The Indigenous Day

On one sunny morning when everyone else was busy fighting, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, one Chukcha and one Kalaaleq (Greenlander) were busy eating reindeer meet, drinking tea made out of tundra berries and making plans for the future.

They were sitting in the Chum, a mobile home made out of reindeer skins; it was cool and pleasant inside. There was no electricity, but there was plenty of light. There was no air-condition, but people were not sweating. Children ran in and out all the time; they were not depressed or bored. They were not missing gadgets.

Today they were learning many new things at once. They were learning new words in Kalaallisut and in Khanti language and were surprised how similar they sounded, even though they meant different things.

They were learning to dance a Whale Dance, a special dance from Chukotka, where the Eskimos live side by side with the Chukchi, Evens, Chuvans and many others, peacefully sharing land and tradition.

They were learning to cry like a sea-gull, to laugh like a snow-fox, to bark like a seal and to howl like a wolf. They were learning to imitate wind and rain, and compose their own songs made out of the beautiful sounds of nature.

While they were doing it, Lubov, a Nenets carver and marathon athlete, was playing her drum because all the food was ready and could be served any time.

Women were happy and men …. men were dreaming their dreams.

Far away from the governments, quietly – since loudness is an equivalent of being disrespectful in their lands – they were talking about a possibility of building a Kingdom of Wisdom where people instead of ugliness would only see each other’s beauty. This Kingdom would not have borders and anyone would have a chance to immigrate. Visa? Your kind and open heart.

It would be a Kingdom with no kings, where hungry would be fed, cold men warmed, and the helpless cared for. You may say: “Isn’t that an Utopia?” And they will answer: “Because of this Utopia our ancestors succeeded to live through Millennia. Has anyone else, after them, created a better social order? Can we be sure that today,being equipped with all our civilized tools and gadgets, we can survive – simply survive, forget about being happy? Can we?”

“Aren’t we crying from fear and angst and inability to change anything because governments and big multinationals are deciding our lives for us? Aren’t we swallowing blue, pink and yellow anti-depressants in order to forget our sorrows? Aren’t we playing cynical since hope has become a synonym of a failure?”

“Like a heavy mad freight train we are rushing into the Future. But maybe it’s wise to take a step back into the Past? Just to see things more clearly? To understand what Progress is really about?”

So, this is what were talking about on the sunny Sunday morning. People were coming. They were coming from afar. They wanted to hear the stories. They wanted to learn to do new things.

East/West. This is how they can meet. This is how they should meet. This is Umka. He is a Chuckcha. In Chukchi language Umka means Nanoq = Polar Bear. Umka is one of the most incredible artists, teachers and human beings on Earth. On this Sunday morning he was teaching kids to do many things they have never tried before. To walk like a polar bear and to dance like a polar fire. Look into the eyes of this three year old one? Do you see the difference?

In other words, we were lucky. We were lucky to eat the best food on Earth, to learn from the elders, and to watch the kids quickly acquiring new skills. We were lucky to see happy people. Like these Nenets girls whose dream is to travel to Greenland, Nunavut and Alaska, meet new friends and maybe make some art together. And why not?

There were more than 20 indigenous peoples of the Arctic, Subarctic, Siberia and Central Asia at the Camel Farm of EthnoPark. We wish there were more… But we were happy about the day and wish it lasted forever.

And to say the truth, I really wish Indigenous Day had lasted forever. Because then there was a chance that we would have gotten somewhat closer to a “civilized” world – the world not torn by great egos, greed and angst at each other, – a cooler world and a better world for all of us living on the small planet Earth.