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10Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 9 (2013 6) 1290-1296
УДК 332.14
Traditional Farming is the Background of Vital Activity of the Indigenous Minorities
Vladimir I. Kirkoa* and Kunnei N. Zakharovab
aKrasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University
them. VP Astafeva 89 Ada Lebedeva Str., Krasnoyarsk, 660049 Russia
bSiberian Federal University 79 Svobodny, Krasnoyarsk, 660041 Russia
Received 26.02.2013, received in revised form 24.03.2013, accepted 06.06.2013
At present time, the main problem of the Indigenous Minorities of the North should be considered to be the forming tendencies of the small-numbered nations' renounce their traditional way of life and their traditional economic activities, the Indigenous Minorities' inclination to move to the cities and towns, where the given category of population faces the problems of social adaptation and job placement, which lead to the crisis of their development and gradual loss of their cultural and national origin.
Keywords: traditional economic activities, indigenous minorities, traditional farming.
«.. .I encourage all Member States to take concrete steps to address the challenges facing indigenous peoples - including marginalization, extreme poverty and loss of lands, territories and resources. Countries should also commit to ending the grave human rights abuses that indigenous peoples encounter in many parts of the world.» (Address on the occasion.., 2011).
Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General.
Today, these words, which have been said by the UN Secretary-General, are more than ever relevant. In the light of development and realization of large investment projects on the regional deposits development, the given utterance is a sort of guide for action, a target, which cannot be ignored, but must be taken into account in the course of any strategic decision making.
The latter is connected to the fact, that on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Region the major
part of investment projects are realized in the northern territories, where the main part of oil and gas resources is localized, and precisely: in the Turukhansk, Evenki and Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets Regions. The given regions are referred to the territories of Extreme North, and are also the places of traditional habitation of the Indigenous Minorities of the North (IMN).
At present time, there are representatives of eight ethnic indigenous minorities on the territory
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* Corresponding author E-mail address: [email protected]
of the region: the Dolgans, the Kets, the Selkups, the Nenets, the Nganasans, the Chulyms, the Evenkis and the Enets.
As at 01.01.2011, the total number of the indigenous minorities, living in the Krasnoyarsk Region, was about 16 thousand people; about 3 thousand out of them conducted traditional economic activities, including:
The Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets Municipal Region - about 2 thousand people;
The Evenki Municipal Area - about 670 people;
The Turukhansk, Yeniseisk, Northern Yeniseisk, and the Tyukhtet regions - about 330 people (Long-Term.., 2011).
The total number of agents of the indigenous minorities' economic activity was about 260 farms.
The main branches of traditional economic activities of the indigenous minorities on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Regions are the following:
■ domestic livestock breeding, including also transhumant (reindeer and horse breeding);
■ fishing and realization of water biological resources;
■ commercial hunting, processing and realization of hunting products;
■ procurement of timber and non-wood forestry products for their own needs;
■ Foraging (procurement, processing and realization of nutritive forestry products, medicinal herbs gathering).
Industrial development of the territories, where the northern indigenous minorities live, may not be started without any preliminary discussion of the aspects, which can have a negative impact on their life conditions and on the maintenance of the native small-numbered nations' numerosity.
For this purpose there are quite a number of strong foundations. Firstly, we are to take into account the interests of unique, though small-numbered, peoples, for whom the North is their motherland, the place of their habitation and their activity. Having been formed under special natural climatic conditions, their culture is of imperishable value and of world-wide meaning as
an example of humane adaptation to the extreme conditions of the North.
Secondly, the 2007 revision of the international norms in relation to indigenous minorities and world-wide acceptance of their rights have brought us to the growth of political leaders' activity, while the indigenous minorities' movement has got a certain political weight and a great influence on the organs of legislative and executive powers.
Thirdly, one may observe that in comparison with other regions of central and southern parts of the country, the processes of market relations establishment are being developed more painfully in the North. The territories of IMN habitation have lower rates of social-economical development (Popodko, 2010).
