Caribou

Caribou were the main source of food and clothing for many Inupiat and caribou skins were also traded. Caribou hair has a honeycomb-shaped hollow core that traps air and provides excellent insulation. Reindeer, which are domesticated caribou, were introduced to the region in the 1890s through the initiatives of Sheldon Jackson and the United States government. First, Chukchi herders came to teach herding and later the Saami, who are also called Laplanders, were brought to Alaska. Today, a few Saami families remain in the area while some families moved into the western Canadian arctic to introduce reindeer herding in that region.