In 1893, Sheldon Jackson put ads in Scandinavian-American newspapers for "Laplanders" (Sami) skilled in reindeer management (Baiki, 2001).

Between 1894-1904, Jackson received $207,500 from Congress to fund the Reindeer Project, and in February of 1894, he sent Kjellmann to Kautokeino, Norway, to hire Sami herders. Thirteen sign up for three-year contracts (Baiki, 2001).

In 1897, Jackson wanted to form a permanent Sami colony and received funding to bring over a larger group of Sami and purchase more reindeer from the War Department (Baiki, 2001).

In 1898, one hundred and thirteen people, 539 reindeer, and 418 sleds came from Sapmi to North America on "The Manitoba Expedition" (Baiki, 2001).

In 1910, there were more than 27,000 reindeer (Baiki, 2001).

In 1915, there were 70,000 to 100,000 reindeer divided into 98 herds. 1,200 Inuit and Yup'ik own 69% of the reindeer, and the remaining 31% are owned by Sami, Lomen Company, US Government, and missions (Baiki, 2001).

In 1930, there were 500,000 reindeer (Baiki, 2001).

In 1931, Sami from Kautokeino were recruited to move a herd from Alaska to Canada. These families became "Canadian Sami" (Baiki, 2001). This was a multiyear journey to move the reindeer from Alaska to the North West Territories (CBC, 2021).

In 1935, the herd arrived in the Mackenzie River Delta in Kittigazuit, North West Territories (Baiki, 2001). The Canadian government brought the reindeer to the North West Territories to address a shortage of caribou (CBC, 2021).

In 1937, "The Reindeer Act" transferred ownership of all reindeer to Inuit under the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Baiki, 2001).

In 1959, the Canadian Reindeer Project was transferred to the Canadian Wildlife Service (Baiki, 2001).

In 1974, several Inuit purchased Canadian Reindeer Ltd (Baiki, 2001).

In 1973, the federal government announced that it would negotiate comprehensive land claims agreements with those Indigenous groups that had never signed treaties (Wilson & Alcantara, 2012).

In 1976, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada submitted a land claim on behalf of all Inuit people living in the Northwest Territories, but negotiations broke down and ended (Wilson & Alcantara, 2012).

In 1984, The Inuvialuit put in their claim, and the Inuvialuit Final Agreement was negotiated. The terms were substantial: a settlement area of 435,000 square kilometres, ownership over 91,000 square kilometres, 13,000 square kilometres of mineral rights, cash settlement was $152 million, plus one-time payments of $10 million for an economic enhancement fund and $7.5 million for a social development fund, wildlife harvesting rights across the entire settlement area, management of the region's economy, environment and social programs and the treaty stipulated that the "Inuvialuit were entitled to receive the equivalent of any self-government powers acquired by other Aboriginal groups in the Northwest Territories" (Wilson & Alcantara, 2012).

In 1997, Inuk Otto Binder bought the herd with his son Lloyd Binder, the most recently general manager of Canadian Reindeer Ltd. Otto's wife Ellen was a descendent of the Sami who brought the original herd to the Northwest Territories (Baiki, 2001).

In 2021, the Inuvialuit Final Agreement led to the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation purchasing the "Canadian Reindeer Herd" to support local employment and food security (CBC, 2021).

In 2021, the Country Food Processing Plant, for processing traditional foods and reindeer, was set up in its permanent location in Inuvik and training courses were held on management and operational skills of the plant (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, n.d.).