Paper short abstract:

Herding and hunting are often considered as antagonistic practices. Herding tends to be associated with a domestic area, whereas hunting is strongly linked with the wild taïga. In between, the herd grazes at a certain distance from the tents, but no too far as well.

Paper long abstract:

Herding and hunting are the two main activities of the Eveny of Yakutia (Russian Federation). From daily interactions with their reindeer, such as riding, milking, etc. some animals tend to be closer to the tents than other, socially and spatially. At the opposite, wild reindeer live far from the camps and are considered as game. The literature on Siberian populations or human-animal relationships leads to the idea of the classical two fields and categories such as "domestic" and "wild" to understand the way populations treat their animals and territories. By the description of the relationships and herding techniques, not with one animal, but the whole herd, I suggest here a different way to understand human-environment in relationships, to exceed the dualistic conception of territories and animals.