help inform decisions to reduce negative effects.
Understanding how reindeer move across space
and time is difficult, as many wild reindeer populations in North America are remote and inaccessible to
scientists. However, an opportunity to gain knowledge
arises from the semi-domesticated herds of northern
Europe. Here, the indigenous Sami people have herded
reindeer for more than 1,000 years, and hold detailed
indigenous ecological knowledge on reindeer’s
seasonal movements and reactions to disturbances.
Scientists are working with Sami herders to understand how semi-domesticated reindeer are reacting
to disturbances, and look to apply this information to
reindeer populations all across the north.
The Sami’s indigenous ecological knowledge of
reindeer movements is a result of connections between
Sami culture, reindeer, and the environment. The
Sami understanding of this balance is expressed in an
eight-season calendar, which describes the delicate
balance of their nomadic herding cycle with the harsh
northern conditions. Understanding and respecting
the northern seasons allows the Sami to follow the flow
of nature, and to avoid altering it so it can continue to
support their livelihood. This connection has largely
been lost in modern lifestyles around the world.
The Sami calendar brings meaning and honour
to the changing seasons, demonstrating the intricate
connection between people and the life-sustaining
cycles of nature. Visiting the eight Sami seasons
reminds us of the importance of spending time on the
land, and of experiencing and embracing the ebb and
flow of nature.
Gijrradálvvie
It is spring-winter. The world has been asleep, nestled
in darkness and wrapped in a blanket of snow. The
winter grazing has been good. Deep snow sheltered the
ground lichen, the reindeer’s only winter food source,
from the harsh freezing winds. The reindeer could dig
through the soft snow to the lichen below, allowing
them to maintain enough reserves to survive the cold
and to face the journey ahead.
Now the days grow longer, and the forest is alive with
the warm rays of the sun. This is the season of awakening. The reindeer sense the shift and begin to liven.
Perhaps they feel the same excitement as the humans:
that the dark and dangerous time is nearly past, and new
life is coming. The pregnant females muster the herd
and they slowly begin to move inland and northward
towards their calving grounds in the mountains.
Gijrrálvvie: Birch trees in the weak sunlight of spring-winter.
Forager 2 Fall 2015
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