The coronavirus pandemic has become a big challenge for the indigenous peoples of the North, including due to the forced closure of national borders, said Finnish Ambassador to Russia Antti Helanterä.
“The pandemic, of course, is a challenge for all of us, but for the North … given that in our north and for its inhabitants, the state borders have hardly had any meaning over the past few decades. But all countries were forced to close their borders because of the pandemic, and peoples far from the capitals do not have an open border in the North. It means, the situation in the North has changed, “the ambassador said at the Russian business forum in St.Petersburg.
He also noted the importance of cross-border cooperation of the Arctic states and expressed hope for interesting projects within the framework of Russia’s chairmanship in the Arctic Council.
As Andrey Grachev, Vice President of Norilsk Nickel, noted in his speech, in 2020, in the year of the coronavirus pandemic, together with the communities of the indigenous peoples of the north, the company developed and launched a five-year program to support this population group, which includes measures to improve the quality life in settlements and the development of crafts of communities of small peoples.
“We conduct a constant dialogue and do our best to preserve the culture, way of life, traditions in Taimyr. We have pursued this policy before. We have concluded an agreement with the Association of Indigenous Small Peoples of the North of Russia. Negotiated with 36 largest communities in Taimyr. Their proposals became the basis for us – our program. Its budget is 2 billion rubles “, – said Grachev.
Earlier it was reported that representatives of the indigenous peoples of the extreme north of Taimyr signed a cooperation agreement with the world’s largest producer of palladium and nickel – Norilsk Nickel.
Dozens of members of the communities of the Nenets, Nganasans, Dolgans and Enets will receive financial support for the construction of schools, kindergartens and other necessary needs.
The indigenous peoples’ organizations that signed an agreement with Norilsk Nickel unite more than 90% of the indigenous population of the northern regions of Russia.
Indigenous peoples and Norilsk Nickel have developed a joint action plan worth 2 billion Russian rubles ($ 25.9 million). The support plan includes support for traditional activities, protection of habitats, and financing of housing, medical, infrastructure, tourism, social and cultural projects.
The new program is the result of an ethnological expedition that took place in the summer of 2020 in Taimyr.
The expedition members conducted over 100 interviews and surveys of representatives of indigenous peoples. Based on their proposals, priority tasks were identified, including the creation of seasonal jobs in areas such as tourism, reindeer husbandry, fishing and hunting. In particular, it is already planned to build workshops for the processing of reindeer and fish, purchase refrigeration units, build an ethnic complex with workshops for the production of fur products, subsidize helicopter transportation, targeted training in specialties in demand in the company, the publication of textbooks in native languages ​​and many other complex solutions.