CC BY
30Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 5 (2010 3) 649-666
y^K 397.4
Protection and Development of the Indigenous Peoples Living
in Circumpolar Territories:
Cultural and Anthropological Analysis
Natalia P. Koptseva*, Natalia N. Pimenova and Kseniya V. Reznikova
Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041 Russia 1
Received 6.10.2010, received in revised form 13.10.2010, accepted 20.10.2010
Today culture of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region goes through many transformations connected with globalization. Ethno-cultural groups of the northern peoples gradually lose their unicity and identity; their languages and traditional religion die. Active acculturation processes proceed. The Government of the Russian Federation and the administration of RF subject, the united Krasnoyarsk region, develop legal mechanisms connected with protection of traditional management of nature and unique culture of the northern ethnic groups. Cultural anthropology has vast instrumental, methodical, and methodological potentials for the study of culture of the peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region. Evolutionism, diffusionism, structural functionalism, and structural anthropology could be applied to the study of that culture. Now Russian science has an active discussion concerning the social-demographic and cultural future of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North ofKrasnoyarsk region. On the one hand, the researchers fix many socio-economic and socio-cultural problems connected with unemployment, low income, and specific diseases; on the other hand, cultural existence of the northern ethnic groups is impossible without original habitat and traditional ways of management of nature connected with reindeer-breeding, fishery, hunting, and herborization.
The system model of reproduction of complex social systems (ethnocultural groups of the indigenous peoples living in the North and Siberia) can be formed through methodology of contemporary cultural anthropology oriented to applied research (including ethnographic field studies) and theoretical generalization of the empirically obtained data.
Keywords: Ethnos, indigenous peoples living in the North, Krasnoyarsk region, cultural anthropology.
The work is carried out with the financial support of the federal purpose oriented programme «Scientific and scientific-pedagogic staff in innovative Russia for 2009-2013» concerning the problem «Culture of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North in the situation of global transformations: foresight research until 2050 based on the materials of analysis of the Yakut ethnos» held within the framework of the event 1.2.1 «Scientific investigations carried out by research groups guided by doctors of science».
The work is carried out with the financial support of the grant of Krasnoyarsk regional fund for the support of scientific and scientific-and-technological activities.
* Corresponding author E-mail address: decanka@mail.ru
1 © Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved
1. Introduction to the problem
Scantiness of resource prospecting and continuing industrial and economic development of Asian countries (China, India, etc.) will bring about the fact that the Arctic zone and circumpolar territories will become a point of political, economic, social and cultural expansion of the greatest world powers (USA, Russia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, etc.) in the nearest 10-20 years. Such an expansion will be displayed in a wide spread of industrial kinds of activity, new styles of life and value systems, considerable migrant inflow and spreading of new social and cultural standards in the circumpolar territories.
At the same time, there will be intensification of «Western civilization pressure» (information channels - TV, Internet, etc.) including translation of Western values, life styles and norms of consumption, first and foremost, intended to form values of «consumer society» of the young generation.
All these factors can bring about considerable narrowing of «living space» of the North peoples and the situation of «cultural and value occupation» bringing them to the brink of dissipation (in two or three generations).
Great social and economic as well as social and cultural changes, which can critically modify existence conditions of the North peoples, will take place in the territory of the Russian North in the nearest 10-20 years. Thus, according to the Strategy of social and economic development of the Far East and Baikal region for the period until 2025 worked out by RF Government, it is expected an increase of GRP of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in almost 8,5 times in comparison with that one in 2005. Such an increase will be provided due to realization of the big resource mining and transport projects, which will determine industrial development of republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Today 40 small groups of the North peoples densely live in 28 subjects of the Russian Federation. In this connection, it should be remarked that, in general, there has been formed a legal base for protection of rights and traditional way of life of the small groups of indigenous peoples in Russia. Our country is a party to international treaties in this sphere. According to RF Constitution, the questions of protection of original habitat and traditional way of life of small groups of ethnic communities belong to the authorities of the Russian Federation and RF subjects. It follows that protection of rights of small groups of the peoples in this sphere is to be implemented not only at the federal level, but also at the regional one.
The federal law dated the 6th of October, 1999, № 184-FL «On general principles of organization of legislative (representative) agency of State power of subjects of the Russian Federation» determining mechanisms of demarcation between capabilities of the federal agencies and those ones of regional organs of State power concerning the objects under collaborative authority, fixes specification of capabilities of agencies of State power of RF subjects implemented by those agencies self-sufficiently at the expense of the budget funds of RF subjects (without an allowance for subventions from federal budget). The powers mentioned include those ones in the sphere of «organization and providing for protection of original habitat and traditional way of life of the small groups of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation» (subitem 54, item 2, article 26.3). The significant thing is that the governmental authorities of RF subject have the right to adopt laws and other normative acts concerning the questions mentioned including regional programs irrespective of the appropriate provisions determining the right in federal laws.
Today specification of powers in organization and provision of protection of original habitat and
traditional way of life of small groups of indigenous peoples is implemented in a series of federal laws. And the most general specification of powers of federal, regional and local authorities in the sphere considered has been fixed in the Federal law «Guarantee of rights of small groups of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation».
Besides, the measures of state backing (benefits, subsidies, quotas for utilization of natural resources) are legislatively confirmed. The benefits for representatives of the small groups of indigenous peoples of the North living in the traditional areas of their residence and dealing with their traditional economic activities are provided by the appropriate Codes of the Russian Federation.
