Khanty

How do they live? The Khanty are semi-nomadic, as are most
herding peoples. In their homeland, the Siberian taiga, temperatures
can reach as low as -50 degrees Celsius, and little grows.
Traditionally, the Khanty have moved around with their reindeer,
sometimes staying in 'chum' (reindeer-skin teepees), and sometimes in
log houses in which a fire is kept burning at all times. Moss is
stuffed between the logs for insulation. The Khanty depend largely on
reindeer for their food and livelihood, getting most of their nutrition
from the animals. They also hunt and fish, gather berries, and sell
reindeer and furs that they have hunted in order to purchase other
supplies.

What problems do they face?
The Khanty were persecuted under the Soviet regime in the 1930s – their
children taken and put in boarding schools and their shamans killed – but today
it is oil companies which threaten them. The oil exploitation on Khanty land is
polluting their forests and sacred lakes, killing the reindeer and scaring off
other game. The oil companies often move in without consulting the Khanty, or
trick them with false promises of compensation. Many Khanty have now been forced
off their land and no longer have any reindeer. They are reduced to living in
'National Villages' away from their ancestral hunting grounds, and have become
dependent on the administration and the oil companies for their
survival.

How can I help?
Click here to donate to Survival.
Click here to write a letter to your MP or MEP.
Click here to write to the President, your senators, congressmen or other elected officials (US).
Wrtie to your local Russian embassy, click here to find out the address.


How does Survival help? Survival works with Russian indigenous
organisations, supporting their demands. It is calling for recognition
of the Khanty's right to their land under Russian federal law, and
urging the oil companies to respect the Khanty's land rights and stop
drilling on it without their consent. Full and fair compensation must
be paid to those families that have already lost their livelihood.