Indigenous peoples caught in the Russia-Ukraine war

It has been almost fifteen months since Russia invaded Ukraine. As civilian casualties continue to increase, what about the indigenous peoples that live in territory occupied by Russia and Ukraine?

The most recent episode of the Red Nation Podcast, "Indigenous People and the Soviet Union: a Sakha perspective w/ Sardana Nikoleava," engages this question.

A postdoctoral fellow with the Ziibiing Lab (@ziibiinglab) at the University of Toronto (Canada), Sardana Nikolaeva (Sakha), "speaks to Nick Estes (@nickwestes) about the legacy of the Soviet Union's policies towards Indigenous people."

"Ziibiing Lab is an Indigenous-led research collaboratory focusing on Indigenous politics in unique global, international, and transnational perspectives. Our mission is to support Indigenous peoples, thought, and movements. Our objectives are three-fold. First, uphold Indigenous self-determination, sovereignty, and jurisdiction. Second, advance Indigenous thought on politics, policy, and praxis. Third, defend Indigenous movements for decolonization and dignified life."

The Red Nation "is dedicated to the liberation of Indigenous peoples from colonialism. We do this through centering Indigenous agendas and struggles in direct action, advocacy, mobilization, and education."

For more, check out "The Ukraine War Is Dividing Europe's Arctic Indigenous People," as reported in Foreign Policy.

"The Sámi are no strangers to division. The Indigenous people of Arctic Europe, they once freely moved across the northernmost lands of the continent, fishing its coasts, hunting in its forests, and herding reindeer over its tundra. Only in recent centuries was Sápmi, the Sámi's traditional territory, first divided among the colonial borders of Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway; filled with settlers; and sold off in pieces to logging and mining corporations."