There have been realized three federal purpose-oriented programs as well as many regional special programs and subprograms of social and economic development of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North for the last 15 years. Those programs were to form conditions for their stable development at the expense of federal budgetary funds, budgetary means of subjects of the Russian Federation and extra-budgetary accounts. There have been federally budgeted subsidies for the budget funds of subjects of the Russian Federation to maintain North reindeer-breeding and livestock breeding.
But we should remark that there must be introduced some modifications in the existing legislation, in particular, land legislation (establishment of free immediate use of pieces of land for traditional management of nature implemented by the small groups of the North peoples), Federal law «On general principles of organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation» (establishment of powers of organs of local self-government concerning protection of original habitat and traditional way of life of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North), fishing and animal kingdom
legislation (priority in access to fishing grounds and hunts, water resources and animals for small groups of the North peoples).
We should pay special attention to the fact that today the Concept of stable development of the small groups of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation ratified by RF government decree dated the 4th of February, 2009, № 132-r is one of the fundamental documents both for the federation and its regions.
The aim of the Concept is provision of conditions to form stable development of the small groups of indigenous peoples of the North in the Russian Federation on the basis of strengthening of their social and economic potential with protection of original habitat, traditional way of life and cultural values of those peoples. The Concept is to be implemented in three stages for 2009-2025.
The first stage (2009-2011) implies realization of the complex of essential measures providing for development of the legal base in the sphere of protection of rights of the small groups of peoples living in the North. It includes improvement of the terminology applied in normative legal acts regulating the questions of guarantee of the rights and traditional way of management of nature; improvement of differentiation of subjects under the authority and powers of organs of government and bodies of local government; guarantee of priority access to fishery and hunting areas, water biological resources and animals for the small groups of indigenous peoples; free limited use of pieces of land for traditional way of management of nature for the small groups of the peoples living in the North; approval of list of places of traditional habitat and economic activities of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North; development and approval of methods of calculation of the loss inflicted on the original habitat of the small groups of peoples living in the North by the managing subjects.
The second stage (2012-2015) involves continuation of realization of the measures for creation of conditions for stable development of the small groups of peoples living in the North.
It is planned to create essential conditions for employment of representatives of the small groups of peoples living in the North in traditional branches of economic activities, in ethno-tourism, ecological tourism, and organization of the works in forest restoration, land-utilization, and conservation of nature as well as monitoring of condition of environment in the region of traditional habitat and economic activities. The efforts of the state in national staff training for the work in budgetary sphere will make an increase of a proportion of country doctors and teachers among the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North.
Implementation of the measures of the second stage will be resulted in positive demographic tendencies achieved among the majority of small groups of the indigenous peoples living in the North including an increase of index of expected lifetime and an increase of summary birth rate in 1.3 times in comparison with 2007 and fall of death rate among one-year old children in 1.5 times as compared with 2007.
The conditions for stable development of the small groups of peoples living in the North will be formed in the third stage (2016-2025). They include effective mechanisms of conservations of original habitat and traditional way of life, completion of modernization of traditional economic activities and the whole social sphere (system of education, medical care, culture) in the places of traditional habitat and economic activities.
The results of realization of the measures of the third stage for 2025 imply average indexes of quality of life of the small groups of peoples living in the North and also fall of death rated
of one-year old children in no less than twice in comparison with 2007.
Thus, today the state has come to understanding that more exact appointment and distinction of powers of federal, regional, and local authorities are required, which will help to avoid unjustified duplication of powers and determine amenability of each level of power implementation in protection of legal status of the small groups of indigenous peoples. Today the legal base of subjects of the Federation (the territories of living of small groups of the indigenous peoples) essentially differs in number of normative acts intended for organization and protection of original habitat and traditional way of life of the small groups of indigenous peoples and it also differs in content of the rights given to the small groups of indigenous peoples. This brings about significant and not always justified differences in determination of legal status of the small groups of indigenous peoples in the Russian Federation.
The problems endangering reproduction and existence of the North ethnic groups are connected with three huge «waves» of civilization and economic development:
1) The wave of new industrialization is connected with the activity of big Russian, foreign and transnational corporations (mainly resource mining) in the territory of original habitat of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North;
2) The wave of modernization development is connected with innovative and technological projects of RF Government and business and with development of production and services characteristic of the postindustrial phase;
3) The West civilization wave is generated by the world subjects (the Governments of the USA and countries of European zone). It is based on the practice of «culture and values occupation» with the wide use of humanitarian postmodern
technologies directed to destruction of culture of the traditional communities and formation of the global society of «total consumption».
All the three «waves of development» mentioned above create conditions when the forms of economic management characteristic of the North peoples, social organization, mechanisms of translation of national culture, value system, mental dominants, and «national character» undergo «survival test». The problem is:
- «erosion» of economic reality of the North ethnic groups against the backdrop of large development of natural resources by big corporations in the North territories;
- intensification of social and ecological problems connected with contraction of traditional kinds of activities and failure of full integration into the formed industrial and postindustrial reality;
- the ethnic identity lost by the young people and its «separation» from the national culture (the loss of language, special ethnic forms of communication and behaviour, and national values under pressure of mass culture and values of «consumer society»);
- «destruction of gene pool» as a result of migration, birth rate failing in the increase of urbanization processes, medical and social problems.
