The Reindeer Herders Voice

The, book, which holds the full title Reindeer Herders Voice: Reindeer Herding, Traditional Knowledge and Adaptation to Climate Change and Loss of Grazing Lands is a product of the Norwegian IPY information project EALÁT. 

It was published to coincide with the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Tromsø and the Melting Ice seminar also held in Tromsø earlier this spring. Here it was presented to former Vice President Al Gore and all the Arctic Ministers and foreign ministers in attendance, from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Denmark, the USA, Canada and Iceland.

The book is over 130 pages, and features quotes, interviews and text from the EALÁT Information community based workshops that have been held thus far in the Sami area, on the Yamal Peninsula, in Sakha (Yakutia) and in Chukotka.

Face challenges
Reindeer herding is the primary livelihood for over 20 indigenous peoples throughout the circumpolar North, with a remarkably similar organisation wherever it is found. All in all, nearly 100,000 people are involved in herding approximately 2,5 million domesticated reindeer in 9 national states.

Indigenous peoples in the Arctic now face major challenges related to changes in their societies, globalisation and a changing climate.

Foto: Morguefile


EALÁT was initiated by the Association of World Reindeer Herders (WRH) to address the challenges of climate change and loss of pastures, in order to maintain and develop robust reindeer herding societies for the future.

The term «ealát» stems from the language of the indigenous Sámi people of Fennoscandia, and means «good pasture». The word is related to the term «eallu», which means «herd» and the origin of these terms derives from the word «eallin», or «life». In other words, pastures are the foundation for the reindeer herd, and reindeer herds are the foundation for the lives of reindeer herding peoples.

You can download a full PDF version of the book on the Reindeer Portal Document Archive