigenous groups in the Russian north depend on reindeer. The land they occupy, however, also contains enormous gas and oil deposits. When the world price of energy rises, threats to herders and hunters rise, too."

More than just a research entity, the group at Minary will work with Arctic populations to define research questions that will help the native populations adapt to and be involved in shaping change, according to co-organizer Gary Kofinas, Research Fellow at the Institue of Arctic Studies. Among the goals for the retreat are devising ways to monitor and compare various Rangifer populations, to look at differences in ecological and land rights policies, and to investigate socio-cultural elements of herding and hunting.

The complexity of Rangifer/human interactions has made news headlines in the United States recently due to the fight over oil and gas exploration at Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

On the Yamal Peninsula where Osherenko and other scientists have worked, the fight is over development of gas pipelines to transport natural gas to Europe. Osherenko curated an exhibit, currently on display at the Norwich Public Library through Feb. 16, which documents the lifestyle of the Nenets people of that area. Titled "Reindeer People--The Fight for Survival," the exhibit of photos, books and artifacts also includes artifacts lent by Dartmouth's Hood Museum of Art.

Russian anthropologist and filmmaker Andrei Golovnev will show his award-winning video "The Way to the Sacred Place" at the Norwich Public Library at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 29, in conjunction with the "Reindeer People" exhibit. The 47-minute video depicts the ancient migration still made today by 900 indigenous Nenets families traveling from winter to summer pastures with their reindeer herds above the Arctic Circle. A discussion with the filmmaker will follow.