Aurora Reindeer

Hi, I’m Johan Erik Valle, reindeer herder from Utsjoki. I was born on October 15, 1990, into a family of reindeer herders, whose roots together with reindeer, stretch all the way back to the 18th century. Or actually, those roots reach much further back in history, there is simply no documented information from the time before the 18th century.

My birthday also happens to be during autumn’s busy reindeer separation season, which is hardly a mere coincidence.

I remember when I was already as a little boy taken to the Skalluvaara reindeer fence in Utsjoki for reindeer separation. My part, alongside with other future reindeer herders, was to catch the reindeer by antlers and wrestle with them until they were marked with a number tag hung around the neck. The number tags make it easier to tag the calf to its rightful owner. The young reindeer follows their already ear-marked dam, whose owner will also be marked with the new youngling.

I became a reindeer herder as a very young man in 2005, when I was given responsibility for our family’s reindeer by my father. I decided already then that I was going to continue and develop our family’s tradition of reindeer herding for as long as I could.