The Third International Summer School in Legal Anthropology: Defending Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the North to Reindeer Herding as the Base of Traditional Lifestyle
Why do they pass laws? There are many explanations for this, however, one of them is definitely to defend the human right for distinctiveness. In the diverse modern context it is as important as human rights defended in all civilized societies. Without the realization of the right of a person to be culturally distinct the right for life of those following the reindeer is hardly to be recognized. And this is the lifestyle pursued by over ten peoples of Russia. The reindeer herding is, in fact, the only possibility for them and their people traditions to survive. For the majority of indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North of Russia the issues related to the rights and possibilities to lead reindeer herding has been playing a pivotal role recently. Meanwhile, it is reindeer herding that provides for material – transport, food, clothes, dwelling – basis of their life. The reindeer is the main symbol of aboriginal culture connected to the world perception of Northern peoples, their folklore, rites and holidays, folk pedagogic. The reindeer is the main sacrifice animal. Aboriginals usually underscore the inseparable link between people and reindeers; foresee their existence as distinct peoples only due to the preservation and the development of reindeer herding as a way of life. They can’t imagine their future without reindeers which constitute the basis of their well-being, ensure their survival. The reindeer itself chooses the way to follow, feeds itself traveling long distances, and the Northern people follow it.
The possibilities for reindeer herding are constantly diminishing due to alienation of pastures to industrial exploration in northern region. Moreover, many young people coming home from boarding schools don’t have a clear idea of the nomadic life, don’t’ associate themselves with it. Though, some changes have been taking place recently, and private family reindeer herding is becoming popular in some regions of the North. How to help those who want to preserve, and in some regions, to revitalize this ancient, but still modern, if not to say, perpetual activity of people living in the North? Today one of the ways to do it is to ensure their legal rights and legal education.
Summer schools in legal anthropology 1 are aimed at transition of legal knowledge and practical skills of their realization in the modern context to the audience. Schools focus on educating the audience skills negotiations with the authorities and industrial companies, on theoretical, practical and psychological preparation of perspective specialists to independent ecision making in the legal sphere encompassing issues of resource use for life support in the modern context such as drawing legal documents (inquiries, plaints, etc.). Beside this, at school higher education and graduate students acquire academic knowledge in legal anthropology and jurisprudence to be applied in their diplomas and theses.
The Third international summer school in legal anthropology was organized by the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, RAS and the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and the Far East of the Russian Federation (RAIPON). Interrelation between the organizing committee and Petersburg students were facilitated by L. Zh. Zaksor, a teacher from the Institute of the Peoples of the North, Russian State Pedagogical University named after A. I. Hertsen. The communication at the International school would have been impossible without professional translation provided by A. N. Kushkova and O. A. Povoroznyuk. Our plans were realized thanks to permanent support and aid on behalf of H. Finkler (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada). The organization of international summer school, 2003 was sponsored by the Canadian Embassy in Moscow, the Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada, the Administrations of Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansiysk autonomous districts who covered the expenses of officials from these northern regions for the participation in the school.
We express our gratitude to everybody who contributed to the school organization, especially to the employees of the Educational Center (St. Petersburg-Pushkin) where the lectures took place, to the employees of the Canadian Embassy in Moscow and Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (Canada).
The Third international summer school in legal anthropology was devoted to the preservation and use of natural resources and the rights of indigenous peoples for reindeer herding as the basis of their life subsistence in the modern context. The lecturers considered this issue in the international and national (Russia and Norway) law setting. This topic is becoming more problematic due to increased industrial, namely, oil and gas exploration and alienation of territories traditionally inhabited and used by aboriginals. For the Russian audience Canadian experience is especially valuable in this aspect.
Legal experts and anthropologists participating in school have the personal experience of scientific activities and legal defense, aware of the work of international and Russian authorities, especially judicial ones. Along with researchers the school was attended by administrative officials from northern regions, activists of the Reindeer Herders Union and the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North and the Far East of the Russian Federation. They shared their practical work experience.
The unique feature of this project is that at the summer school the audience does not only acquire knowledge attending lectures, participating in practical classes, but also has an opportunity to constantly communicate with the leading specialists in legal anthropology, law making, jurisprudence during a 7 day period. This project is essentially important due to its accent on the application of traditions and customs of indigenous peoples to legal defense of their rights to traditional land use, which fosters legal pluralism and development of toleration in ethnically diverse societies.
