Our Story
Honoring Tradition. Delivering Quality.
How Reindeer Came to Nunivak Island
In 1920, a small group of reindeer was brought to Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea as part of a federal program to provide food and income for Alaska Native communities. The island’s vast
tundra — rich with lichen, mosses, and wild grasses — turned out to be ideal grazing land.
Over the decades that followed, the herd grew and became woven into the fabric of daily life on the island. For the Nuniwarmiut people who have called Nunivak home for thousands of years,
reindeer became more than livestock. They became part of the community’s identity — a connection between land, tradition, and livelihood.
Mekoryuk and the Nuniwarmiut
Mekoryuk is the only village on Nunivak Island, home to roughly 200 people. Life here revolves around the land and the sea. Subsistence hunting, fishing, and reindeer herding are not just ways to make a living — they are ways of life.
The Nuniwarmiut are one of the few indigenous groups in North America who actively manage a commercial reindeer herd. That distinction is not just a point of pride — it is a responsibility the community takes seriously.
What We Do and Why
Nuniwarmiut Reindeer and Seafood Products (NRSP) was formed to bring the island’s reindeer meat to a wider market — and to make sure the economic benefits stay in the community. Every animal we sell is harvested on Nunivak Island by local herders during the winter months. The meat is processed, frozen, and shipped to customers across Alaska and the Lower 48. Revenue from sales goes directly back to the community, supporting jobs, infrastructure, and the continuation of traditional herding practices.
Our mission is simple: share the best reindeer meat on earth while sustaining the people and the land that make it possible.
How We Protect the Herd and the Land
Sustainability is not a marketing word for us — it is how we have operated for over a
hundred years.
Herd Management
We monitor herd sizes annually and adjust harvest numbers to maintain healthy population levels.
Seasonal Harvest
Animals are harvested only during the winter months (November–March) when conditions are safest and meat quality is highest.
No Inputs
No antibiotics, hormones, growth stimulants, or supplemental feeding. The herd lives entirely on what the island provides.
Ecosystem Balance
By managing the herd, we protect the tundra vegetation that sustains both
the reindeer and the island’s broader ecosystem.
A Note From The Team
We know that buying reindeer meat from a remote Alaskan island is not a normal grocery run. That is kind of the point.
This is food with a story — a real place, real people, and a tradition that stretches back over a century. We are grateful you are here, and we are happy to answer any questions about our products, our process, or our island.
— The NRSP Team