The world experience shows brittleness of the North ethnic groups in the face of industrial and postindustrial civilizations, great risk of «marginalization» of those ethnic groups, and «reduction» of their significance in development of the humankind to the role of conserved «relicts» under wardship.
At the same time, the vast development of natural resources in the North territories of the Russian Federation and formation of innovative
economy sector including activities of Siberian Federal University, North (Arctic) Federal University, and North-East Federal University make principal possibilities of «progress» in development of the North peoples. It is also possible to form an economic model which will afford to strengthen financial and economic basis of existence and development of the peoples. The growth of scale and variety of production and services as well as social and cultural activities makes a «window of possibilities» for enlargement of «competence set» of representatives of small groups of the indigenous peoples living in the North and formation of its «social and human capital assets».
The «window of possibilities» is going to be maintained for the nearest 5-10 years. It affords to carry out a complex analysis of the formed social and economic and social and cultural situation, to work out a system strategy and a special programme package providing for protection and new historic positioning of the peoples living in the North including the Yakut ethnos.
It is necessary:
• to specify the tendencies of change of life conditions of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of the Russian Federation;
• to mark out critical situations in economy, culture, and social sphere;
• to determine perspective technologies of social and cultural reproduction of an ethnos and social and humanitarian technologies of human development;
• to formulate essential administrative decisions which are to be concretized in the strategy and program of social and cultural development of small groups of the indigenous peoples living in the North of Russia.
It seems that these problems could be successfully solved by means of the approaches
and methods of contemporary cultural anthropology [5; 6].
2. Methodological potential of evolutionism
Evolutionism is the earliest trend in cultural anthropology, which accentuated not a single ethnic community as it was but considered various ethnocultural groups only in the context of the general progressive development of human culture when a certain ethnic population was just a step towards the transformation of savagery into civilization through barbarity and when every population was characterized by one of three types of thinking: magic, religious or scientific. There was paid special attention to the problematics of the unity of human psychology and, on this basis, the intention to reduce all the variety of human cultures to a set of some elementary ideas characteristic of the humankind. Evolutionism gave birth to the idea of the society as a living organism and there were first efforts to draw harmonious analogies between them.
Having taken the position of evolutionism, one can classify every ethnic population by putting it on one of the stages: savagery - barbarity -civilization; magic - science -religion; early or late period of human history; prevalence of consanguineous relations, poolanual, syndiasmic, polygamous or monogamous families; one can also try to distinguish a set of elementary ideas characteristic of a certain ethnic culture. Evolutionism implies comparison between several cultures with distinguished common and different features for positioning of the cultures considered in the evolutionary scale. Besides specification of a place of a certain culture in reference to others, the elements of every culture can be also classified from the point of evolutionism, for example, to divide them into three groups according to three main systems of organs of a human body. Having
studied the rituals existing as symbolic forms of behaviour today, one can reconstruct the real forms of life in the past.
The evolutionists paid special attention to two basic characteristics of ethnocultural groups: the unity of psychology and culture. The specificity of turning to the unity of psychology was that the evolutionists accentuated not that unity in reference to the humankind as a whole, but in reference to every ethnos. Having based on this conclusion, they could enunciate the theory of progressive development of the humankind comparing different ethnic communities with each other. The researchers-evolutionists considering the problematics of culture paid their attention mainly to matrimonial and religious relations. We cannot help remarking the fact that evolutionist H. Spencer similizing the human society to a living organism and distinguishing two groups of factors influencing on its development attributed geographical environment to external factors and racial differences to internal factors. He mentioned neither geographical factor nor racial differentiation as the basic characteristics of an ethnos, but he underscored the importance of their influence on formation of ethnocultural groups.
3. Methodological potential of diffusionism
Diffusionism concentrated one's attention on the material component of culture when a human being was considered to have been just a carrier and «feet» of culture, and the main place was taken by things existence or absence of which made the researchers-diffusionists speak about the origin of culture, ways of its appearance, and character of its interaction with other cultures. Diffusionism set a goal to find out the ways of displacement of cultural elements, time frames of those processes, composition of schemes and maps of those displacements, and classification
of cultures on the basis of concurrence of cultural articles. The principle of geographical determinacy was fundamental in consideration of the question about origin of cultural articles. The articles once appearing were discussed in the most radical cases. The diffusionists were interested in mechanisms of spreading of cultural articles no less than in the centre of their origin. There were pointed out wars, conquests, colonization, trade, and voluntary adoption as the key processes of spreading of culture. The diffusionists actively worked out the theory of cultural circles or cultural areas, which allowed them to reveal both the ways of spreading of culture and approximately show the consistency of that process. Besides the theory of cultural areas, there were pointed out two branches of diffusionism: invasionism, where important changes of a culture were connected with invasion of carriers of a more developed culture, and the theory of cultural centre, from the point of which there was a single centre of culture giving the waves of missionary elite spreading fine culture everywhere.
Keeping to the diffusionist point of view in carrying out of a contemporary research into ethnic communities, itemizing cultural articles of an ethnos considered and mapping it, one can try to define allied cultures by making an effort to distinguish the cultures as a source of cultural borrowings and the cultures, which later adopted cultural articles and ideas by means of the ethnic community studied. One can also try to designate the initial sources of origin of some cultural articles, to trace their ways of coming to a culture considered and, besides, to point out the articles autochthonous for a certain ethnos.
