Rural Alaska

Mekoryuk wants to sell reindeer meat around the state

The village of Mekoryuk is hoping a funding boost will help it expand sales of its reindeer meat to more parts of the state.

A series of federal grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration is helping the Western Alaska village of 200 update facilities used for reindeer meat processing.

In total, $1.8 million will help update the village's reindeer corral fence and renovate a processing facility that has long been out of commission, according to Dale Smith, operations director for the Native Village of Mekoryuk.

Reindeer were introduced to Nunivak Island in the 1920s. The island is the second largest in the Bering Sea, located about 30 miles offshore of the Yukon and Kuskokwim river deltas. Mekoryuk is the only permanent settlement on the island. Most people live subsistence lifestyles and reindeer herding is one of the few forms of seasonal employment, providing about 20 jobs to the community.

Smith said corral work has already been completed — the tribe ripped out old, weathered boards and replaced them with sturdy new ones last fall. Now the village is soliciting bids for the design and inspection service of the slaughterhouse. He said they hope to complete construction next summer.

The island had a slaughterhouse for years but it hasn't been operated in decades. The 44-by-30-foot processing facility has been mostly neglected since the longtime manager of the plant died in the 1990s. Herders still sell their meat by doing a field slaughter but that kind of processing limits who can buy the meat. All meat sold through a field dressing must be accompanied by a note saying the meat should be cooked to 160 degrees in order to be safe to eat.

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Smith said that a U.S. Department of Agriculture processing facility would allow for a broader market for the meat. He hopes the reindeer will eventually be sold at butcher shops in Southcentral Alaska.

"That is good news for everyone," University of Alaska Fairbanks reindeer researcher Greg Finstad said in an email. Finstad said the village has been trying to expand operations for years.

Daniel Olrun, temporary manager of Nuniwarmiut Reindeer and Seafood Products, the company that oversees reindeer production in the village, said 41 reindeer were butchered last year. He said those were sold to a handful of individuals and to a small number of regional grocery stores in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region.

That's a small portion of the 2,000 reindeer the village owns. The herd is one of just a few in Western Alaska. Olrun said a large bull can provide about 200 pounds of meat.

Harvesting is usually done around Thanksgiving but chief herder Sam Shavings said low snow cover has pushed back this year's harvest. The animals are spread out along the southwestern portion of the 1,600-square-mile island and the frozen, bumpy tundra can be difficult to travel across on snowmachines when there's not much snow.

Shavings said they plan to harvest more reindeer sometime after Christmas.

Suzanna Caldwell

Suzanna Caldwell is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in 2017.

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