Hi,

Hi,

I'm not indigenous so you can dismiss this as being overstepping if you want and you'd have every right to as a native person. I was thinking of maybe sending this on anon but anon messages are far easier to be construed as bad faith (I want to stress I'm not sending you this ask to dunk on you or ague with you or something) and also I think it's best to be honest so I'm doing this off anon.

I'll admit I was personally kind of uncomfortable at your Koryak Russia headcanon when I saw it, particularly because of the history regarding the Russian colonisation of Siberia, and especially because you chose the Koryaks in particular. However I am not indigenous so of course my opinion is definitely not one which should be amplified. I just want to give some context on Siberia/the Koryaks which might help explain further why the Koryak anon was upset.

Unlike the USA, Russia was an already established country when it undertook its colonisation of the far East. The indigenous Siberians were never originally "Russian" and had very little to no contact with Russians before the Russians invaded, and, again, Russia was an already established country at that point. The formation of Russia as a nation had nothing to do with engaging with Siberian indigenous, however Russia as we know it today with its huge landmass is a result of the later Russian colonisation of Siberia (Tsardom of Russia established 1547, Russia began its invasion of Siberia in 1580).

I didn't want to say anything because well I'm not a Koryak nor am I am indigenous Siberian nor am I indigenous at all however seeing as a Koryak spoke out, I just wanted to give a little more context of Russia's treatment of Siberian indigenous and Koryaks in particular. Again, I'm not sending this ask to shout at you, I just wanted to give further context.

Russia, as the previous Koryak anon pointed out, has been disproportionately mobilising indigenous Siberians, hence why the "Free Buryatia Foundation" was founded in an attempt to combat this, I've made some posts on this myself, including the recent Russian crack down on Siberian activists in which they've sentenced the leader of Free Buryatia to 7 years in prison.

Indigenous Siberian soldiers in Ukraine have also been frequently scapegoated for Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine, including by the Pope himself,

"The cruelest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryats and so on,” he said."

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/11/29/europe/pope-francis-chechens-buryats-intl/index.html

Not only do indigenous Siberians face Russification, grapple with the Kremlins mistreatment of them and suffer from disproportionate mobilisation, but they are also being scapegoated for the brunt of Russian war crimes in Ukraine

https://www.media-diversity.org/the-savage-warriors-of-siberia-how-an-ethnic-minority-in-russia-came-to-be-unfairly-blamed-for-the-worst-war-crimes-in-ukraine/

To give some further context on Russia's treatment of the Koryaks in particular, not the full history but:

In the 1930s Koryak children were sent to boarding schools, where they were expected to adopt new ideas, including anti-religious views and criticisms towards their own traditions. This led to the loss of their natural way of life and traditions, with many Koryak settlements forcibly disbanded. In 1954, the teaching of the Koryak language was banned - this lasted for 2 decades. Affluent herders and shamans were executed during Stalins reign.

I can only find one source which says this so take it with a grain of salt , but nuclear testing. Apparently nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s caused severe problems for the Koryaks. Radioactive contamination harmed their immune system. Reindeer-herders' bones contain significantly more lead and caesium, resulting in a surge in diseases. Again, I could only find 1 source for this which is why I said "apparently" however regardless of if this factoid in particular is true or false doesn't necessarily take away from Russia's overall mistreatment of them.

On the Koryak infant mortality rate: "Infant mortality is also very high..The highest rates recorded in official statistics are among the Koryak, at 52.6 per 1000" (Peoples of the Arctic: Characteristics of Human Populations Relevant to Pollution Issues)

The average Koryak lifespan at one point was less than 50 years and iirc it's still quite low.

When it comes to their fishing:

"In September 2014, the parliamentary assembly of Kamchatka Krai introduced a bill aimed at reconsidering the management of those territories that have been traditionally used by indigenous peoples. The bill set out a proposal to considerably reduce their area and to prevent indigenous peoples from cultivating the land in the south of the Kamchatka Krai region – a move that deprives many of the ability to maintain traditional livelihoods such as fishing."

https://minorityrights.org/minorities/koryaks/

I'm not trying to point a finger at you because I'm sure you did not have any bad intentions with your post especially because you yourself are native and I'm not so I would be seriously overstepping, and of course it's always amazing to see more indigenous rep and I myself have my own Siberian ocs, but I just wanted to try and give some further context as to why perhaps the Koryak anon was upset at your depiction, however again I'm not indigenous so my opinion on the matter holds a hell of a lot of less weight. You don't have to feel obligated to post this, I know it's a heavy subject, and again I'm not indigenous/native so you could just dismiss this all if you wish. I hope this didn't come across as me overstepping

I truly appreciate your taking the time to message me. I do not mind, as anyone who recognizes something is wrong should say something. Being native does not excuse my choices, so please don't feel bad for correcting me or adding context.

I mentioned my intentions in the anon's ask because I wanted them to know my making Russia Koryaki was not to erase these humanitarian injustices, but to see a character I adore as indigenous. No matter my intentions, I should have known better than to connect an oppressed native culture that I have no connection to, to the literal embodiment of its invader.

Your message is important to me and because you used multiple sources, I do want to share it as it is a great way for more people outside of Russia to know about the plight of Koryak people. To the anon, I altruistically apologize for my depictions.