Homelands, leadership, and self rule: Observations on interethnic relations in the Sakha Republic1

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Abstract
An American anthropologist examines the complex and situationally variable concept of “homeland”; as it affects the ways in which indigenous groups in the Sakha Republic—the Sakha (Yakuts), Even, Evenk, Yukagir—define not only their territories but their own identities and interrelationships with other ethnic groups, including the Russians. Traditions of interethnic harmony as well as conflict are assessed in order to determine whether concepts of homeland can be formulated that foster national and ethnic pride of minority groups without perpetuating nesting chauvinisms within the political structure or exacerbating interethnic tensions surrounding competition for natural resources. Particular attention is devoted to the (re)formation of obshchiny—community councils with decision‐making authority in the post‐Soviet era. Such councils not only function in their own minority communities but also desire input into who can utilize local natural resources. They are in the position to mediate local concerns with larger ethnonational groups via negotiations with republic and federation political and economic organizations. Data are derived from field work in the Sakha Republic beginning in 1986 and continuing each year since 1991. Field work in the summer of 1994 in the Sredne Kolyma region of the Sakha Republic is particularly relevant.