Russian Post-Soviet Residential Schools for Indigenous Children. Study on constructing Indigenous identity from Indigenous perspectives
When: 3 December, 18:30 Where: Dialogbüro Vienna, Eßlinggasse 9/6, 1010 Language: English Entry: Admission is free, please register here
While the world is familiar with assimilation practices targeting Indigenous peoples in different regions, Russia continues to hide the legacy it inherited from the Soviet regime, a legacy of obscuring its internal dynamics, where national and ethnic issues have played a significant role in shaping the country’s current trajectory.
Very few people are aware that Russia is home to nearly 200 ethnic groups, and around 13% of the country’s population is Indigenous — peoples colonised through the Russian and later Soviet projects. The peak of this colonial expansion came during the Soviet modernisation project, when (boarding) residential schools for Indigenous children made their tragic contribution to destroying Indigenous ways of life across Siberia and the Arctic.
Dr. Ekaterina Zibrova, researcher at the Wits Centre for Diversity Studies (University of the Witwatersrand), Dialogbüro Vienna Fellow and Indigenous scholar from East Siberia (Evenki People), presents her study on constructing Indigenous identity from Indigenous perspectives.
The lecture will be accompanied by the recently filmed documentary on Indigenous Residential schools, created by the Indigenous of Russia NGO (directed by Viktoria Maladaeva). Picture below is a still from the film.