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Introduction
Under colonialism, indigenous peoples have had to deal with the policies of assimilation and integration within the states in which they found themselves. Today, these peoples inhabit some 70 states and represent 6% of humanity. In response to the loss of cultural identity over the last 40 years these peoples have been 'reviving' old traditions, including religious beliefs, 'subsistence' economic practices, etc., in the hope of finding solutions to the socio-economic, political and psychological problems of their communities (Kasten 2004). Indigenous political and territorial claims, which first found issue in the United Nations' Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted in 2007 (United Nations 2007), frighten states that fear constitutional conflicts.
The geographical area in focus is Yakutia, renamed the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in 1992. The region was named in the 17th century by Russians after the largest ethnic group that they met upon arrival, the Yakuts (probably the name that Russian heard from Evenki people) or Sakha, the latter name being their own ethnonym. This republic is located in the north-east of the Russian Federation (RF). This article focuses on the Sakha as providing an example of a dynamic process of identity representation by a marginalised ethnic group within a multi-ethnic state through a fostering of a sense of belonging to a greater society of circumpolar peoples, largely considered indigenous by the international community.
Portrait of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
Located on the Eurasian continent in the far northeastern region of Siberia, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean. Occupying a fifth of the RF's territory with its area of 3,101,200 km2, Sakha-Yakutia has nearly 60% of its territory designated as being located in the 'north', with 40% to the north of the Arctic circle. It extends over 2500 km from east to west, includes three time zones, and stretches about 2000 km from north to south.
According to statistics from the last census in 2002, the population breakdown was as follows: Sakha 432,290, Russians 390,290, Ukrainians 34,633, Evenki 18,232, Evens 11,657, Buryats 7266, Dolgans 1272, and Yukagirs 1097. In total the Sakha-Yakutia hosts more than 120 nationalities. The Sakha are the most numerous amongst...