For the second time the majority of the audience, includes higher education and graduate students representing indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East studying in universities if St. Petersburg. Some of them are already working in the North2. The audience from St. Petersburg was comprised of the most active and advanced students selected on the basis of questionnaires. The participation of students in the school was conditioned by several factors. In the first place, having come back home to their towns and villages, they are often the only educated people to whom relatives and neighbors turn in vitally important situations. In the second place, working as school teachers, they can apply information and skills acquired at the summer school to teaching children. In the third place, it is the students that constitute the most active social group and can grow into specialists needed in the North, not only specialized in a limited sphere of knowledge (stated in diploma), but able to promote the principles of civil society. Besides, the school was attended by several higher education and graduate students interested in scientific analysis of the problems of indigenous peoples of the North. Students received binders of documents and literature that can be applied in their study and work3.
Russia remains the only, and at the same time, the largest reindeer herding country where the most of the indigenous peoples’ cultural issues has not been legally regulated. Today, according to the UN, nomadic population of the world includes around 80 mln. people. In Russia this population consists of reindeer herders. The bill “On the Northern Reindeer Herding” prepared by the State Duma should guarantee the right of indigenous peoples to reindeer herding as a basis of their nomadic and semi-nomadic way of life. The audience had an opportunity to get acquainted with the work on this bill in the State Duma (V. M. Etylin) and in Yamalo-Nenets district (A. V. Yevay).
In spite of the fact that the special law on reindeer herding is only being discussed at the federal level, there is a solid legal basis for indigenous rights defense in Russia, although many issues have not been settled yet, and the practice often does not correspond to the existing legislation. For representatives of small-numbered indigenous peoples and their organizations to adjust to the current situation there is a need for legal education focused on practical aspects of realization of their rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation according to internationally recognized principles and norms (article 69, the Constitution of the Russian Federation). Therefore, the first lectures touch upon the problems of legal pluralism (A. I. Kovler) and suggest ambiguity and complexity of terms used in the anthropology of law. In the lectures by P. N. Pavlov the legal status of indigenous peoples of Russia, particularly, in the sphere of land use is considered through the prism of international and national law. And what is especially valuable is that the similar problems of saami in Norway (T. Tuen) are analyzed on the background of economical, political and legal transformations in the modern society.
Presentations by K. B. Klokov based on the results on an international circumpolar reindeer herding project, by participants from Yamalo-Nenets (A. V. Yevay, G. N. Kharyuchi, E. I. Yamru, Z. V. Longortova, D. O. Khorolya) and Khanty-Mansiysk (S. V. Vasin) autonomous districts illustrated some case studies in the framework of the legal lectures.
Lectures on customs of indigenous peoples in the state legal system and possibilities of applying them in the defense of aboriginal rights to distinct way of life, namely, to reindeer herding have become traditional at summer schools. In spite of the fact that the role of customary norms regulating the status of these peoples is significant in national legislation and international law this issue has not been thoroughly studied by researchers and activists of aboriginal organizations. In practice there are a lot of things to be done in this sphere, and the newly adopted laws “considering customs and traditions of indigenous peoples” are in limbo. In order to make customs an effective legal remedy, a collaboration of aboriginals themselves, anthropologists and legal experts is required. Therefore it is important to teach students the theory of legal pluralism and methods of gathering field materials on customary law. Students listened to lectures on legal law in Norway and Russia (T. Tuen and N. I. Novikova, report by G. N. Kharyuchi), tried to apply the acquired knowledge during the role-playing, in negotiations with oil companies.
Another feature of summer schools is a top-priority attention paid to the defense of rights in court. For instance, at the Third summer school students had an opportunity to get acquainted with the principles of court defense in the Russian Federation (lecture by G. N. Kuznetsova), and also learnt to write an plaint under the supervision of a defense attorney. And A. I. Kovler, a judge of the European Court, held a lecture on international defense of human rights and passed out a binder of documents necessary to draw an appeal to this court.
Many students in their reference forms wrote that they especially liked the role-playing “Negotiations between a Community of Indigenous Peoples of the North and an Oil Corporation”. For teachers it was an effective method of estimating their students’ ability to learn materials of lectures. During the role-playing students were getting a command of negotiation techniques, learning to assert their point of view referring to both legal knowledge and personal experience.
The role-playing was preceded by a lecture of D. Burch on the Canadian experience of negotiations and concluding treaties between companies and communities on the Russian North (V. V. Peskov, S. V. Vasin).
