AFPC Visits Partners in Nome, Alaska
By Robbi Mixon
Executive Director, AFPC
This past November, AFPC staff traveled to Nome, Alaska, as invited presenters for the annual Kawerek Reindeer Herders Association (RHA) meeting. The stated purpose of the association is “to provide assistance to its twenty-one members in the development of a viable reindeer industry, to enhance the economic base for rural Alaska and to improve the management of the herds.”
We were honored to be present for the first day of their meeting to learn more about the challenges and successes of generations of reindeer herding in western Alaska.
A proper alphabet soup of agencies filled the room, providing various updates and reports from their connections to the reindeer industry. Representatives from the University of Alaska High Latitude Range Management program, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRSC), the State of Alaska’s Office of the State Veterinarian, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources all gave updates and answered questions from RHA members.
AFPC presented on emerging projects, including the Islands & Remote Areas Business Center and a potential Alaska food system-focused AmeriCorps program, as well as highlighting our Indigenous Foods and Advocacy working groups.
While we were in Nome, we made time to visit the local grocery stores, restaurants, cultural museum, library, and other community health and wellness organizations.
Visiting partners around the state helps us to build and strengthen relationships, and better understand the diverse natural, cultural, and political landscapes across Alaska. Thank you for sharing your work and passion with us Kawerak. A very special thank you to Nathan Baring and Anahma Shannon for all you do to help build sovereign food systems!
To explore more, check out PROJECT JUKEBOX, Digital Branch of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program: Reindeer Herding the Present and Future
