The Nenets Tribe

The Nenets are a tribe located in the Yamal Peninsula of northwest Siberia, Russia. It is a wind-blasted, permafrost land covered with tiny shrubs and many rivers, however, it is the home of the Nenets. They are a nomadic tribe and are the largest group of people who speak Samoyedic. The name “Nenets” originated from the word “man” in this language. In 2010 a statistic report say that there were almost 45,000 members of the Nenets tribe.

A nomadic tribe means their way of life, is that they move seasonally with the reindeer along the migration routes that have been around for a very long time. They travel to look for fresh pastures to feed the massive herds of reindeer they are responsible for and dependent on for their lifestyle. The Nenets rely solely on their reindeer: the reindeer are their source of transportation, food, clothing, shelter and trading. Today more than 10,000 nomads herd 300,000 domestic reindeer on the pastures of the Arctic tundra.

Indigenous people such as the Nenets are facing threats to their existence across the world daily. The greatest threat facing the Nenets is the lack of pastures because of the economic needs of the Russian government. The lack of pastures for their reindeer causes the reindeer to lose weight and eventually die. Due to this, the Nenets have many problems with their economy and lifestyle. One possible solution to solve this is to grant the reindeer easier access to pastures or give the Nenets a different economy to base on.

Indigenous people such as the Nenets have to face existential threats to their existence, daily, and we are not doing anything about it. What we have to do to save the Nenets and other existing tribes from extinction, is to take action and help them in anyway we possibly can by analysing the threats posed against their survival and finding and implementing solutions to their problem.

If we do not take action in helping the Nenets, the government will keep exploiting their interest in the oil and at one point the Nenets will no longer be because of their starvation and lack of reindeer. They will be forced to live in the cities and the modern world instead of sticking with their traditions.

It is important for us to recognize why the Nenets are endangered and why the world needs to pay attention to them and take action. A whole tribe will be wiped out, a part of history will be gone forever preventing us from learning more about the Nenets and other cultures which helps us grow as people. Tribes and cultures help us to learn more about the way of living thousands of years ago and create an image for ourselves of what humans are as a whole.

Andersson, R. (2017, January). The Nenets of Siberia. Retrieved January 6, 2020, from Esri website: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=e7e4f207b01e47cab5b27babcc135fb9

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (Trans.). (n.d.). Nenets. Retrieved December 9, 2019, from Britannica website: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nenets-people

[Gas reserves of Yamal's Kruzenshternskoye field raised to 2 trillion cubic meters Read more at: http://cultureru.com/gas-reserves-of-yamals-kruzenshternskoye-field-raised-to-2-trillion-cubic-meters/]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://cultureru.com/gas-reserves-of-yamals-kruzenshternskoye-field-raised-to-2-trillion-cubic-meters/

[Gazprom-Neft are among the big Arctic oil producers. Here from the company's Messoyakhskoye field]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/industry/2016/02/50-million-tons-russian-arctic-oil

Graham, C. (n.d.). Russia: A way of life under threat for Nenets as oil drilling and ice melt take their toll. Retrieved December 11, 2019, from Minority Rights Group International website: https://minorityrights.org/russia-a-way-of-life-under-threat/

Location of XY [Illustration]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamalo-Nenets_Autonomous_Okrug