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Herman Toolie

Herman Toolie

Herman Toolie is Siberian Yup'ik from Savoonga, Alaska on St. Lawrence Island. His family's heritage is in reindeer herding traced back to both sets of grandparents when reindeer were introduced to Gambell. His father, Jimmy Toolie, got involved in herding when he was twelve years old based out of Savoonga, which had been a reindeer camp, and herded until the "great die out of reindeer" around 1943. Bad winter weather of rain and freezing conditions made it difficult for the reindeer to access vegetation to eat, so many of them died. In 1964, the community of Savoonga and its IRA Tribal Council took over management of what had previously been Gambell's reindeer herd. Herman got involved in reindeer herding around 1967, having learned from his father and elders about reindeer, their behavior, and herding techniques. Herman also carves ivory.
Herman Toolie appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Herman Toolie

Herman Toolie was interviewed on March 26, 2003 by Bill Schneider and Kumi Rattenbury at the Reindeer Herder's House in Nome, Alaska. Herman is from the village of Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska and was in Nome for the Reindeer Herders Association annual meeting. We were particularly eager to interview Herman because he is an island herder and we expected that the ecology of herding would be quite different from the mainland. We were surprised to hear about the recent presence of wolves on the island. In this interview, Herman talks about his family's history of reindeer herding, the effect of weather on the reindeer herds and herding, and the challenges of herding on the island and traveling in different seasons to different places. He also talks about "the great die off," which refers to a time when rain and icing conditions made it hard for deer to get food and many starved.

 2000-102-28 Reindeer Herding: The Present and the Past Mar 26, 2003