Reindeer

Reindeers are always mentioned when Christmas time comes around but for the Nenets, an indigenous group of Russia, reindeer is an integral part of their lives.  They live a nomadic lifestyle herding reindeer and inhabit the Yamal Peninsula that is above the Arctic Circle. Reindeer provide the Nenet people a cultural identity and it provides them with shelter, clothing and food. Reindeer is also their livelihood since their meat is exported to different countries and the antlers are also sold as a male potency drug. Among the more traditional Nenets, each herder has a sacred reindeer that is not to be harnessed or killed until it is incapable of walking. Since the Nenet’s live in districts of rich oil and gas supplies their way of life is being endangered by energy companies that are building pipelines and drilling sites.