Meet the team keeping reindeer herding alive in the N.W.T.
Family business looks to grow herd to meet increased demand
When you manage the only reindeer herd in Canada, it's not easy to find new recruits to work in the industry.
"It's the kind of thing where it's really difficult to hire people off of the street," says Lloyd Binder.
Binder is the general manager of the Kunnek Resource Development Corporation, which operates as Canadian Reindeer.
"It is a family business," he said. "There's a couple centuries of family history."
His father Otto Binder was always fascinated by reindeer herding, and jumped at the opportunity to buy the reindeer herd in Inuvik in 1997.
Binder said he first began looking out for for a chief herder to take over in 2001.
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"I always meant to find a local Canadian, Inuvialuit preferably, person with the skill…. with a family interested," he said.
It's taken a while but we finally a found a local guy to take over as chief herder, and probably eventually manager and owner."
After about 15 years, he found the perfect fit in Lawrence Amos, who has now been chief herder for about a year. A herder on and off since 1994, Amos says he loves the job.
"I think it's the only herd that's in Canada, and I get to have a job that no one else has. That's what I like about it," he said.
There are two parts of the reindeer industry: reindeer herding and reindeer husbandry.
Binder says it's more difficult to find someone qualified for the reindeer husbandry portion of the job, which is "taking care of the reindeer as a producing group. Keeping the appropriate ratio of male to female, and the optimal number of fawns born annually, and then the selection, kill, processing sales and meat."
He says that to learn all the skills for reindeer husbandry, it's typically a 10-year apprenticeship.
Looking toward growth
Binder is thinking more about the future of his herd and the industry, given lower numbers of wild caribou and a greater demand for reindeer.
"By next year we will need three people, more or less, full time at least from November to May. In the future, I see there will be a need to probably double the herd within 10 years, and that will mean two or three more jobs."
Binder is hoping to find a way for youth in the region have more exposure to the reindeer industry, so they can look at it as a possible career path.
"I think what we should be doing probably is working with the school and identifying youth that will get some exposure and see if they want to work part-time and maybe full-time. It's going to take a few years to recruit, so it's never too early to start."
Amos shares Binder's sentiments about getting youth involved.
"It would be really helpful for young people to learn about the herd, and for young people to go out there and actually do some herding."
Amos is currently showing his 10-year-old grandson the ropes of the industry.
"I take him out as much as I can to the herd," he said. "I've taught him how to butcher, how to shoot an animal and how to pick. He's learning and he's really interested in it."
Amos hopes to eventually move out on the land with his family to be with the reindeer.
Amos does recognize that reindeer herding can be challenging and is not for everyone, dealing with the weather while being out on the land for long period of time. But both Binder and Amos are optimistic that they will find the people to carry the industry into the future.