4. Methodological potential
of structural functionalism
The fundamental change attributed to functionalism is supposed to be a transition
from diachrony to synchrony in social studies. The functionalists thought that every culture was a system of the institutes provided with certain functions. Their attention was mainly concentrated on the processes of functioning. Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski and Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown are to be called two chief representatives of functionalist school.
Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski concentrated his scientific activity upon such fundamental characteristic of an ethnos as culture. And he accentuated its significance, perhaps, more than the former cultural anthropologists had done up to the fact that his conception could be rightly designated as cultural determinism as far as, according to B.K. Malinowski, only culture is an apparatus of satisfaction of human needs as absolutely general and maximally overall principle and mechanism of culture. It is also worth to remark that if B.K. Malinowski's ideas of culture as an apparatus of satisfaction of human needs and a hierarchized system of those needs can be criticized, the methodological way suggested and tested by B.K. Malimowski is undoubtedly positive. It lies in the turn from desk study of culture to field study of imponderabilia of real life. Only field studies are to guide a researcher and must become materials for verification of advanced scientific hypotheses.
Like many cultural anthropologists predecessors, Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown concentrated his attention on culture as a basic ethno-formative unity. He demarcated ethnology from social anthropology by differentiation of the approaches and methods of study of culture. In point of fact, he posited and even cemented the methodological thesis about division of approaches to study of culture into hypothetic or ethnological and functional or social and anthropological. Since ethnological method of cultural studies is not always effective because
of the lack of the necessary historical materials, according to A.R. Radcliffe-Brown, the more important method is social and anthropological, which helps to deduce general functional laws of culture on the basis of the phenomena of social life straightforwardly observed.
As the founders of functionalism in cultural anthropology,B.K.MalinowskiandA.R.Radcliffe-Brown kept to the following key principles of the field studied. Firstly, an ethnographer must spend several years intensively carrying out field studies among the representatives of an ethnic community researched. Secondly, he must learn the native language in order a translator couldn't falsify the data; it is necessary to communicate with the aboriginals every day they could get accustomed to a researcher and couldn't pay attention to him as a foreign object. Thirdly, it is necessary to concentrate on the interaction of all the phenomena in the community studied. Fourthly, a researcher must give his attention not only to the facts attracting him but, on the contrary, to everyday course of life. Fifthly, data about structure and functions of one or another institute can be obtained only from real observation.
Like the majority of researchers in cultural anthropology, Edward Evans-Pritchard, paying special attention to the study of culture of the peoples, deviated from description and analysis of the data derived from the life of ethnic communities and concentrated on the study of idioms of those communities trying to understand the principles of comprehension of life activity by the communities by means of analysis of the models of relations between people. E. Evans-Pritchard perceived cultural anthropology mainly as a descriptive discipline aimed at interpretation and adequate comprehension of other cultures, but not at deduction of some general and overall theories. E. Evans-Pritchard believed that anthropology
was to be closely connected with history, and he spoke for the necessity of combining of diachronic and synchronic principles of study of human communities. Like E. Evans-Pritchard, E.R. Lych refused endeavour to understand the overall laws functioning in human communities. He made efforts to comprehend not only a spoken language of a nationality explored but, most of all, the mode of its life to understand the essence of the objects studied and to translate it into the language of a reader. E.R. Lych thought that field research work was to combine both synchronic and diachronic aspects.
5. Methodological potential
of structural anthropology
One of the most important questions the answer of which was sought by science of the 20th century was the necessity to find out what thing is more primary: a language or consciousness (culture). Here cultural anthropology cooperated with linguistics very closely. According to one of the hypotheses named after its founders Edward Sapir (1884-1939) («Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech») and Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941) (collected works «Language, Thought, and Reality»), language prevails over consciousness and culture for the world is chaos without regulatory efficacy of a linguistic system. A linguistic system is to organize experience of a group, to form its ideas and to orient its conscious activity. According to B.L. Whorf, «time», «space», «object» and other fundamental categories of thinking are variously represented in languages, and knowledge of one or another human community about the world depends on the language of that community. The logical consequence of this hypothesis is a statement that the number of languages makes a corresponding number of ideas about the world. Thus, Sapir-Whorf's hypothesis contains two basic theses: the first one is an idea of linguistic
determinism, the other - an idea of linguistic relativism.
Besides the linguists, who worked out the mentioned conception, the British anthropologist Jack Goody (1919-2009) demonstrated that the way of thinking and activity is influenced by dependence factor formed not by the use of a spoken language but by a written language as one of the sources of development of logic and formalization, etc.
The close interaction between linguists and cultural anthropology took place in structural cultural anthropological school. The origin of structural linguistics is connected with Ferdinand de Saussure's (1857-1913) activity, who, criticizing the former traditional linguistics, which had searched for lingual connections and hierarchy of languages, stated that a language in every moment of its existence was a certain organized construction called a system by de Saussure. De Saussure resorted to two approaches: diachronic, directed to the study of a language from the point of its transformation in time, and synchronic corresponding to condition of a language at a certain moment. The latter approach was preferred by de Saussure's disciples who thought a language to have been a system arrangement of the elements where any change of one element brought about a change of the system for all the elements of the system were interconnected.
Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) is considered to be a founder of structural anthropological school. C. Levi-Strauss rested on the principles of empiric descriptions of English and American anthropology, on the theoretical models of French social science, and on linguistic researches in his investigations. He defined the study of universal structures of human mind as the aim of structural anthropology. There can be pointed out three main stages in C. Levi-Strauss' scientific activity: firstly, analysis of structural
organization of primitive tribes; secondly, improvement of conceptual apparatus of structural anthropology; thirdly, scrutiny of specific features of «savage thinking» and comparative analysis of the American Indians' myths for the purpose of more detailed and profound study of universal structures in human subconsciousness.
