Sustainable Tourism in
Sakhalin andEngagement ofIndigenousCommunities.

A.G. Limanzo, representative of
Sakhalin Indigenous Minorities at
the Sakhalin Regional Duma

Sakhalin is one of the backbone resource regions ofRussia, and has important political, militarystrategic and economic significance for the country.
Based on a number of economically significantindicators, the region takes leading positions not
only in the Far Eastern Federal District, but in thecountry as a whole.

Sakhalin’s economy has extensive and stable linkages
with the global market: it exports from 50% (fish) to100% (LNG) of all its manufactured products, thus
accounting for a steady share of about 3% of the total
Russian exports.
The key specialties of Sakhalin are: fishing, oil andgas production, and coal mining.

Sakhalin can offer opportunities for diversified tourism(environmental, ethnological, cultural and educational,sports (skiing, cycling), event, business, balneological,gastronomic, hunting, fishing and other), and thepromotion of tourism will increase the revenue of local
budgets.
The Government of Sakhalin has designated tourism as
one of the key areas of regional economic development in
the coming years. One of the objectives is to raise tourist
flow to 600 thousand people a year by 2035. to this end, anumber of infrastructure and investment projects for a total
annual investment of more than 2.5 billion rubles are being
implemented.

Indigenous
Minorities of theNorth of
Sakhalin Oblast

Municipality of Okha
Nivkhs -1450,
Oroki (Uilta) - 16,
Evenks - 87.
Municipality of Nogliki
Nivkhs - 877,
Oroki (Uilta) - 137,
Evenks - 113.
Municipality of AleksandrovskSakhalinskiy
Nivkhs - 68,
Evenks - 47.
Municipality of Tymovskoye
Nivkhs - 279,
Oroki (Uilta) - 12,
Evenks - 12,
Nanai - 9.

Municipality of Smirnykh
Nivkhs - 11,
Oroki (Uilta) - 17,
Evenks - 7,
Nanai - 34.

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk City
Municipality
Nivkhs - 295,
Oroki (Uilta) - 37,
Evenks - 32,
Nanai - 51,
Other ethnic groups - 28.

Municipality of Poronaysk
Nivkhs - 280,
Oroki (Uilta) - 255,
Evenks - 45,
Nanai - 114.

Ethnic tourism is becoming one of the promising tourist
attractions. More than 4 thousand representatives of indigenouspeoples of the North live in the Sakhalin region.
The indigenous ethnic groups include the Nivkhs, the Nanai, theOroks (Uilta), and the Evenks.
The traditional economic activities of indigenous peoples include
fishing, reindeer breeding, hunting, gathering, dog breeding, andarts and crafts.

Traditional festivals are important in the life of Sakhalin
Indigenous Minorities. Fishing anf hunting festivals areheld on the eve of the fishing season (June) and thehunting season, and also in the fall, when the fishing andhunting seasons are over. During the festivals, the elders
and fishermen make a ritual sacrifice to the spirit, themaster of the sea. According to the belief, the sea isinhabited by its master (tol yz – as the Nivkhs call it) andpeople of the sea (or water), who send the communities
their main food - fish and sea animals. These rituals wereperformed for the purpose of titillating the sea spirits.
These include the traditional rites of Appealing to theSpirits, which are held on the shores of Nyisky Bay(Nogliksky District), Terpeniya Bay (Poronaysk District)and Piltun Bay (Nogliksky District), the Kurey Reindeer
Herders' Festival, the Pitul Festival on the Tym River(Tymovsky District) and the Nanai Traditional Rites
Festival (Poronaysk City). Elders will put sarana roots,
dried stalks of whitetail, millet, berries and tobacco into
the ritual plates with carvings of stylized seals and seabirds. Treating the spirits, they ask them to let us catch a
lot of fish, to make us live without illnesses, so thatchildren won't get sick.

When traveling to northern Sakhalin, be sure to visit
local ethnographic museums that preserve the culture ofindigenous peoples, and ethnocultural centers.
The festival program includes performances by ethnic
art groups, an exhibition of arts and crafts of indigenous
peoples of the North with a rich collection of works of
Sakhalin artists, sporting events, and ethnic cuisinecompetiotions.
Sports competitions are not about strength, but about thecenturies old and honed hunting skills, and the craft ofhandling deer and dogs. The most popular sports arereindeer racing and running with a dog, archery andmauta throwing (the same as lasso). There are also
competitions that are open to anyine willing to take part:archery, throwing a ‘harpoon’ at a target from a swinging
board, air gun shooting, national wrestling, jumping overthe sledge, and tug-of-war.

The ethnographic collections of the main repository of
antiquities on the island, the Sakhalin Regional Museumof Local Lore, attract many tourists coming to YuzhnoSakhalinsk.
The collections feature authentic items from the late 19thand early 20th centuries that testify to the existence of a
distinctive traditional culture among the indigenous
people of Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands.

On the International Day of the Indigenous Peoples ofthe World, the Sakhalin Regional Museum of Local
Lore in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk hosts a regional festival offolk arts and crafts of Sakhalin's indigenous minorities,Living Traditions. The festival includes a fashion showof Sakhalin indigenous people's clothing, an arts andcrafts fair, master classes, games, and a concert.

Sakhalin is currently taking a systemic effort to provide forthe development of ethnic tourism and engagement of theindigenous communities with traditional crafts.

The popularity of ethnic tourism has been growing
in recent years among visitors and residents ofSakhalin. To promote tourism in Sakhalin, theMinistry of Tourism of Sakhalin Oblast is offeringan educational program for tour guides from theindigenous communities. This is an important effort
to spread the knowledge of history, culture andtraditions of local peoples.
Combining Sakhalin's unique nature and cultureof the indigenoue peoples with the solid skills oftourism professionals has a significant effect on
the development of ethnographic tourism andrelated services. The efficiency will be higher ifthese activities are carried out in close cooperationbetween the indigenous peoples and tourism
organizations.

Thank you!