In their reference form third year students of Chita State University N. Zubakova and N. Mokroborodova noted: “The role-playing was a new and quite interesting practical activity which concerned everyone and provoked thinking about the preset day problems. In the pole-playing the audience was divided in three parts: the administration, oil company representatives and indigenous community delegates. The task for all the participants was to play negotiations between the community and the oil company on the territories belonging to the community. Everyone was to stand up for his point of view referring to these or those legal documents. What we liked most is that the role participants played in the game was different, opposite to that played in everyday life. We think that it helps to understand each other better because participating in a game you grow into the role to the extend that you start to defend your own position. The heated debate that arose during the game and could have lasted longer seemed to prove these words. Nevertheless, even a fragment of a similar situation can help people assert themselves in real life under the similar circumstances”.
The fragment of the reference by V. B. Kolosova, a student of the European university, St. Petersburg provides a more thorough analysis:
The climax of the school was the role-playing “Negotiations between a Community of Indigenous Peoples of the North and an Oil Corporation”. Besides, the main condition of participation was taking the “enemy’s” side. Already during preparations to the game when participants tried to put themselves into new shoes, to many it became clear that our laws provide arguments for the both sides. Moreover, there is a lot of conditions and reservations unknown to the majority, for instance, the exploration of mineral deposits requires a preliminary transition of the land into another category, or the communities to be defended can back up their position with customs and traditions. It means that everything depends on the lawyer’s qualification, scrupulousness, and level of preparation for a case. And all this in its turn depends heavily on the fee. It goes without saying that reindeer herders can hardly compete with oil companies in this respect. And the local administration itself which should defend indigenous people living on its territory is not interested in this due to the same reasons – economical ones.
When the game itself started other obstacles were revealed. First, it became evident that in practice no one possessed the technique of the augmentation of their land claims on the basis of traditional law. Unfortunately, only one “argument” proving that the land belongs to this or that people since the time immemorial could be heard – this people “has always been living here”. The conclusiveness as a reference to information is out of question. And the necessity to prove the right to land itself is not always recognized. Definitely, a single person, even specially trained one representing the interests of a community is not able to decide all these problems. In order to defend their interests a wide range of specialists – ethnologists, anthropologists, ecologists, doctors, teachers should be engaged. However, this activity should be initiated by those immediately interested in it.
Second, the aims and the respective requirements of “the community’s members” were characterized by contradictions. On the one hand, parents want “their children to be with them”, on the other – they want their children acquire good school education to later enter the university.
Finally, not the least reason of conflicts – socio-cultural distinctions of peoples. They are sure to exist in respect to many peoples, but in case with indigenous peoples of the North the situation is drastically different. The temples of Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, though different from those of Orthodox Christians, are sometimes hardly recognized as objects of religious cult, as for the sacred objects and culture monuments of the Northern people, they are not considered to be ones at all».
The Third Summer School finished its work. All participants of the school –both teachers and students had an opportunity to say their say while summarizing the school activities, besides, the students filled out a special questionnaire. The following students’ comments should be referred to: “The schools ensure the realization of the problem, raise the cultural level, and broaden the outlook. We got an idea of opening in our village an information center for school children and youth. We understood how important it is to speak correctly and beautifully. An active and flexible position in deeds is required. A desire to teach has become arose”.
The regulation of traditional land use is taking place in difficult circumstances; administrative bodies delay the settlement of the issue of ascribing a special legal status to some territories. Many problems of cultural development of aboriginals in the modern context are far from their decision.
Therefore everybody concerned in the defense of the rights of indigenous small-numbered people will benefit from legal knowledge and negotiation skills based on this knowledge, and also from an opportunity to apply to court when necessary. Books in legal anthropology will help in this respect. A book on the Third international summer school in legal anthropology titlled The Reindeer is Always Right. Studies in Legal Anthropology had published in the end of 2003.
Program of
the 3rd International Summer School in Legal Anthropology
Saint-Petersburg - Pushkin, August, 19-24, 2003
Day 1
August, 19, 2003
17.00- 18.30 - Evening session
Opening of the Summer School
1. Novikova N.I. Goals and tasks of the Summer School.
2. Kovler A. I. Anthropology of law and legal pluralism.
4. Presentation of participants: every participant briefly introduces him(her)self and explains what problems with indigenous peoples’ resource use he/she personally or the family faces in their everyday life. Students receive books and binders, forms and questionnaires.
Day 2
August, 20, 2003
9.00 - 13. 30 - Morning session
9.00 – 10.00 - Klokov K.B. The contemporary state of circumpolar reindeer herding.
10.00 – 11.00 – Thuen T. Saami reindeer pastoralism in North Norway under changing conditions.
11.30 – 12.30 - Presentations of indigenous activists from the Nenets and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Districts.
