Caribou Herds of Northwest Alaska, 1850-2000

224 Pages·2012·13.46 MB·English

by  Ernest S. Burch Jr.

Caribou Herds of NortHwest alaska,
1850–2000

Caribou Herds of NortHwest a laska,
1850–2000
by
ernest s. burch Jr.
Edited by
Igor Krupnik and Jim Dau
University of Alaska Press
Fairbanks
© 2012 University of Alaska Press
All rights reserved
University of Alaska Press
P.O. Box 756240
Fairbanks, AK 99775-6240
ISBN 978-1-60223-178-8 (cloth); 978-1-60223-179-5 (paper);
978-1-60223-180-1 (electronic)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Burch, Ernest S., 1938–2010.
Caribou herds of northwest Alaska, 1850–2000 / Ernest S. Burch, Jr. ; edited by Igor
Krupnik and Jim Dau.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60223-179-5 (paper : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-60223-178-8 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-1-60223-180-1 (electronic)
1. Caribou—Alaska—History. 2. Reindeer—Alaska—History. 3. Wolves—Alaska—History.
4. Natural history—Alaska. 5. Alaska Natives—History. 6. Herding—Alaska—History.
7. Human ecology—Alaska—History. I. Krupnik, Igor. II. Dau, J. (Jim) III. Title.
QL737.U55B823 2012
599.65’809798—dc23
2012005465
The production of this book has benefitted from contributions by John R. Bockstoce,
Matthew L. Ganley, Erica D. Hill, and Kenneth L. Pratt.
Cover design by Dixon Jones
Cover illustrations: front cover photos by Jim Dau. Back cover photo by Geoff Carroll and
Jim Dau. Photo of Ernest S. Burch courtesy of Deanne Burch.
This publication was printed on acid-free paper that meets the minimum requirements for
ANSI / NISO Z39.48–1992 (R2002) (Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials).
Printed in the United States
Contents
List of Maps vi
List of Figures vii
List of Tables viii
Part I: Reading Tiger Burch
Foreword by Igor Krupnik xi
Preface by Jim Dau xv
Acknowledgments xix
Part II: Caribou Herds of Northwest Alaska
Chapter 1. Introduction 3
Chapter 2. Caribou versus Reindeer 17
Chapter 3. Predators 37
Chapter 4. The Western District 61
Chapter 5. The Northern District 91
Chapter 6. The Reindeer Era 113
Synopsis of Chapter 6 117
Synopsis of Chapter 7 119
Part III: Postscripts
Postscript by David R. Klein 125
A Life Well Lived, A Story Well Told by Polly Wheeler 129
Appendix 1: Memorandum (E. S. Burch Jr. to Bockstoce, Dau,
Hill, Krupnik, and Pratt, February 26, 2010) 133
Appendix 2: Ecoregions of Northwest Alaska by E.S. Burch Jr. 135
Appendix 3: Historical Sources by Ernest S. Burch Jr. 139
Appendix 4: Sources of Information by Ernest S. Burch Jr. 144
Appendix 5: Notes on the Consumption of Caribou at Herschel Island
During the Whaling Era by E.S. Burch Jr. 147
Abbreviations 151
Works Cited 153
Index 197
v
list of Maps
Map 1.1 General orientation 5
Map 1.2 Primary ranges of late twentieth-century caribou herds of Northwest Alaska 6
Map 1.3 Ecoregions of Northwest Alaska 9
Map 1.4 Districts and borders 10
Map 2.1 Seasonal ranges of the Western Arctic herd 24
Map 2.2 Reindeer range permits on the Seward Peninsula, late twentieth century 26
Map 3.1 Indigenous language areas of Northwest Alaska and Northwestern Canada 38
Map 3.2 National borders in Northwest Alaska, ca. 1800–1820 39
Map 3.3 Western outposts in the study region, 1848–1854 42
Map 3.4 Villages and towns with populations over fifty people, 1997–2002 45
Map 4.1 Major geographic features of the Western District 62
Map 4.2 The Western District showing locations mentioned in the text 64
Map 4.3 Kotzebue Sound drainage and the northern Seward Peninsula 69
Map 4.4 Southern sector of the Western District 70
Map 4.5 Northern sector of the Western District 80
Map 5.1 Major geographic sectors of the Northern District 91
Map 5.2 The approximate range of the modern Teshekpuk Lake herd 92
Map 5.3 Range of the modern Central Arctic herd 94
Map 5.4 Range of the modern Porcupine River herd 96
Map 7.1 Reconstructed calving areas and ranges of historical caribou herds 119
vi
list of figures
Frontispiece—Ernest S. Burch Jr., 1938–2010
Fig. 1.1 A shed caribou antler 4
Fig. 2.1 Bull caribou crossing river 18
Fig. 2.2 Two bull caribou crossing river 18
Fig. 2.3 A cow and two young bull caribou migrating 20
Fig. 2.4 A mature bull caribou of the Western Arctic herd 20
Fig. 2.5 Western Arctic herd caribou densely aggregated 27
Fig. 2.6 Caribou in summer insect relief habitat 27
Fig. 2.7 A mature cow with her four-month-old male calf 30
Fig. 3.1 Wolves: predator of caribou 46
Fig. 3.2 Grizzlies prey on reindeer 55
Fig. 4.1 Caribou impound corral (or kangigaq) 81
Fig. 5.1 Gwich’in camp, Porcupine River, ca. 1910 110
Fig. 6.1 Alaska Native reindeer camp 114
Fig. 6.2 Iñupiat herder near Nome, Alaska 114
Fig. 6.3 Large reindeer herd near Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska 115
Fig. 6.4 Alaska reindeer—Kotzebue herd no. 2 115
Fig. 7.1 Poster for Burch’s public presentation on the Caribou Herds book 122
vii
list of tables
Table 2.1 Definitions for various types of caribou aggregations 26
Table 3.1 Western outposts in the study region, 1848–1854 43
Table 4.1 Oral sources for Map 4.3 69
viii
Part i
readiNG tiGer burCH