Eskimo owning deer in 1908 number 171 with average herd size being 52 head. Five Laplanders own 2,685 head. Natives outside the Reindeer Service begin purchasing reindeer as an investment during this period. Salaries and supplies received by employed herders and apprentices are now in the form of reindeer. Natives owning deer number 260 by June 30.
Missions begin selling deer to Natives for cash payment.
Reindeer program continues as an integral part of the educational system, with district superintendents of schools also being superintendents of the Reindeer Service, and local school teachers serving as local reindeer supervisors. Government and mission ownership of deer declines during the period, with Lapp herds increasing in size. The Lomen family of Nome purchased 1,200 reindeer from Alfred Nilima, a Laplander living in the Kotzebue Sound area. The period of winter reindeer fairs and the beginning of effort by Reindeer Service employees to urge the formation of village reindeer associations and cooperatives. Native owners number 1,293 by 1916.