Dissertation Research--Becoming Indigenous: International Organizations, Diamond Mining, and the Emergence of Indigenous Identity in Eastern Siberia

论文研究——成为土著：国际组织、钻石开采和东西伯利亚土著身份的出现

• 批准号: 0713922
• 负责人: Alexia Bloch
• 金额: $ 1.83万
• 依托单位: American Museum Natural History
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-01-01 至 2009-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0713922&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Becoming; Indigenous; International

Dissertation Research: Becoming Indigenous: International Organizations, Diamond Mining and the Emergence of Indigenous Identity in Eastern SiberiaDespite a half century of state-sponsored industrialization in the region, only with the more recent, abrupt exposure to global capitalism has Siberia become a hotly contested site of debates over both indigenous rights and resource extraction. The present study will explore the relationship between expressions of collective indigenous identity and debates over natural resources in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), a region of the Russian Far East. The Sakha Republic is now a particularly crucial site of contestation, boasting diamond reserves that produce almost 25% of the world's diamonds. The region is also home to a sizeable and highly educated indigenous population, the Sakha, who comprise almost 40% of the Republic's residents. Engaging contemporary debates within anthropology over the significance of a growing international "indigenous" identity, the research assumes that expressions of indigenous identity are neither natural nor inevitable, and are contingent upon a variety of intersecting global and local process. This study will examine those processes that give rise to expressions of Sakha indigenous identity, in particular: 1) the history of Sakha incorporation into the Soviet state; 2) the changing nature of Sakha engagement with the diamond industry; and 3) the increasing presence in the Republic of international organizations, such as UNESCO, the Northern Forum, and the Arctic Council. The study will entail eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in the Russian Federation, primarily in the Sakha Republic. Data collection will involve participant observation, semi-structured interviews and life history interviews with Sakha and non-Sakha residents of the region, in addition to some archival research. Examining a post-Soviet politics of indigeneity and the implications of this for the lives and livelihoods of individual Sakha, this research will contribute to a broader understanding of the relationship between global and local processes in the formation and expression of collective indigenous identities.As a dissertation project, this research constitutes a significant portion of the co-PI's own training as a scholar and researcher. Moreover, the project will establish links between academics of Russia and North America, involving three institutions: the University of British Columbia, with strong links to the North American Arctic and Subarctic; the American Museum of Natural History, with a history of research in Siberia dating to the Jesup North Pacific expedition of the late 19th-early 20th century; and Sakha State University, the central state university of the Sakha Republic. The research will also involve extensive community involvement; data analysis will begin in the field and solicit the input of community members, research participants and a Sakha student employed as a research assistant and in transcription. Finally, the resulting dissertation will be professionally translated into Russian and disseminated widely. Paper and digital copies will be made available at collaborating institutions in Russia, the U.S. and Canada.

论文研究：成为原住民：国际组织、钻石开采和东西伯利亚土著身份的出现尽管该地区经历了半个世纪的国家支持工业化，但直到最近，西伯利亚才突然暴露在全球资本主义面前，成为一个关于土著权利和资源开采的激烈争论的场所。本研究报告将探讨俄罗斯远东地区萨哈共和国（雅库特）土著集体特性的表达与自然资源辩论之间的关系。萨哈共和国现在是一个特别重要的采矿站，拥有钻石储量，生产世界上近25%的钻石。该地区也是一个相当大的和受过高等教育的土著人口，萨哈，谁占共和国居民的近40%。在人类学范围内就日益增长的国际“土著”身份的重要性进行当代辩论时，这项研究假设土著身份的表达既不是自然的，也不是不可避免的，而是取决于各种相互交叉的全球和地方进程。这项研究将审查那些引起萨哈土著身份表达的过程，特别是：1）萨哈并入苏维埃国家的历史; 2）萨哈与钻石业的接触性质的变化; 3）国际组织，如教科文组织、北方论坛和北极理事会在共和国的存在日益增加。这项研究将需要在俄罗斯联邦，主要是萨哈共和国进行18个月的人种学实地考察。数据收集将包括参与者观察、半结构化访谈和对该地区萨哈和非萨哈居民的生活史访谈，以及一些档案研究。研究后苏联的印第安人政治及其对萨哈人生活和生计的影响，这项研究将有助于更广泛地了解全球和地方进程之间的关系，形成和表达集体土著身份。作为一个论文项目，这项研究构成了共同PI作为学者和研究人员自己的培训的重要组成部分。此外，该项目将在俄罗斯和北美的学术界之间建立联系，涉及三个机构：与北美北极和亚北极地区有密切联系的不列颠哥伦比亚省大学;在西伯利亚进行研究的历史可追溯到世纪末至20世纪初的Jesup北太平洋探险队的美国自然历史博物馆;萨哈州立大学，萨哈共和国的中央州立大学。研究还将涉及广泛的社区参与;数据分析将开始在外地和征求社区成员，研究参与者和萨哈学生作为研究助理和转录的投入。最后，论文将被专业翻译成俄语并广泛传播。纸质和数字副本将在俄罗斯，美国和加拿大的合作机构提供。