C. Levi-Strauss sought for variety of myths, rites, and customs, to reveal the universal structure of human mind or mental structure in his works. The method, which he called structural analysis, examined synchronous processes but, from the author's point of view, it didn't mean that he turned away from history. That researcher's theoretical contribution to formation of structural method is unique as well as elaboration of the conceptions revealing the mechanisms of functioning of «untamed thought» in nonliterate culture, especially in semantic field of myths. The characteristic feature of structural approach to sign-oriented systems is intention of conscious manipulation with signs, verbs, images, and symbols to discover deep unconscious structures and concealed mechanisms of those systems. From the point of structuralism, turning to the study of such structures of the unconscious provides scientific objectivity of a research, which affords to prescind from «subject» concept or to conceive it as a secondary form derived from those structures. C. Levi-Strauss attached special importance to resources of mathematic modeling applied to ethnographic materials [9; 10; 11; 12].
In C. Levi-Strauss' opinion, to carry out scientific research, one should firstly prepare a maximally full list of particular special facts; the second stage implies ascertainment of interconnections and interrelations between them and grouping of them; the third stage of a research should be synthesizing of all facts and relations as one whole. It looks like following in terms of the study of theory of society: C. Levi-Strauss
primarily proceeds from the model of lingual interrelations, then he ascertains an appropriate structure of kindred relations, after that he creates a theory of thinking, then he proceeds to the theory of myths and, at last, to creation of a theory of society. Analyzing structures of relationship, C. Levi-Strauss concluded that the core of «relationship» term proceeds not from concrete content, but from contraposition and difference from other terms, i.e. the essence of «relationship» term directly depends on the position in structure, to which it belongs. According to C. Levi-Strauss, like a system of language, a system of kindred relationship is synchronous, and its functioning should be studied in a certain moment since a change of one element of the system brings about a change of the whole system.
The problematics of antecedence of language or culture allowed the researchers E. Sapir and B.L. Whorf to create the theory with such two key conceptual theses as, firstly, the idea of linguistic determinism and, secondly, the idea of linguistic relativism. The important points of structural linguistics were the ideas that language represented a certain organized construction at every moment, and a change of one element indispensably brought about a change of the whole system. C. Levi-Strauss' perception of culture was analogous: like the system of language, the system of kindred relations is synchrony, the functioning of which should be researched at a certain moment of time, since a change of one of the components of such synchrony brings about a change of the total whole. Attaching special importance to the potentials of mathematic modeling applied to ethnographic materials, C. Levi-Strauss sought for discovery of universal structures of human mind by the study of myths, rites, and customs, i.e. the researcher tried to reveal deeply unconscious structures and concealed mechanisms of those systems in conscious manipulation with signs, words, images, and symbols.
6. Territorial and demographic data on the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North of Krasnoyarsk region in the Russian Federation. The situation in the united region (after 2007)
Krasnoyarsk region is currently a united region including Evenk and Taimyr (Dolgan-Nenets) autonomous areas, which obtained the status of municipal districts in 2007. Today the North areas of the region are: Taimyr and Evenk municipal districts and Turukhan area.
As early as in the 1920s, there was pointed out a particular population group living in very hard climatic conditions, characterized by its paucity and traditional way of life. It was called small indigenous peoples. There are about 40 SIP living in the North, Siberian, and Far East areas.
The small groups of indigenous peoples living in Krasnoyarsk region are: the Dolgans, the Kets, the Nganasan, the Nents, the Selkups, the Chulymts, the Evenks, and the Ents. The representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples live in the North areas of the region and in Tukhtetsk area (the Chulymts).
According to the published official data of All-Russian population census in 2002, the ethnic situation of the region hasn't had any changes since 1999 (the previous population census). The changes of ethnic situation took place only in connection with realization of the program of the united region: the Nents and the Ents living in Taymir municipal district (the former autonomous area) joined the ethnic variety of Krasnoyarsk region as SIPN.
Because of the disintegration of the USSR, it became impossible to find out how many representatives of the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North are beyond its borders. As the analysts of the Federal State Statistics Service claim [4], it could be seen by the results
as early as in 1989 that the representatives of SIPN quite widely settled beyond the areas of their original habitat. That process began to develop differently since 1990. In some cases, SIPN population increased in the areas of original habitat, which could be explained by the policy of the regional authorities in relation to the small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North after enactment of the law of legal status of SIPN, SIP and SIPN lists adopted by RF Government, and allotment of «family lands» and other benefits. But at the same time, there was a considerable population outflow from the North to the central parts of Russia in 1990s, and that explains the decrease of a number of the small groups of indigenous peoples in some RF subjects.
Population density of the North areas has the smallest rates in the context of other regions of Russia by reason of paucity of the indigenous population and hardness of climatic conditions. According to the data of the Federal State Statistics Service [26], population density of circumpolar territories including Krasnoyarsk region for the 1st of January, 2009, has the smallest rate in Russia with 0.07-10.00 men per 1 square km.
