ABSTRACT
Sámi reindeer husbandry is a time-tested co-existence between humans and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) defined by trust rather than control, and the reindeer have remained free and autonomous – in luohtu. However, the ideal state of a reindeer in luohtu is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. Climate change, encroachments from human activities and infrastructure, predator losses, emergent diseases, and national management are significantly reducing grazing land. The response is for herders to increasingly feed their animals. Supplementary feeding of reindeer has positive and negative implications, most critically, it contributes to reducing both starvation and the freedom of the animals. With this dilemma in mind, we critically examine whether and how supplementary feeding changes the reindeer husbandry assemblages and the herding practices that constitute them. We discuss how supplementary feeding, with the new demands on time, money, and knowledge turns the logic of reindeer husbandry upside down by increasing the reindeer’s dependency on the herders thereby binding them to agricultural practices and infrastructures. We conclude that supplementary feeding as a solution to an immediate problem is creating worldmaking practices with unforeseen and possibly dire consequences for both the reindeer and the herders.