Low life span, high child mortality, alcoholism and tuberculosis morbidity, unemployment, and suicides - all this is an
incomplete list of indicators, where indigenous people take a «leading position» among other nations of the country. Migration to the North and its industrial assimilation by the ecdemic people have caused serious problems, which have not been faced earlier - assimilation and acculturation of the aboriginal people.
The greatest impact has been caused to the traditional economic activity. The basis of traditional hunting and fishing near by settlements has been damaged by numerous forest fires, while hunting and fishing on the remote areas need more financing. Thus, starting from 90-s and along with the reindeer livestock reduction, fish and furs harvesting has become twice as little. Procurement organizations have stopped taking up mushrooms, berries, cedar nuts and herbs. Due to high prices for air and other kinds of transportation the major share of manufactured products cannot be delivered to the places of its realizations and it just goes bad (Suljandziga, 2003). It, in its turn, deprives the native people of their motivation in further development of their traditional cropping, undermines the material basis of their existence.
Struggle with normandism, isolation of children from their families have damaged an age-long continuity, brought to drastic shortage of humane resources in traditional branches of economy on one hand, and on the other hand it has led to incapability of most young people to adapt for the modern life conditions. Entire generations have turned out to be left behind and out of active life.
Along with all the mentioned, intensive industrial development without due account of degraded resistance and productivity of the northern bio-systems is a severe factor of deterioration and reduction of life space of the peoples of the North.
Traditional economy is the basis of vital activity of the indigenous minorities; it guarantees
preservation of their culture and traditions. The given circumstance predetermines the necessity of preservation of traditional types of activity and their development assistance. Considering it as a strategic task, one should pay attention to constantly changing conditions of external economical and legal environment, and also take into consideration weak and strong points of traditional economy.
Potentially strong points of the traditional economy of IMNs are the following:
■ Deep traditional knowledge and skills of the native people;
■ Unique traditional economy from cultural and historical points of view;
■ Ecologically-clean production;
■ Communal type of farming organization.
To its weak points we should refer the
following:
■ Physical and moral wear of the fixed assets;
■ Difficult financial position;
■ Technological conservatism;
■ Non-competitiveness of the production because of its big expenses and draft quality;
■ Limited assortment of goods, small volume of goods production and realization;
■ Lack of qualified personnel, incompetent management.
Comparison of strong and weak points of the traditional economy shows that the latter prevails, and it apparently reduces the chances for independent existence of the farming without any support.
Difficult financial position of traditional farms is revealed in a lack of working assets, in the access absence to cheap credit resources. It is a lack of renewal and development, and it finally may lead them to a bankruptcy and liquidation.
In the market the production of traditional farming is uncompetitive because of the high level
of production and realization expenditures, and also because of low level of quality. To undergo all these shortfalls is possible only by means of usage of improved fixed assets and modern technologies of products processing. Moreover, optimization of the transport component is a reserve for saving costs. One more condition to approach the exterior market is IMNs' production correspondence to certain standards of quality and certification.
Limited assortment of goods and services, being offered by the subjects of traditional economy, does not guarantee them any stability, but makes the field of their activity narrow. Development of the manufacturing program will allow to lessen these shortcomings, and also to overcome the traditional farming seasonality.
Limitations of the production volumes are almost an insuperable shortcoming of the traditional economy. Intensification of the traditional economic activity is slowed down by the territorial disintegration and limitedness of the natural resources.
Lack of qualified personnel, including managerial staff, is also an insoluble problem. One has to create special conditions in order to attract young educated people to villages and settlements, and also to improve the educational level of the working staff.
What concerns the legal sphere, we can single out a number of contradictions, gaps and shortcomings in legislative regulation of the questions, connected with the rights of ingenious people. That is: too high numerosity of acts, generally-staged character of norms, too large terminological variety; absence of federal legislation, regulating the most important aspects of these people's vital activity - reindeer breeding and other types of traditional economical activities, rights for lands (territories) and resources (Garipov, 2010). In the region the questions of small-numbered peoples'
procurement and realization of harvesting and production of the reindeer breeding are regulated by various branches of legislation, in particular, by the legislation of natural resources usage, support of the agricultural industry, taxes and dues and others.
