Goodhope River Reindeer Herding Site: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

Horton, Toni; Corran, Michele

The Goodhope River Reindeer Herding Site is located on the northern Seward Peninsula of western Alaska approximately 15 miles from the mouth of the Goodhope River, 6.5 miles from Kotzebue Sound. The site lies within the boundary of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. The historic vernacular landscape contains two small cabins which sit to the north of the river and a reindeer corral located 1200 feet from the cabins within a large oxbow encircled by a bluff. The remnants of the wing fences of the reindeer corral extend from the center of the oxbow to the southwest over a low ridge. In addition to the structural features, archeological evidence of reindeer herding includes physical artifacts and engravings on the walls of the cabins and corral. The site is historically significant under Criterion A as a physical remnant of the practice of reindeer herding among Iñupiat on the Seward Peninsula and particularly of the post 1937 Reindeer Act period. The period of significance for the site extends from 1938 until 1978 and the areas of significance are Agriculture and Ethnic Heritage. Because the historic land use extended to period less than fifty years ago, Criterion Consideration G also applies to the property. Reindeer herding was introduced to Alaska from Far Eastern Russia in the 1890s by the missionary and government agent Sheldon Jackson in order to provide a new source of food and economic activity to Alaska Natives. Chukchi reindeer herders from Far Eastern Russia and then Sami reindeer herders from Scandinavia were brought to Alaska to train Alaska Natives in herding practices. Over the years, reindeer cabins and corrals were constructed throughout western Alaska to provide necessary herding infrastructure within the vast reindeer ranges. In 1937, forty six years after the first reindeer were imported, the Reindeer Act was passed which restricted ownership of all Alaskan reindeer to Alaska Natives. The cabin and corral at the Goodhope River site were designed and constructed with Civilian Conservation Corps funds under this new phase of administration in 1938. The site was initially used through 1942 by which time the population of the Deering Reindeer Company’s herd had reached 10,000. In the 1940s and 50s the reindeer industry declined, and the corral saw little use. In the 1960s, the reindeer herds rebounded and the corral was used through the 1970s by herders primarily out of Deering for reindeer roundups to count, earmark, de-antler and castrate reindeer. In the late 1970s, another corral was constructed closer to Deering by the Karmun family and the site was no longer used for reindeer herding. The landscape has changed little since the cabins and corral were constructed in the late 1930s, and retains a high degree of integrity. This integrity is at least in part due to its remote location. In 2010, the National Park Service partially rehabilitated the larger cabin to improve its function as winter shelter while at the same time preserving its historic character. At this time repairs were also made to the smaller cabin. The corral has not been altered and remains in better condition than most historic corral facilities on the Seward Peninsula (Leeper and Partlow 1994: 3).

Goodhope River Reindeer Herding Site: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve

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