Scholarly record

DIET OF THE NORTH-EASTERN CHUKOTKA REINDEER HERDERS: THE CHANGE OF FOOD AUTONOMY REGIME

Elena Davydova, V. Davydov

Abstract

Through the analysis of the archival materials and own field data collected in the Iul’tinskii district in Chukotka the authors tracked the changes in a diet of Amguema Chukchi reindeer herders at the second part of the XX – beginning of the XXI centuries. During this period indigenous peoples of the Arctic dramatically changed their food consumption patterns. This paper aims to analyze the process of how a diet change in the North-Eastern Chukotka was accompanied by a transition to a new regime of food autonomy. Whereas before the collectivization, which continued in these places in the 1950s, households could support autonomous production and consumption of food resources, today reindeer herders are inevitably dependant on social networks, vehicles and energy resources to maintain a relatively stable food supply. The authors argue that the emergence of a wide range of food products in the stores in the Amguema native settlement and year-round access to fresh venison led to a change of food autonomy or, in other words, followed by a greater dependence of people’s nutrition on socio-economic processes as well as the the presence and absence of different vehicles and infrastructure. This made reindeer herders dependent on the decisions and actions of newcomers. First of all, the local residents’ mobility practices depend on regular food and fuel supplies of the state and private companies. In turn, the material components of mobility (all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, their spare parts, gasoline, etc.) have an impact on the structure of reindeer herders’ diet and food consumption patterns. Secondly, the use of provided by the state and private companies infrastructure by local people allows them to maintain the optimal provision of food resources; yet, this creates the dependence of peoples’ food safety on infrastructural objects and vehicles belonging to these companies. Finally, the participation of local people in the festive and ritual activities accompanied by the preparation and consumption of traditional Chukchi food does not mean that they maintain and preserve a traditional diet in their everyday life. At the same time participation in these activities is supplemented by the nostalgic moods of one’s life in the tundra and help local community to maintain social memory. The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (E. Davydova – project No. 17-78-10125; V. Davydov – project No. 18-18-00309).

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