Because of natural duality of the traditional economy (ethno-preserving image of life and economical activity), we suppose that regulation should be performed in a complex and centralized way, by one subject in a context of development of the northern territories of the Krasnoyarsk Region.
Summarizing all the written above, we may single out the following strategy within the frames of a complex of measures for preservation of traditional branches of economy and contribution to their development:
■ Preservation of living and economical environment of the small-numbered peoples, decrease of the negative ecological impact on the environment;
■ Development of material and technical base of traditional types of activities;
■ Formation of industries dealing with processing of products of traditional types of activities;
■ Establishment ofpurchasing organizations net;
■ Development of culture and self-consciousness of the ingenious people.
Development of processing industries on non-wood forestry resources, reindeer meat, furs, and herbs and etc. will let us sufficiently improve the economical meaning of traditional types of activities and harvesting, provide the market channels of traditional farming products and create additional working places for representatives of the ingenious people of the North.
What concerns preservation of the IMNs' living environment and improvement of the
ecological situation, the following measures must be realized:
■ Formation of the net of specially protected natural and ethno-natural territories for ethnos' preservation and more rational use of natural and resource potential;
■ Stiffening of the nature protection norms on the territories of traditional natural resource exploitation, organization of environmental monitoring with the help of representatives of the ingenious peoples of the North;
■ Organization of the special regime of natural resource exploitation in the places of habitation and traditional activity of the ingenious peoples.
One of the most important tasks of our society is preservation of cultures of the ingenious people
of the North along with simultaneous civilized use of the regional resources for the need of the entire economy. Precisely the combination of these two directions, which seem to be mutually exclusive, must be in the basis of the policy, being realized in the northern regions. Under the conditions of active realization of the projects on natural resource exploitation of the North, realization of the programs of social-economical development of the territory has to be carried out by the regional or local organs of power in collaboration with subsurface users and obligatory participation of the ingenious people.
But still the problem of IMNs' preservation as an ethnos is in hands of the indigenous peoples themselves. Their future depends on their self-consciousness, activity and eager to struggle for their own interests.
References
1. Address on the occasion of the International Day of the World's Indigenous People 09.08.2011. URL: http://www.un.org/ru/sg/messages/2011/indigenousday2011.shtml
2. Long-Term Target-Oriented Program «The Indigenous Minorities of the Krasnoyarsk Region» as for 2012-2014 years. Accepted by the Krasnoyarsk Region Governmental Oder dated as of 13 October 2011, № 591-n.
3. Popodko G.I., Nagaeva O.S. Regional Policy of Northern Territories' Social Problems Solution in Connection with Oil and Gas Fields Developmen. Modern Researches of Social Problems (Electronic Scientific Journal). 2010. №3. P. 131-136.
4. Suljandziga R.V., Kudryashova D.A., Suljandziga P.V. The Indigenous Minorities of the North, Siberia and the Far-East of the Russian Federation. A Review of the Present Situation. Moscow, 2003. 142 p.
5. Garipov R.Sh.. Topical Questions of Indigenous Minorities' Rights Protection in Russia.
Topical Questions of the Russian Legislation. 2010. №1. P. 107-116.
Традиционное хозяйство -
основа жизнедеятельности коренных
малочисленных народов
В.И. Киркоа, К.Н. Захарова6
аКрасноярский государственный педагогический университет
им. В.П. Астафьева Россия 660049, Красноярск, ул. Ады Лебедевой, 89 бСибирский федеральный университет Россия 660041 Красноярск, пр. Свободный 79
В настоящее время основной проблемой коренных малочисленных народов Севера следует обозначить образующиеся тенденции отказа малочисленных народов от ведения традиционного образа жизни и осуществления видов традиционной хозяйственной деятельности, к переезду коренного населения в города и поселки, где у данной категории населения возникают проблемы социальной адаптации и трудоустройства, что приводит к кризису их развития, к постепенной утрате культурных и национальных начал.
Ключевые слова: традиционные виды деятельности, коренные малочисленные народы, традиционное хозяйство.