Having summed up the results of the population census in 2002 in comparison with the situations fixed by the population counts in 1979, 1989, and 1999, the analysts estimated the change in number of the indigenous population in some regions of Russia as follows: they touched age composition of the population - a number of people younger than employable age including children has declined; a number of people capable for work and men older than employable age has grown. These proportions are different for various peoples. The proportion of the dead aged less than 60 among the representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples living in the North makes 70 % versus 30 % on the average in Russia. The consequence is little weight of
the group older than employable age - tree times lower than the rate in Russia in whole.
The proportion between men and women among SIPN remains traditional: the number of women prevails. Like in Russia on the whole, the North men reach old age much rarely than women do.
The urban population of the North indigenous peoples has grown: from 29.6 % to 31 %. 13 groups from 26 nationalities have an increase of urban population, and 13 groups have a decrease [4].
An interesting fact is that there is an increase in SIPN population in whole Russia in spite of the stable opinion about «extinction tendency» for those peoples [1; 21; 24]. The researchers studying the demographic situation of the North have different opinions. Some of them (E.A. Pivneva, F.S. Donskoy) claim that the peoples living in the North have a negative tendency, i.e. decrease of population, while the others, founding on the data of the last population census, state the contrary and call the stable idea of SIPN «extinction» a myth arising from the thesis about inevitable decrease of a number of the North peoples starting from the times of Tsar Russia. Nevertheless, those researchers (D.D. Bogoyavlenskyi, Z.P. Sokolova, V.V. Stepanov) point at the problem still acutely actual for the majority of the North peoples - very high death rate, and that doesn't afford to call the demographic situation of SIPN «reasonably optimistic» [1; 19].
The data on mortality of the indigenous peoples living in the North speak for its increase by 42 %, which exceeds the death rate of «arriving population» in twice or thrice (the period is not mentioned), and, according to the data of the source, duration of life is lower by 20 years than the average rate in Russia: only 6 % of population reach retirement age [13].
The indigenous population's death rate is generally inclined to the worse trend according to the regional and republican indexes: it exceeded
the average regional rate by 1.7-2.1 times in Krasnoyarsk region (Turukhan, Enisey, and North Eniseysk areas) and by 2.3-2.7 times in the North territories in 1990-1996 [17]. There can be fixed that the indigenous peoples living in the North have the highest child death rate in Russia: child mortality made 40.3 for 1000 newborns in Evenk autonomous area in 1999 [17].
According to the data given by the Ministry of Health, the main reasons of death rate of the adult indigenous peoples living in the North are blood circulation diseases, malignant tumours, also accidents, traumas, and intoxications [22]. The high death rate of small groups of indigenous peoples living in Krasnoyarsk region is also brought about by accidents, traumas, and intoxications - 19.5 % in 1995 (according to the data of North Affairs Office in the administration of Krasnoyarsk region in the Russian Federation).
The distinctive invariable feature of the mortality model of the North indigenous peoples for the past decades is also high death rate because of unnatural reasons such as murders and suicides. These causes of death steadily take the second place and the first place in some regions in the general structure of mortality of the small groups of indigenous peoples. The violent death rate is especially high for the men of 15-19, 2024, and 25-29 age groups - more than 80 % of all deaths.
The researchers exploring SIPN demographic situation find the causes of such rates in alcoholism widely spread in the North territories. Almost all the North territories of the Russian Federation take the leading place in alcoholism and alcoholic psychosis rates though, according to the operative data of RF Ministry of Health, it is possible to mention a positive dynamics of their decline in quantity in 1998-1999.
According to the published official data of the Federal State Statistics Service [26] for 2008, like the majority of circumpolar territories,
Krasnoyarsk region has average alcoholism and alcohol psychosis rates: 14.6-20.1 for 1000 men. But these territories most often have regions with the highest alcoholism rates in Russia: 25.1-55.4 for 1000 men.
The same situation connected with narcotic addiction among the North peoples is noted by the researchers while, according to the data of the Federal State Statistics Service, the number of addicts is the smallest for the whole region in 2008: 0.2-1.1 for 1000 men. As the researchers and analytical publicists currently remark, the problems connected with alcoholism and narcomania among the indigenous peoples are acutely displayed in the North urban environment, and very often in intensive communication with «arriving» population. Perhaps, it can be the reason why the representatives of aboriginal peoples want to leave large multinational towns for their «family lands».
In the past decade, there can be observed reversion to the dangers of mortality increase for the North peoples because of contagions and parasitosis borne down due to the organized medical care system in the North territories in the second half of the 20th century. Sickness rate estimated through resort to medical aid among the North peoples is lower than in other regions, but the data of medical examinations carried out in some regions show that the real sickness rate among the northerners is considerably higher. Difficulties in getting medical care (in some regions) and the lack of culture of health maintenance taking place during the 20th century bring about the fact that the indigenous peoples often resort to medical aid only in critical cases. That's why a distinctive feature of disease incidence of the indigenous peoples is disease chronicity.
According to the data of RF State Statistics Committee for 1999, the leading place is taken by diseases of respiratory organs (48 %), the second
place - traumas and intoxications (9 %), the third place - diseases of digestion organs, contagions and parasitosis (6 %) for all age groups in the regions of SIPN's habitat.
The high level of diseases of respiratory organs among the population of the North shows the pernicious influence of cultural effect on the environment (air, water) and indigenous peoples caused by industrial emissions of large enterprises in the North territories. Published concrete data on damage caused to environment by the enterprises in the North territories cannot be found, and the reports on the matter are of publicist character [16; 15; 23] or have a part of project propositions [18; 2].
