Local Representations of Evenkiness and Managing Identities among Evenki Adolescents in Buryatia

• Published in: Inner Asia
• Main Author: Huusko, Svetlana
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Brill 2017
• Subjects: Evenki
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/22105018-12340091; https://brill.com/view/journals/inas/19/2/article-p274_274.xml; https://brill.com/downloadpdf/journals/inas/19/2/article-p274_274.xml

Abstract This article explores Evenki adolescents’ response to Russian representations of indigeneity in Buryatia (Russia) to gain an understanding of how Indigenous adolescents negotiate their space and identity in the context of local representations of Evenkiness. I position indigenous identity within social interactions. In Russia, these relations are not only political in nature, but also are located within a set of institutionally sanctioned dominant discourses and stereotypes based on them. The results show that Evenki adolescents in Nizhneangarsk often employ a strategy of managing ethnic identities, which could be viewed as a product of cultural-political context, formed during the Soviet Union and reinforced by modern Russian politics. It is a product of marginalisation and manifestation of assimilation of the Evenkis.