Indigenous People and the Soviet Union: a Sakha perspective w/ Sardana Nikolaeva (pt.1)
Apr 24, 2023
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Sardana Nikolaeva, a postdoctoral fellow, discusses the misconceptions and lack of recognition faced by the indigenous people of the Sakha Republic. She explores the Sakha people's adaptation to the Arctic climate and their traditional mode of subsistence. The influence of political prisoners on changing perspectives of indigenous peoples is also discussed, along with the cultural development of the Sakha people within the Soviet Union. The voting patterns in the speaker's region and the complicated relationship between Indigenous people and central Russia are also explored.
Recognizing the diversity and complexities of indigenous communities is crucial for cultural understanding and relations.
Indigenous communities in the Arctic have a long-standing presence and coexistence with the land, challenging Western narratives that portray them as colonizers or immigrants.
The Soviet Union's indigenous policy had both progressive aspects, such as bilingual education and language recognition, and limitations rooted in Western scholarship, emphasizing the importance of critical understanding and indigenous perspectives in shaping historical narratives.
Deep dives
Indigenous identity and misperceptions
The podcast episode delves into the experience of Sardana, a postdoctoral fellow in Canada, who reveals the misperceptions and misrepresentations of her indigenous identity from people outside her region. She highlights the importance of recognizing the diversity and complexities of indigenous communities, and how these misperceptions can impact cultural understanding and relations.
Russian expansion and indigenous resilience
The episode discusses the historical context of Russian expansion into the Arctic region and specifically the Sakha Republic. It highlights the resilience of indigenous communities in adapting to the harsh climate and sustaining themselves through diverse modes of subsistence, such as pastoralism, hunting, fishing, and reindeer herding. The episode challenges Western narratives that portray indigenous communities as colonizers or immigrants rather than recognizing their long-standing presence and coexistence with the land.
Soviet indigenous policy and its complexities
The podcast delves into the Soviet Union's indigenous policy and the complexities it entailed. It acknowledges the progressive aspects of the Soviet government's efforts to promote indigenous self-determination, including bilingual education programs and recognition of indigenous languages. However, it also acknowledges the limitations and biases of Western scholarship depicting indigenous experiences during the Soviet era. The episode emphasizes the need for a critical understanding of historical sources and the importance of indigenous perspectives in shaping narratives.
Forced Christianization and change in perspective on indigenous people
In the 19th century, there was forced Christianization of local people, often using coercive tactics to convert them. This was sometimes accompanied by violence and threats to their hunting rights. Additionally, during this time, there was a shift in how indigenous people were viewed, influenced by political prisoners sent to the region. These prisoners wrote ethnographic descriptions, portraying indigenous people as noble savages living in harmony with nature. These perspectives continued to influence the treatment of indigenous people by the Russian Imperial government and later by Soviet revolutionaries.
Communist influence on the Saqha people and their representation
While the Saqha people did not directly participate in the October Revolution, they were influenced by socialist and communist thinking in the early 20th century. After the Revolution, the new Soviet government implemented progressive policies to give ethnic minorities, including indigenous peoples, the right to self-determination. The Saqha people became an autonomous republic in 1922, with the intelligentsia playing a key role in the socialist movement and the development of local literature. However, the revolutionaries' understanding of indigenous ways of life and their land policies had some limitations, causing tensions and inequalities within the indigenous communities. Despite these complexities, the Saqha people today still hold strong support for communist ideologies and continue to vote for the Communist Party.
This is the first half of a two-part conversation. To listen to the second half, sign up for as little as $2 a month on Patreon. Sardana Nikolaeva (Sakha) is a postdoctoral fellow with the Ziibiing Lab (@ziibiinglab) at the University of Toronto (Canada). She speaks to Nick Estes (@nickwestes) about the legacy of the Soviet Union's policies towards Indigenous people. Support www.patreon.com/redmediapr
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