According to the data given by Federal State Statistics Service, it is known that discharge volume of polluted wastewaters on the surface water bodies in Krasnoyarsk region made the 4th from 6 rates in Russia in 2008 - from 200.1 to 500 millions cubic metres (the 6th rate is more than 1500 millions cubic metres) [26]. Some researches fix specific functions of the North on a world and state scale; the function of planetary biosphere is the leading one. The function of planetary biosphere (climatic, demographic, and conservative) is formed by the circumstances that the North Russian areas are a part of the largest wood massif among other countries of the world; it essentially influences on distribution of carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water in the Northern Hemisphere and also includes the largest water artery - the Enisey river flowing into the Arctic Ocean [8].
Still specificity of the northern extractive industry cannot deny intrusion of cultural factor upon environmental and climatic space of the North and way of life of the indigenous peoples living there. Its effect has nidal character. The biggest center of anthropogenic effect is the industrial junction Norilsk and its satellites Talnakh and Kayerkan together with the
transport corridor Norilsk-Dudinka-Messoyakha as a way of life-support system of the junction. Destructive anthropogenic and cultural factors have caused ill effects on all the elements of natural complex in the area of Norilsk mining-and-metallurgical plant. Ecological condition of the complex is estimated as close to catastrophe for almost all the components of environment -air, water, soil, and flora - are destroyed to a great extent (quantitative and comparative data are not given). The similar smaller centres can be pointed in the area of the Angara river (along the watercourse) and particularly in the building area of Boguchansk hydro-electric power station.
Thus, the data provided by official statistics and some research works show negative tendencies in SIPN demography and state of health: sickness rate doesn't decline; diseases traditionally pass into chronic stages; death rate remains high including child and employable men mortality; lifetime decreases. High incidence rate of SIPN representatives is provoked by such factors as social strain (the result of alcoholism spread) and worsened ecological state caused by deficient plan of industrial management of nature. The birthrate data vary. Nevertheless, there was fixed population growth among the indigenous peoples in population census in 2002. Some researchers are inclined to explain this phenomenon by the changes of ethnic consciousness, which took place from 1999 till 2002, since the results of the population census are based only on attribution of a concrete person to a certain ethnic group, i.e. on «self-attribution» and comprehension of oneself as a representative of a certain nationality. Statistical accounting of the indigenous peoples is disposed to be subjected to various «noises» because of paucity of those peoples; even minor changes of the population size is to be estimated as weighty in this case, and changes of ethnic consciousness are of great importance here.
7. The connection between the population of Krasnoyarsk region and its territory: ethno-ecology
The scientists fix a vast landscape variety of the North of Krasnoyarsk region. There are several zones of nature here: arctic desert, tundra, forest tundra, and far northern taiga. The animal kingdom is peculiar in those areas. The arctic fauna is characterized by relatively high density with a limited number of species.
The fauna of the northern areas of the region is also rich: lots of birds (guillemots, auks, gulls, etc.) questing in the sea build their nests on the coast and islands in summer. Such big animals as Laptev walrus, seals, big northern dolphins (narwhals and white whales) live in the seas there. There is the biggest land flesh-eater living on the coast, islands, and ice today - polar bear, which became a symbol of Arctic. Abrupt changes of climatic conditions and state of flora in every season stipulate considerable differences in summer and winter animal population in tundra. Many species (especially birds making the greater part of local land vertebrates) come to tundra only for the short period of Arctic summer. Wild and domestic reindeers are important for economy of the indigenous peoples. The North agro-industrial complex includes agriculture and other trades represented by reindeer-breeding, fishery, and processing industries, as well as communal and family farming, artels, communities, and other organizations of small the groups of the indigenous peoples.
Furbearers are widely spread in the North, taiga is a large forest massif, the northern water arteries are rich with fish, and the earth is full of mineral resources. As a result, the northern territories are of special interest as places of management of nature. They have been traditionally used by the indigenous peoples in this way (appropriative forms of economy): there have been developed hunting, fishery,
lumbering, production of gas, oil, iron ores, coal, gold, molybdenum, copper, titanium, complex ores, antimony, boride, mercury, phosphorites, columbite and niobates, pot lead, thermoanthracite, and chrysolite.
Transport system is of great importance for economy of the northern region. Aviation is the leading means of transport which takes major volumes of regular passenger traffic, provides for delivery of goods and materials required for safety of human life and work in hard natural and climatic conditions of the Far North. Aviation plays a special role of integrator of the territory providing for transport communication between inhabited localities situated in the remotest hard-to-reach areas and regional centres. Besides aviation, the transport network of the northern territories is represented by sea, river, railway, and motor kinds of transport.
Today 1/5 of RF national income and 60 % of currency supply are in the North, Siberia, and Far East, where only 5 % of population of the country lives: 97.5 % of gas, 75 % of oil, 91 % of tin, 100 % of diamonds, the greater part of copper, nickel, gold, 15.5 % of coal, 1/5 of electric power, and a half of timber are extracted and produced there [2, P. 193].
In this connection, the question mostly discussed concerning the northern territories and their indigenous population is the problem of rights of the representatives of small groups of indigenous peoples to natural resources of the region they live in and to profit from mining. Such public organizations as Association of small groups of indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation (Moscow [28]) and Regional Association of social unions of small groups of the indigenous peoples of the North of Krasnoyarsk region (Krasnoyarsk [27]) actively deal with regulation of the problem.
