Who Owns the Taiga? Inclusive vs. Exclusive Senses of Property among the Tozhu and Tofa of Southern Siberia

Donahoe, Brian

doi:10.3167/136173606780265306

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…carceration" to other criteria in the official definition of KMN of Russia. Just as they are confined to a circumscribed territory, so are they kept within the walls of a prescribed "traditional" way of life (see Donahoe 2004;Habeck 2005), and a ceiling has been placed on their opportunities for demographic expansion. The official definition thereby serves to reinforce and perpetuate the age-old and deeply ingrained perception of indigenous peoples as "traditional" (i.e., backward), living in isolated "compact communities," and, because of their small population size, being on the verge of extinction, incapable of self-determination, and in need of the state's protection and administration.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size and Place in the Construction of Indigeneity in the Russian Federation

Donahoe¹,

Habeck²,

Halemba³

et al. 2008

Current Anthropology

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Within the Russian Federation there are nearly 200 recognized "nationalities," approximately 130 of which could claim to be "indigenous." However, only 45 peoples are officially recognized as "indigenous small-numbered peoples of the Russian Federation" and thereby qualify for the rights, privileges, and state support earmarked for indigenous peoples. This status is conditioned upon a maximum group size of 50,000. While experts insist that this numerical criterion is provisional and without serious political implications, our fieldwork demonstrates that it has become a social fact that cannot be ignored, especially in light of the 2002 All-Russia Census and the release of its results in 2004. This numerical benchmark forces a dichotomization into small-numbered versus non-small-numbered peoples and creates a peculiar type of identity politics based on ethnic-group size. The "indigenous small-numbered" status is also conditioned upon a set of overlapping but often contradictory residency requirements. Using case studies from southern Siberia and the north of European Russia, we document the dynamic interplay between these dimensions of identity and the opportunities for maneuvering in the competition for the benefits that attach to certain categories. However, indigenous peoples who engage in such identity politics run the risk of becoming "incarcerated" within the confines of those categories.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Size and Place in the Construction of Indigeneity in the Russian Federation

Donahoe¹,

Habeck²,

Halemba³

et al. 2008

Current Anthropology

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“…While reindeer herding is common in some parts of this region [ 14 , 63 ], and some older adults at site D reported familial descent from reindeer herders living in the area in the early twentieth century, there were no reindeer herders living at the sample locations during the time of data collection. Most families maintain a dozen or more sheep and goats; a number of cattle (particularly milk cows for dairy production); and a few horses for transportation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of camps among pastoralists provides a unique opportunity for studying the flexible evolution of property rights and inheritance in humans [12][13][14][15]. Whether and how camps are claimed, occupied and inherited varies according to season and other aspects of ecology [16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inheritance and inequality among nomads of South Siberia

Hooper

Reynolds

Bayarsaikhan

et al. 2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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At the headwaters of the Yenisei River in Tuva and northern Mongolia, nomadic pastoralists move between camps in a seasonal rotation that facilitates their animals' access to high-quality grasses and shelter. The use and informal ownership of these camps depending on season helps illustrate evolutionary and ecological principles underlying variation in property relations. Given relatively stable patterns of precipitation and returns to capital improvement, families generally benefit from reusing the same camps year after year. We show that locations with higher economic defensibility and capital investment—winter camps and camps located in mountain/river valleys—are claimed and inherited more frequently than summer camps and camps located in open steppe. Camps are inherited patrilineally and matrilineally at a ratio of 2 : 1. Despite its practical importance, camp inheritance is not associated with livestock wealth today, which is better predicted by education and wealth outside the pastoral economy. The relationship between the livestock wealth of parents and their adult children is significantly positive, but relatively low compared to other pastoralists. The degree of inequality in livestock wealth, however, is very close to that of other pastoralists. This is understandable considering the durability and defensibility of animal wealth and economies of scale common across pastoralists. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Evolutionary ecology of inequality’.

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“…During the Soviet period, helicopters were used to transport hunters [44]. However, local traditions of reindeer husbandry were considered, and in addition, isolation and cultural specificity of the republic also allowed the preservation of the traditional use of natural resources [45].…”

Section: Transport Systems Of Todzhinsky Kozhuun and The Okinsky Dist...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Transport Accessibility and Tourism Development Prospects of Indigenous Communities of Siberia

et al. 2022

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This paper aims to identify details of interaction and mutual influence of tourism and transport infrastructure development using a combination of sociological and statistical methods. For the analysis, five key sites were selected in several parts of Siberia, differing in natural, socio-economic, and ethnocultural quality, but possessing the presence of compact indigenous communities that reproduce traditional forms of both cultural life and economic activity. While each community has its own unique culture and resources for development, several similar characteristics were revealed. It has been revealed that tourists themselves and workers of the tourism sector, including local residents, are unequivocal supporters of transportation system development. A significant part of the population, recognizing the need and advantages of having a well-functioning transport infrastructure, expresses a negative attitude towards easy accessibility of the territory for outsiders who violate the rules and regime for usage of natural resources and augment economic and cultural competition for the local population. Understanding key processes of interrelations, both explicit and hidden, concomitant to socioeconomic development of remote indigenous communities, with the simultaneous development of tourism and transport, allows the authors to propose a model outline of attitudes of local communities towards tourist and transport perspectives in the territory of their residence.

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Who Owns the Taiga? Inclusive vs. Exclusive Senses of Property among the Tozhu and Tofa of Southern Siberia

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Size and Place in the Construction of Indigeneity in the Russian Federation

Size and Place in the Construction of Indigeneity in the Russian Federation

Inheritance and inequality among nomads of South Siberia

Transport Accessibility and Tourism Development Prospects of Indigenous Communities of Siberia

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