The Last Reindeer Herders? A Sámi Story of Legacy, Loss & Hope

When I was young, I knew that this is what I wanted to do with reindeer herding. But I hardly dared to say it, because it felt so distant, in a way, when you didn't have it in the family. Today, most herds... You grow up in a reindeer herding, your father and mother are doing reindeer herding, and then you take over. That's the most common thing. And that part wasn't there for me. In this village, there has been poor reproduction of reindeer herders. Of young people. Because there are supposed to be young people who enjoy reindeer herding. But it's also like that, the day you die, you don't get anything with you. And then they used to say, it's better to give me a warm hand than a cold hand. He's going to pull the rope. And then I pull the net with the rope. Here. You see how neat he is. He's going to go to the lake. To start. Maybe I'll be like the old man who was lying on his deathbed. And then the ferryman came. And he was going to give his last. And luckily he was half open. And then the reindeer ran. Ran like this. And he looked up and said, I'm going to give my last. And that's how it is. How did this whole story with Daniel and the reindeer start? It started with me and my wife, Isabel. We sat and reasoned. And not just once did we talk about it. There were several times that there was so poor. Poor reproduction of reindeer herders. I knew about Daniel. That he tried to get into a Sami village. But it's not so easy if you don't have... You almost need someone to help you into the village. And it can still be difficult. So I talked to Isabel. He gets reindeer herders and reindeer herders from us. If he moves. So I called him. I was changing from winter tires to summer tires. I was standing there screwing. I was changing tires. And then it rang. I had these headphones that you could talk on the phone. So I pressed the answer button and said, Yes, it's Daniel. Then I said, If you are looking for a reindeer herder as a reindeer herding member and come in, then you get reindeer herders and reindeer herders. So it was absolutely incredible. It was a bit too good to be true. So Daniel said, Where's the chin? I said, I don't have a chin. It's just the way it is. If the reindeer herders want to live, they have to be young people. The risk is that there will be as old groups as me. At first I was surprised. I didn't really think it was true. So then I drove home to them and visited them. We were around here on these fields. We drove a lot in the car. I and Leif looked and reasoned. But yesterday I just drove so close to the truck and then I hit the snow hill. We didn't know each other, so we had to get to know each other. It's like a comrade, who hopefully can carry the reindeer herding on. The important thing is that people stay in Gläsbygden and that these businesses continue. And if we don't have our own children, what are we going to do with what we have when we are no longer active? It's better for a young person who wants to to stay here and continue. Otherwise there will be no continuation. It will end. There will be empty houses. It will be sold to someone who has a summer cottage and puts in a private barn. Thank you very much. 14 millimeters will arrive tomorrow. Tomorrow. Snow. This is what the summer cottage would look like. Malmö. We have just arrived here in Åbo Leif from Vinterbetet. It was a 7-8 day move up here to Kronlund. It's quite wintry yet. It's not spring right now. So we chose to put the reindeers in the hay a few more days before we let them go and send them west. And then we give them artificial land. We give them pellets and insulation. But if we had kept the reindeers we wouldn't have had to put the reindeers in the hay and close them in the hay. It's a bit sad actually. We would have liked to get the reindeers back. I'm just going to follow the road and see what it looks like. All this older forest is gone. It takes about 60 years for the reindeers to be established in the forest. And then it takes another 60 years before there is so much on the trees that it starts to come down on the snow. They get in a bit like this on the trees. But if he's five meters high they're too short for the reindeers. The forest has been able to stand here. And here you can see that there is a lot of a lot of reindeers in the trees. Getting the reindeers back is a matter of time. And that's something the forestry isn't prepared to do. To give time for the reindeers. So there's a lock in the forestry. And then you keep going down this road. It's bare bark on bare bark. You're going to take over Leif and Isabel's reindeer farm. Yes. But for us who aren't so involved what is a reindeer farm? Well, you see... to find out if it's your reindeer you look at the reindeers' ears. And then you have... Everyone has their own reindeer farm These are the ears. You see the ears from behind. On the reindeer. You can never describe a brand in Swedish. Because those words and those sections don't exist. So it's... That's what a brand looks like. And I don't really know how to describe it in any other way. We speak Swedish now. We speak Swedish now, yes. But you also speak Sami. I also speak Sami, yes. Umeå Sami. And that's the language that's relevant in... I mean, in the town of Maskar and Same. It's a Umeå Sami town. Do you also speak Sami? No. Unfortunately not. It used to be so scary here. My grandfather could also. And I know my mother. My mother sometimes said that they had told him that he couldn't teach us. No. They wouldn't do that. It was... It was shameful in a way. Our forefathers who spoke fluent Sami who had received it all from their forefathers they became so oppressed and so brainwashed, so to speak that they didn't pass it on to their children. We were forbidden. The Sami were forbidden to speak Sami. It was ugly to be Sami. It was ugly to speak Sami. The Sami were supposed to become Swedes and we were supposed to speak Swedish. But I was... I was lucky to be one of the few who passed on the language. His father, Henrik Bark, who... He has written a book about Sami. And he has taught the children to speak Sami. My grandfather, my father is the one who taught me the Sami I speak today. And... I see some similarities between us. It's cold when you feel that you were born to do this. I feel that with all my heart. And I think he feels the cold against the Sami. Today, I am extremely grateful that I have been able to learn Sami. I can't think of anything. It would have been very difficult not to be able to speak Sami. Now that I know how it feels to be able to speak my language. Do you speak Sami? No. I have a genetic Sami heritage but I have not been raised in a clean-up family for generations. And then... When the Sami leave the clean-up they only speak Swedish. But in the clean-up, in some areas, I still understand because there are so many words and expressions that can't really be described in Swedish. There are words for... for how everything is now and everything around the reindeer and the land, how it is shaped. It's a language about nature and animals. In Swedish, you have to use several words to try to explain for example, what it is for or how it is with the reindeer. I would like to drive a little more. I would like to drive another load that was on the flat. Then I will give it to you in the evening. Then I will give it to you in the evening. Yes. Before they leave. Yes. No. That's it. The nice thing was that I got a start right away and then I got a reindeer herder in the form of Leif. Because he has an experience that I don't have yet. Someone to ask for advice and that is worth a lot. I know that if I call Leif at 12 o'clock in the evening and say, can you come and pick me up? Then he comes and picks me up. They are really up for it. We have given him a chance to realize his dream to keep reindeer. At the same time, it is something that we have managed that he may continue the reindeer herding in the town of Maskosame. So that the reindeer herding can survive. Campfire Stories is a community supported project. That means that the only way we can keep making films is through the support from the people who watch the films. So please consider joining us as a Patreon supporter. Thank you so much.