High on Luossavaara Mountain in northern Sweden, Sami reindeer herder Lars-Marcus Kuhmunen is confronting a bleak outlook for his community, whose ancestral way of life and reindeer herds are under unprecedented pressure.
An expanding iron-ore mine and a significant rare-earth mineral deposit are fragmenting the land, disrupting ancient reindeer migration routes. This challenge is compounded by the Arctic warming at four times the global rate, leading herders to assert that their animals require increased geographic flexibility, not less, to ensure their continued survival.
