1886: Lawman brings reindeer to Yup’ik

Yup’ik oral history describes a “great die out” of seals, bowhead whales, and caribou. The famine it causes stirs the compassion of a captain in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. For years, Captain Michael Healy has patrolled 30,000 miles of Alaskan coastline in the USRS Bear. To help the Yup’ik, he and the missionary Dr. Sheldon Jackson sail to Siberia and return with a herd of reindeer and Siberian Native handlers who teach the Yup’ik how to breed, care for, and herd the animals.

Captain Michael Healy’s standing order to his crew is, “Never make a promise to a Native you do not intend to keep to the letter.” Alaska Natives in the Arctic remember him for bringing the first herd of reindeer from Siberia to replace wild caribou that had died out. The reindeer helped end a famine among the Yup’ik and remain an important source of food and income for many Alaska Native tribes. Even today, Captain Healy and “Healy's Fire Canoe,” the cutter Bear, are held in high regard among Alaska Natives. The elders in many Alaskan villages still tell stories of Captain Mike Healy to the next generation.

Theme

Land and Water

Region

Arctic