The researches into this problem reveal the falsity of the ideas that the source of the conflict
is traditionalism-modernization opposition (traditional management of nature - industrial management of nature); the researchers find the reason in self-government and paternalism opposition as far as, from their point of view, paternalistic economic policy delicately veils its colonialist character [7].
There are other scientific models and projects providing for a special status of protection of rights of the small groups of the northern peoples and solving this problem concerning the rights of the indigenous peoples for resources [20]. In an expert's opinion, the specificity of protection of the indigenous peoples' rights is protection of their way of life rooted in the world outlook since all the rest of rights are guaranteed by the standard norms of human and minority groups' rights.
The features determining such a way are extensive forms of economy, most part of which can be referred to appropriative forms of economy. Protection of the indigenous peoples' way of life is necessarily connected with protection of habitat of those plant and animal species as a basis of recovered resources. The specific norms of protection should be addressed only to those representatives of the North peoples who are involved in these kinds of economic activities (generally, population of small towns and villages) as well as to those who want to return to the traditional way of life.
The project of solution of the problem suggested by S.V. Sokolovskyi is that: 1) the forms of maintenance of the indigenous peoples' traditional way of life are to be concretely addressed and ecologically substantiated; 2) such forms are to be applied to all people involved in economy of such kind irrespective of their nationality. In this case, the most essential need is in state guarantee of reproduction of the natural resources on which the peoples' way of life depends: there is a necessity for reconsideration
of the ecological policy, large investment in the sphere of environmental activity, introduction of monitoring system of management of nature, and maintenance of the growth of ecological and law literacy of the population.
Many analysts consider traditional mode of economic management, in point of fact, the North indigenous peoples' way of life to be an indicator of a special geo-biological symbiosis of the local country with its natural resources and the indigenous peoples. From the researchers' point of view, the northern peoples represent an ethno-ecological model, which doesn't need any external regulators of repressive character (laws), for it is regulated by world outlook, according to which the habitat is sacred: it is inhabited with ghosts of ancestors and nature engendering taboo system directed to maintain the balance of natural forces and resources [3, P. 162].
Traditional national management of nature is aimed at the balance of acquisition and recovery of resources while industrial management of nature, first and foremost, is directed to profits and high production level.
The analysts think that the particular values in the North and Arctic Regions are: 1) mutual help, goodness, willingness for self-sacrifice, modesty, and open-heartedness; 2) respect for easily hurtable and breakable North and Arctic nature; absence of rigid prominence and estrangement of nature; absence of unilateral antagonism between a man and nature [14]. A human being is thought to be a part of one whole and a necessary and essential component of nature and the whole universe in traditional context of circumpolar culture. Proceeding from such an attitude, a North man cannot only be a «consumer» of natural wealth for he is always a chief factor of its existence and replenishment.
Today the North endures mass anthropogenic and cultural intervention in the existence of its nature. The researchers and experts point
out minimal negative anthropogenic effect on ecology of the areas caused by the indigenous North peoples even when they use technical transportation means. The characteristic features of circumpolar civilization are geo-cultural values originated in the permafrost area: ideas of anthropocentrism taking into account dynamics of attitude «man-society-biosphere» as a union of ecological and cultural bio-variety
and balance of life on earth; ecological safety and humanity of interaction between men and nature are a principle of harmonious coexistence, which still remains a required value for development of Arctic Regions today, a principle of inseparability of biological from cultural diversity of life-support system evinced in the structure of settlement and protective utilization of natural resources [25].
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Сохранение и развитие коренных народов циркумполярных территорий: культурно-антропологический анализ
Н.П. Копцева, Н.Н. Пименова, К.В. Резникова
Сибирский федеральный университет Россия 660041, Красноярск, пр. Свободный, 79
Культура коренных и малочисленных народов Севера, живущих на территории Красноярского края, переживает в настоящее время целый ряд трансформаций, связанных с глобализацией. Этнокультурные группы северных народов постепенно теряют свою уникальность и идентичность, исчезают их языки, традиционная религия. Идут активные процессы аккультурации. Правительство Российской Федерации и правительство субъекта Российской Федерации - объединенного Красноярского края разрабатывают правовые механизмы, связанные с сохранением традиционного природопользования и уникальной культуры северных этносов.
Культурная антропология обладает большими инструментальными, методологическими и методическими возможностями для изучения культуры северных народов Красноярского края.
Эволюционизм, диффузионизм, структурный функционализм и структурная антропология могут быть использованы для изучения данной культуры.
В настоящее время в российской науке идет активная дискуссия, связанная с социально-демографическим и культурным будущим коренных и малочисленных народов Севера Красноярского края. С одной стороны, исследователи фиксируют целый ряд социально-экономических и социально-культурных проблем, связанных с безработицей, низкими доходами, специфическими заболеваниями, а с другой стороны, для северных этносов невозможно культурное существование без традиционной среды обитания, без традиционных способов природопользования, связанных с оленеводством, рыбной ловлей, охотой, сбором дикорастущих трав.
Системная модель воспроизводства сложных социальных систем - этнокультурных групп коренных и малочисленных народов Севера и Сибири - может быть построена с помощью методологии современной культурной антропологии, ориентированной на прикладные (в том числе полевые этнографические) исследования и теоретическое обобщение полученных эмпирических данных.
Ключевые слова: этнос, коренные народы Севера, Красноярский край, культурная антропология.
