by David G. Anderson (2000)
he argues that Tsarist and Soviet state ethnographers did not comprehend the complex relationship between Evenki, tundra and reindeer which focused on 'knowing' how to seize opportunities offered by animals and lands which are 'aware' of the activities of hunters and herders. According to Anderson, Evenki herders believe that non-verbal demonstration of such knowledge 'entitles' Evenki hunters/herders (tundraviki) to use the land
- the terms 'identity' and 'ecology' in the title suggest a broad sense of being and doing
- throughout the book Anderson tacks back and forth between the ethnographer's and the native's analyses of the places, people, practices, and culture of Evenkis in the lower Yensei Valley
- he argues that the concept of 'belonging' is close to vernacular Evenki approaches to identity. the local categories of 'knowing' and 'belonging' are juxtaposed with state categories of economy and ethnicity throughout the book.- the tundra and the nonhuman persons inhabiting it are not generous; hunting is not receiving gifts but taking opportunities that are created by the knowing human person
- 1992-3, Khantaika state farm, Taimyr Peninsula, northern Siberia
- following local recommendations, he joined the Number One brigade of herders to learn 'how people came to "know reindeer"'. This brigade was reqputed to be the 'most Evenki' not only in terms of official ethnicity of the individuals but in their pragmatics of living in the tundra. Anderson came to understand Evenki ways of "knowing" the hard way - through observation, participation, and quiet (or not so quiet) criticism and correction
- while the land is populated with people, animals and spirits, all requiring respect and providing oppostunities for the taking, the state has imposed political
- Soviet ethnographers attempted to distinguish northern Siberian aboriginal groups in terms of origin, culture, and territory. These distinctions became the basis of bounded territories and nationalities during the 1930s, as traditional occupations were adapted to the institutional framework of collective and state farms
- a kollektive was an occupational group whose members shared formal training with colleagues
- in 1969 Soviet officials resettled Mountain Evenkis and Dolgans at Khantaika in order to increase the efficiency of the state farm. The assumption of key management positions by Dolgans was resented by resident Evenkis
- mapping ethnic identity nto specially designated districts provides a discrete and homogenised set of identities that contradict the complex and shifting use of identities by real people
- Soviet institutions strongly influenced the identities of Evenkis who came to see themselves as 'belonging' to the state farm, a kollektive, and a nationality. An inflation in the importance of nationality and people's daily lives and their own construction of reality occurred as a result.
- nationalities and kollektives were associated with different levels of kul'tura, a combination of 'refined high culture' and physical amenities
- Evenki tundraviki are seen as lacking kul'tura, especially by young Evenki women who prefer the amenities of the settlement to life with a reindeer brigade on the tundra. Consequently, many young reindeer-breeders are unmarried.
- when Anderson was in Khantaika, heavy metal pollution from Noril'sk (a mining-smelting centre) had forced reindeer-breeders to drive their herds to areas beyond state farm boundaries. This pollution was also believed to cause increasingly erratic behvaiour among huge herds of wild reindeer in Taimyr.
- attempts by the post-Soviet state to privatise the Khantaika state farm were resisted because native producers felt that a consolidated territory was necessary for their future 'as a nation'.
- Evenki 'nationalists' felt that Evenkis were collectively entitled to control state farm territory. This created tension between Dolgans and Evenkis which worsened as salaries went unpaid, and as goods and services became scarce.
- in 1998, the Khantaika farm was heavily in debt and lacked markets for its products. Appeals for state assistance on the basis of the formerly privileged status of Evenkis and Dolgans as 'sparse nationalities' were no longer effective wih a state committed to private ownership and the free market
- Anderson suggests that Evenkis, Dolgans and other Northern aboriginal groups could 'advertise their sense of entitlement' by mounting an international appeal to save 'wild' environments, endangered species, and endangered aboriginal peoples. However, his work seems to suggest that the tensions between Khantaika Evenkis and Dolgans precludes any sort of political alliance, thus limiting the chances for success of such an appeal
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