Dogsled mail or dog team mail is mail

Mail

Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

 carried by dogsled. This form of animal mail transport

Mail delivery by animal

Mail delivery by animals has been used in many countries throughout history. It used to be the only way to quickly transport large bundles of letters over long distances, until motorised vehicles became more widespread...

 saw limited use in the northern parts of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 during the first half of the 20th century.

In the early years of Alaska settlement, there was no regular mail service to the interior post offices during the winter months (October to May), although individuals might agree to transport letters to coastal areas. Regular service seems to have begun around the 1910s. In the 1930s, airplane

Fixed-wing aircraft

A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...

s began to be used for mail transport, but postmasters were still allowed to use dogs for "emergency mail service", and in the 1940s cachet

Cachet

In philately, a cachet is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a cancellation or pre-printed postage, on an envelope, postcard, or postal card to commemorate a postal or philatelic event. There are official and private cachets. They commemorate everything from the first flight...

s were produced reading "Alaska Dog Team Post" and depicting a team. The last regular-scheduled dog team route was shut down in 1963, when Chester Noongwook of Savoonga

Savoonga, Alaska

Savoonga is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, one of two on St Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. As of the 2000 census, Savoonga's population was 643.Savoonga was incorporated in 1969, and in 1971 became the joint owner with Gambell of the entire island....

 on St. Lawrence Island

St. Lawrence Island

St. Lawrence Island is located west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea, just south of the Bering Strait, at about 63°30' North 173°20' West. The village of Gambell is located on the northwest cape, from the Chukchi Peninsula in the Russian Far East. The island is part of Alaska, but closer to...

retired his team.

In recent years, competitive dogsled races have carried some commemorative mail.