Annotated Resource Set (ARS)
Title / Content Area:
Ethnographic Landscape of Siberia
Developed by:
Allegra Azulay, Outreach Coordinator, and Mark Hopkins, Graduate Student and
Assistant Instructor, Department of Slavic Languages and Literature, University of
Texas at Austin
Grade Level:
6th World Cultures/Contemporary World Societies and 10th World Geography
Essential Questions:
How can a variety of ethnic cultures influence the cultural landscape of a nation?
How are native cultures influenced by outside forces and historical change?
Contextual Paragraph:
As Russian explorers and settlers expanded east across the Ural mountains and into
Siberia, they encountered many ethnic nationalities with their own languages, cultures
and traditions. For most of these nationalities, their lives would change drastically
after the arrival of Russian settlers and during the Soviet period of expanding cities
and industrialization. A few were able to maintain some of their cultural heritage and
way of life. In this unit, students will explore photographs of several native cultures
and discuss similarities and differences, compare the impact of non-native expansion
for native Siberian and native American cultures, and discuss how native cultures
have maintained or lost their traditions as they came into contact with outside western
cultures and populations.
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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Resource Set
Map of Tartary (Carte
de Tartarie), 1706
Map of Siberian
nationalities by a French
explorer
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.g
md/g7270.mf000003
Turkmen Camel Driver,
1907
“The Empire That Was
Russia”
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/images/p8
7-151.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/ethnic.htm
l
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
Orochens outside a yurt,
(Orochenki u
berestianoi iurty), 1904–
1917
Meeting of Frontiers,
“Siberian Postcards”
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.npc000
97
From Buriat daily life, (Iz
byta buriat), 1862–1911
The Emir of Bukhara,
Alim Khan, 1911
Meeting of Frontiers,
“Collection of
postcards”
“The Empire That Was
Russia”
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.npc001
_00020
(http://www.loc.gov/ex
hibits/empire/images/p
87-8086.jpg
Rich Yakuts (Bogatye
iakutki), 1931
Meeting of Frontiers,
“Native Peoples of
Siberia”
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.eet00
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/ethnic.htm
l
2
Tungus Students
(Tungusy-ucheniki),
1931
Chinese Foreman at the
Chakva Tea Farm, 1907
Orochen on a Reindeer
(Orochen na olene),
1904–1917
On Reindeer (Na
oleniakh), 1899–1904
Reindeer breeders
gather on the Taimyr
Peninsula of Northern
Siberia, 1992–2002
Meeting of Frontiers,
“Native Peoples of
Siberia”
“The Empire That Was
Russia”
Meeting of Frontiers,
“Siberian Postcards”
Meeting of Frontiers,
“Collection of
postcards”
“Reflections,” Russian
Photographs from the
Moscow Times
A family from Tajikistan,
a former Soviet republic
in Islamic Central Asia,
negotiates the streets of
Moscow,
1992–2002
“Reflections,” Russian
Photographs from the
Moscow Times
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.eet013
4
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/images/p8
7_7053__01520_.jpg
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.npc000
87
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.npc001
_00006
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/reflections/images
/ref0004s.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/reflections/images
/ref0023s.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/ethnic.htm
l
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/reflections/reflectexhibit.html
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/reflections/reflectexhibit.html
3
Foundations Annotations
Curriculum Connections
Learning about the ethnic diversity of the region through primary sources encourages not only the study of geography, but also history, language, and the arts.
Curriculum Standards
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
World Cultures
(5) Geography. The student understands how geographic factors influence the economic development, political relationships, and policies of societies. The
student is expected to: (A) identify and explain the geographic factors responsible for the location of economic activities in places and regions.
(7) Geography. The student understands the impact of interactions between people and the physical environment on the development and conditions of places
and regions. The student is expected to: (A) identify and analyze ways people have adapted to the physical environment in various places and regions.
(15) Culture. The student understands the similarities and differences within and among cultures in various world societies. The student is expected to:
(E) analyze the similarities and differences among various world societies; and (F) identify and explain examples of conflict and cooperation between and
among cultures.
(17) Culture. The student understands relationships that exist among world cultures. The student is expected to: (A) identify and describe how culture traits
such as trade, travel, and war spread; (B) identify and describe factors that influence cultural change such as improved communication, transportation, and
economic development; (D) identify and define the impact of cultural diffusion on individuals and world societies; and (E) identify examples of positive and
negative effects of cultural diffusion.
World Geography
(6) Geography. The student understands the types, patterns, and processes of settlement. The student is expected to: (A) locate and describe human and
physical features that influence the size and distribution of settlements; and (B) explain the processes that have caused changes in settlement patterns,
including urbanization, transportation, access to and availability of resources, and economic activities.
(17) Culture. The student understands the distribution, patterns, and characteristics of different cultures. The student is expected to: (A) describe and compare
patterns of culture such as language, religion, land use, education, and customs that make specific regions of the world distinctive.
(18) Culture. The student understands the ways in which cultures change and maintain continuity. The student is expected to: (A) analyze cultural changes in
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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specific regions caused by migration, war, trade, innovations, and diffusion; (B) assess causes, effects, and perceptions of conflicts between groups of people,
including modern genocides and terrorism; (C) identify examples of cultures that maintain traditional ways, including traditional economies.
Content & Thinking Objectives
Students will understand that ethnic diversity exists in different forms in varying regions throughout history.
Students will learn about ethnic diversity while developing cultural sensitivity.
Students will not only compare and contrast foreign cultures with their own, but will also compare foreign cultures with each other (Siberian cultures in the
context of Russia/Soviet Union).
Inquiry Activities & Strategies
In small groups, have students pull information from the images by making inferences about the surroundings and attire of the people depicted.
Have students compare native Siberian cultures with native American cultures and try to come up with a reason for any similarities.
Have students examine the differences between ethnic diversity in Russia/Siberia and in the United States.
Have students compare postcards with actual photographs: how does the “idealized” vision of Siberia seen in the postcards compare with actual life as seen in
the photographs?
Brainstorming lists: “What tools would you need to live inside a yurt?” “What animals do you think provide the most food for people in Siberia?” “Why did
people originally come to Siberia?” etc.
Discuss how life in Siberia has or has not changed for some or all of the native Siberian populations from the 19th to the 21st century.
Assessment Strategies
Group discussions
Picture identification (show students photos of different cultures from around the world and have them guess which ones are from Siberia)
Short research presentations (could be done in pairs) about one of the ethnic cultures found in Siberia.
Other Resources
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Web Resources
Orochen Foundation: http://www.orochenfoundation.org/
Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East: http://www.raipon.info/en/history/populations.html
Secondary Sources
Russia’s Indigenous People (ReutersVideo): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYN9RgxKwX4&feature=related
Yakutia: The coldest place on earth (RussiaToday): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vea8rebF0M
Siberia: Preserving Tradition (RussiaToday): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acblc7p6Dt0&feature=relmfu
Print and Other Media Resources
NY Times: Poor Region in Russia Lays Claim to Its Diamonds (November, 1992)
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/01/world/poor-region-in-russia-lays-claim-to-its-diamonds.html?scp=2&sq=sakha&st=cse
NY Times: On the Rise in Tajikistan, Islam Worries an Authoritarian Government (July, 2011)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/world/asia/17tajikistan.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=tajikistan&st=cse
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