Reclaiming the Forest

The reindeer herders of Aoluguya, China, are a group of former hunters who today see themselves as “keepers of reindeer” as they engage in ethnic tourism and exchange experiences with their Ewenki neighbors in Russian Siberia. Though to some their future seems problematic, this book focuses on the present, challenging the pessimistic outlook, reviewing current issues, and describing the efforts of the Ewenki to reclaim their forest lifestyle and develop new forest livelihoods. Both academic and literary contributions balance the volume written by authors who are either indigenous to the region or have carried out fieldwork among the Aoluguya Ewenki since the late 1990s.

List of illustrations

Foreword
F. Georg Heyne

Acknowledgements
Map of Aoluguya
Contributors

PART I: ENCOUNTERING THE EWENKI

Introduction: Writing the ‘Reindeer Ewenki’
Åshild Kolås

Chapter 1. From Nomads to Settlers: A History of the Aoluguya Ewenki (1965–1999)
Si Qinfu

PART II: MIGRATIONS: REINDEER HERDING IN FLUX

Chapter 2. In the Forest Pastures of the Reindeer
Tang Ge

Chapter 3. Ambiguities of the Aoluguya Ewenki
Åshild Kolås

Chapter 4. The Many Faces of Nomadism among the Reindeer Ewenki: Uses of Land, Mobility and Exchange Networks
Aurore Dumont

PART III: REPRESENTATIONS: DEFINING THE REINDEER EWENKI CULTURE AND IDENTITY

Chapter 5. A Passage from Forest to State: The Aoluguya Ewenki and their Museums
Bai Ying and Zhang Rongde

Chapter 6. The Ecological Migration and Ewenki Identity
Xie Yuanyuan

Chapter 7. Tents, Taiga and Tourist Parks: Vernacular Ewenki Architecture and the State
Richard Fraser

PART IV: LOCAL VOICES

Chapter 8. Campfire
Weijia

Chapter 9. My Homeland
Gong Yu

Chapter 10. Hunting along the Bei’erci River
Gu Xinjun

Glossary
Index