Could a Reindeer Plant Be an Economic Boon to a Remote Alaska Native Village?

Reindeer antlers can fetch about $25 per pound to California buyers that resell to Asian-American markets for medicinal purposes, and the free-range meat, if professionally butchered, can garner about $1,600 per reindeer, according to a report by the Alaska Public.

Furthermore, as the winter sea-ice of northern Alaska becomes increasingly fragile due to climate change, the indigenous tradition of hunting for marine mammals becomes exceedingly dangerous. Reindeer present a way for Alaska Native people in the remote north to sustain themselves as their ancestors have for thousands of years.

A reindeer economy may ensure self-sustenance and generate vital income for these isolated communities.

A movement is currently underway to help the Aleut village of Saint George, Alaska, a small island in the Bering Sea, create a new economy with the abundance of reindeer that roam its island home, the Associated Press recently reported. The impoverished village is home to about 60 people and an estimated 350 reindeer.

Alaska pastor John Honan is making inroads to establish a small commercial reindeer processing plant in Saint George. He’s leading a donation drive for equipment, in addition to setting up a relief fund for Saint George and contacting local businesses to get involved.

Beyond a small halibut fishery, the majority of jobs come from the local and Tribal government. A reindeer plant may only create three or four jobs, but the ripple effect would be substantial.

While field slaughters are legal in freezing climates (when snow is present on the ground and carcasses are immediately frozen), communities like Saint George faced with the impacts of climate change need to meet the strict regulations for meat processing, and also pay for a state inspector to inspect the processing facility.

The feasibility of a reindeer processing business in Saint George is hard to ascertain, whereas in the Norton Sound region — an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of Alaska, it’s possible for a coalition of reindeer-herding Tribes to utilize a central processing plant and freezer, and sell meat collectively. The fate of Saint George’s foray into a reindeer economy remains to be seen.