12.30-13.30 - Discussion: Conflict situations arising on the basis of indigenous natural resource use (sharing information and experience between lecturers and audience; selecting the most interesting cases for the future detailed analysis after going through lectures on law).
Day 3
August, 21, 2003
9.00-12.00 - Morning session
Customary Law and Resource Management (in Russia and Norway):
9.00 – 10.00 - Thuen T. Customary law and Saami rights in Norway.
10.00 – 11.00 - Novikova N.I. Customary law of indigenous peoples of the North in the system of Russian legislation: the past and the present.
11.30-13.30 - sessions of small groups: drafting of programs for field data gathering
15.00-18.00 - Evening session
National Law, Its Potential and Limitations
15.00-16.00 - Pavlov P.N. The constitutional legal basis for regulation and defense of the rights of indigenous peoples of the North to natural resources.
16.00-17.00 - Pavlov P.N. The use and protection of lands of indigenous peoples of the North of Russian Federation: problems of legal regulation.
17.00 – 18.30 – Discussion.
Day 4
August, 22, 2003
9.00-12.00 - Morning session
Court Defense of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
9.00 – 10.00 - Kovler A.I. European Convention, 1950 and the Framework Convention on defense of national minorities: application practice.
10.00 – 11.00 - Kouznetsova G.N. The rights of indigenous peoples of the North to defend their traditional natural resource use in courts in the Russian Federation.
11.30 – 13.30 - sessions of small groups: drafting of official acts for court
15.00-18.30 - Evening session
Interrelations Between Indigenous Peoples of the North and Industrial Corporations
15.00-16.00 - Burch D. The Canadian Experience in Negotiating Benefits Agreements between Companies and Communities.
16.00 – 17.00 - Presentations of indigenous activists from the Nenets and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Districts.
17.00 – 18.30 - Preparing for the role-playing exercise “Negotiations between oil industry corporations and community of indigenous peoples”
Day 5
August, 23, 2003
10.00-13.30 - Morning session
Interrelations Between Indigenous Peoples of the North and Industrial Corporations
10.00-13.30 - the role-playing exercise “Negotiations between oil industry corporations and community of indigenous peoples”. Discussing results.
15.00-19.30 - Evening session
What Kind of Law on Reindeer Herding Do Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation Need?
15.00 – 16.00 – Etylin V.M. Reindeer Herding Draft Law in Russia (videolecture)
16.00 – 17.00 - Presentations of indigenous activists from the Nenets and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Districts
17.00 – 18.30 - sessions in small groups: on possibilities of enforcement of reindeer herding law in the modern day Russia, drafting of proposals to official bodies
18.30-19.30 - Summarizing Results of the Summer School, presentations of participants
Organizers present a review of the major themes discussed during the School, and summarize its results. Students are asked to describe their impressions of the School and to indicate what particular lectures, studies or materials, and in what way, may be actually used by them in their future academic studies or practical activities.
1 The first school took place in 1999 in Zvenigorod and was devoted to the most acute problems of legal pluralism in Russia: human rights and rights of peoples, sustainable development, the use of natural resources and indigenous rights, Muslim law and legal pluralism, human rights and cultural and gender distinctions. The second international summer school took place in Pushkin, St. Petersburg suburbs. It was devoted to the protection and use of natural resources and rights of indigenous peoples to renewable biological resources in the modern context. Lectures and debates focused on the ways these issues were being settled in the national and international law, and customary law of Russia and Canada. The materials of the both schools have been published in Chelovek i pravo. Kniga o letney shkole po yuridicheskoy antropologuii ( Human and Law. A Book on the Summer School in Legal Anthropology). Moscow: 1999. Obychay i Zakon. Issledovaniya po yuridicheskoy antropologuii ( Custom and Law. Studies in Legal Anthropology). Moscow:2002. The activities of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology in the sphere legal anthropology is described on the website of the institute: http.//jurant.iea.ras.ru
2 The school was attended by 31 participants (higher education and graduate students, activists and administrative officials from northern regions) and 7 lecturers.
3 Obychay i Zakon. Issledovaniya po yuridicheskoy antropologuii (Custom and Law. Studies in Legal Anthropology). Moscow:2002; a reference book of laws for indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East prepared by the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East. Moscow: 2003; K. B. Klokov, Y.-L. Yernsletten. Ustoychivoye olenevodstvo (Sustainable Reindeer Herding). Arctic Council 2000-2002. Published the Center of Saami Studies, the University of Tromse: 2002-2003; working materials on the Summer school including the program, the plot of the role-playing, and the questionnaire on the effectiveness of the school.