Election Night in Sapmi
Reindeer in Alaska. Courtesy of National Park Service, Alaska Division
There were 400 words for reindeer
You knew them all
One for the truculent female who resists the rope
njirru
Another for the plodder whose hooves barely leave the ground
sohtur
A longer word for the one that hovers indecisively at the fringe of the herd, keeping his own counsel.
ravdaboazu
I wish I could remember the word you used for the one that would lead them to the feeding grounds
aidu
and the other word for the one sure to lead them in circles.
ruomas
You could say so much with just a word
It was a matter of survival
When the temperature dropped so low
Trees explode like gunfire
And spoken words crack and tinkle to the snow like crystal
cuouga
You could make the wind shift and answer
If you called her by the right name
biegga
But that was long ago
Around another campfire
Remember the word for dry snow that covered the ice and was impossible to travel on?
lavki
That is what it feels like now
And the only words I can remember are reindeer
Eallu
and life
Eallin
I would like to catch all those words again
Sometimes they feel as close as my tongue
If I could shape it in the old ways
They rise as I am falling asleep but never break the surface
I’ll have to learn a new language
It will come slowly through observation and wisdom
I will start with your face
Learning each line and each expression
Until I have 400 words for you.
Then, I will be ready, for reindeer and snow
Robert T. Perschel
Chilmark, MA
11/5/2024
Robert (Bob) Perschel joined the New England Forestry Foundation in April 2012 and retired just this past year, in 2024, though he remains actively involved. In his 40 years as an environmental professional, he has worked on forestry, large landscape conservation, and wilderness issues. Bob worked for the forest industry before establishing his own forestry consulting business and founding the Land Ethic Institute. He then worked in leadership positions for The Wilderness Society and Forest Stewards Guild. Bob has a master’s degree in forestry from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a psychology degree from Yale College.