Dolgan

The Lifestyle of the Dolgan Tribe who inhabits the Taimyr peninsula Russia with a population of roughly 6000 (Encyclopaedia Britannica, February 15, 2016 ) Is threatened by the Russian government is extracting natural resources from the region.

Which leads to changes in the Environment, society, and Economy. Russian politics are preventing change. The only way the tribe can survive is if the Russian government enforces them to take action in trying to help defend the Dolgan culture and put measures in place to help prevent future environmental disasters.

The greatest threat facing the Dolgan tribe is the Mineral mining done in the Taimyr region which is reckless and destroys the environment.

In may 2020 a pipeline burst while depressurizing while it was simultaneously pumping oil. The result was a spillage of 21'000 tonnes of diesel into the sea (High North News, 2020). The result has been compared to the oil spill in 1989 Alaska which destroyed the ecosystem that the native Inuits depended on. This forced them to rely on government assistance. However, with their sea life destroyed, they never returned to their traditional way of life and became a welfare community (Sciencing, 2019). If this happened to the Dolgans that would most likely lead to the end of the already endangered culture.

This plant has affected the Dolgan economy and made it more difficult for them to acquire goods they cannot produce.

The Dolgan used to use the plant's area to extract the ore from to trade for goods they could not make themselves (IWGIA, 2012). The Dolagan even shared their knowledge with the Russian government when they first scouted the area. The site is off-limits to the Dolgan, and all the ore and valuable metals mined by Nornickel (IWGIA, 2012). The Dolgan people have great difficulty accessing goods that could be the difference between life and death. If one of them becomes ill and all they require is essential medical assistance, they can no longer trade for it. (Environmental News and comments, 1995).

This plant is affecting the environment of the Dolgan and forcing them to change their way of life and how they functioned as a society.

In 1942 the USSR Built the Norilsk Plant in the Taimyr Region (Nornickel, 2010). It is situated just a few hundred kilometers from the Dolgan territory (IWGIA, 2012). In 1978 the plant made the main delivery route via the north sea including the Yenisei River where gigantic ships would break through ice 1.5 meters thick. (IWGIA, 2012) This was unannounced to the Dolgan people who often used this river during the winter to go ice fishing and travel to one of the tribes on either side. Since then dozens of lives have been lost to these vessels due to the lack of communication between the Nornickel Plant and the Dolgans. This has resulted in the collapse of communication between the Dolgan tribes that live on different Riversides.

(IWGIA, 2012). Russia is overly dependent on its export of natural gasses and oil; it made up 70% of Russia’s exports in 2018 (Wiley Online Library, 2015).

That is equal to 293.2 Billion US dollars (Statista, 2020). Due to the power, Nornickel has over the Russian government they have kept the public oblivious to the atrocities they have committed over the years by forcing politicians to keep the limelight off of them. For example, the gigantic delivery vessels that have killed dozens of Dolgans never received any press coverage. (IWGIA, 2012).

Solution

Now that you are aware of the threats, the Dolgan face what can you do?

You can make people aware of this issue, make it public. put pressure on larger nations like the United States, to force the Russian government may it be through tariffs or to stop purchasing their domestic products to look at their mistakes, and force them to change. They need to promise Dolgan that they will no longer be threatened by the incompetence of the plant and put new measures to ensure that there will never be a recap of the oil spill from May. Lastly, I find it unrealistic to say they need to shut the plant down entirely seeing as how it is such a big part of Russia's exports. However, they could quickly try and make themselves less noticeable. Such things as the delivery route could easily be changed and provide a safe passage for the Dolgans from one side of the Yenisei River to the other so that they can visit their sister village much more frequently.

Conclusion

The Dolgan tribe is being threatened and endangered with a population of only 6000.

The industrialization of their territory forced them to change their way of life, environment, culture, and society's functions. The access to products that are only available from outside communities such as medicine and specific tools. The government is hiding these issues away due to the political power the plant has over it. We can only solve these problems if we force the Russian government to enforce proper measures to prevent environmental catastrophes and force them to try and make it easier for the Dogan's to return to their past way of life.