Indigenous peoples of Taimyr: “The right to live on their own land”

Abstract

The main source for the preparation of the article was the field materials collected by the authors in Taimyr in April ― May 2021. The in-depth interviews obtained during the expeditionary research, coupled with a blitz sur-vey, reveal the problems and reasons for the difficult economic and ethno-cultural situation of indigenous peoples in their own interpretation. For a long time, inaccessibility of Taimyr contributed to the preservation of its surface and underground resources, which supported the existence of the traditional economic complexes of five indige-nous peoples (Dolgans, Nenets, Nganasans, Evenks, Enets). The beginning of the active development of the Taimyr Arctic by industrial companies in the last decade has become a challenge for the indigenous population: all ethno-preserving industries ― hunting for wild reindeer, fishing, reindeer breeding ― have been threatened. The sharp decline of wild reindeer population in Taimyr is perceived by local residents as a catastrophe. Among the main reasons, along with the deterioration of the environmental situation associated with the accidents at the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant and the appearance of new subsoil users in the Taimyr tundras, poaching and shooting of wild reindeer by local residents that significantly exceeds the quotas are listed. The measures taken by the state (quotas for hunting wild deer and fishing, social benefits) do not solve the problems of preserv-ing the traditional nature management and lifestyle, with which the indigenous population of Taimyr is directly connected by the ideas of “the right to work”, “the right to live on one's own land” and “the right to identity”. De-spite the insignificance of the preferences, benefits for people leading the traditional way of life are causing dis-content in the ethnic communities. The growth of social tension is also due to the chronic problem of unemploy-ment and a deplorable state of many Taimyr villages, the prospect of preserving of which directly depends on the state of the biological resources.