Feeding the Last Frontier Part 3: A Reindeer Called Rhonda

Sun and Soil is regretful to report that in the past few months, we've gained no solid evidence that reindeer can fly. However, we have gained a good deal of evidence that they have the potential to play a great role in increasing food security in Alaska! This week we take a trip to Nome to talk with Bonnie Scheele (owner of Midnite Sun Reindeer Ranch and 4th generation reindeer herder) and Jackie Hrabok (Assistant Professor of the High Latitude Range Management Program at UAF and reindeer expert) about these smart and sustainable animals. We discuss the history of reindeer in the state, Sami reindeer herding in Finland, the specifics of reindeer herding, the upcoming farm bill, and what needs to happen in order for Alaskan reindeer herding to reach its full potential. 

Feeding the Last Frontier is a six part series on food security in Alaska. We talk to the key players in the state's food system, discuss the system's strengths and weaknesses, and ask—can the last frontier feed itself? 

Credits/shownotes:

• Thank you to Bonnie Scheele and Jackie Hrabok for talking with us and being a part of this episode.
• Mentioned in the episode:
• High Latitude Range Management (HLRM) at UAF
• Midnite Sun Reindeer Ranch
• Reindeer herding books, recommended by Jackie:
• Sámi Reindeer Herder in Alaska: Letters from America 1901-1937 edited by Aage Solbakk and John Trygve Solbakk
• Alaska Reindeer Herdsmen by Dean F. Olson
• The Yukon Relief Expedition and the Journal of Carl Johan Sakariassen edited by V.R. Rausch and D.L. Baldwin
• The Great Reindeer Caper: The Missionary and the Miners by Peter M. Rinaldo
• Ice Window: Letters from a Bering Strait Village: 1892-1902
• From Hunters to Herders: The Transformation of Earth, Society, and Heaven Among the Inupiat of Beringia by Linda J. Ellanna and George K. Sherrod
• Whales, Ice, & Men: The History of Whaling in the Western Arctic by John R. Bockstoce
• Thank you to Olivia Lester (IG @oli_arting) for making our cover art.
• Thank you to Roland Roberts Band (IG @roland__roberts) for letting us use their song, Alaska Time, as our outro.
• This episode included sound and music from ZapSplat, Freesound, and APM Music.

Sun and Soil is produced by C.C. Clark and Noah Spickelmier. Here's how to find us!

• IG, FB, TikTok: @sunandsoilpodcast
• YouTube: @sunandsoil
• email: sunandsoilpodcast@gmail.com
• website: sunandsoilpod.com

Remember, if you liked the show leave us a rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify! And subscribe!! That way you'll never miss a show. See you next week with part 4 of Feeding the Last Frontier.

During the time making this podcast we lived and worked on Lingít Aaní, the ancestral home of the Tlingit people.