Its noon and -37C on Chukotka peninsula. A blistering wind slices across the tundra. In the magnificent landscape of Russia’s Arctic Circle, just across the Bering Strait from Alaska, 72-year-old patriarch Vukvukai leads his Indigenous Chukchi family in caring for their herd of 14,000 reindeer. Living in isolation except for their wind-up two-way radio and occasional visits from traders in tank-like snow vehicles, the family depends on their reindeer for food, shelter and clothing. Through the seasons, unflagging Vukvukai alternates between chuckling and barking orders at his sons and grandchildren, instilling in them the practical knowledge and spiritual traditions that have allowed the Chuckchi to survive for thousands of years in one of the harshest environments in the world. Subtly directed by Aleksei Vakrushev, an award-winning Inuk filmmaker from Chukotka, The Tundra Book provides a rare and stunning glimpse into a world still intertwined with the oldest rhythms of life.
The Tundra Book was broadcast on NITV at Sunday 20 March 2016, 12:30. This episode was initially placed on Monday 26 May 2014.