In the village of Tyanya in the Olekminsky District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), a project to preserve and develop the Evenk Indigenous language, titled Evedy Umuk (Language Nest), is underway; it was launched in 2024. The project received financial support from the gold mining company Nordgold, which operates in the nasleg (rural territorial unit) and provides systematic assistance in preserving the cultural heritage of Indigenous Peoples.
The project’s main mission is to revive a living linguistic environment and preserve the language and cultural heritage of the Evenk Indigenous People for future generations.
During the first year of the Evedy Umuk project, a comprehensive set of programs aimed at preserving the Evenk Indigenous language was successfully implemented. As part of the project, systematic language instruction was organised for three target groups: preschoolers, schoolchildren, and adults. Special attention was paid to intergenerational interaction – a competition among family dynasties on knowledge of the Evenk Indigenous language was held, which strengthened the continuity of linguistic traditions.
In the summer of 2025, a language camp for Indigenous schoolchildren was organised in the village. The camp provides an environment where children can immerse themselves in the language and explore the rich world of Evenk Indigenous traditions in an informal setting. Twenty-three children aged seven to 12 participated in the session. The camp’s work yielded tangible results: all the children showed a noticeable improvement in their spoken Evenk Indigenous language skills and a strengthened interest in their native culture. The participants learned several Evenk circle dances and other dances. A key achievement of the project was the establishment of close interaction between the young participants and the elders – the custodians of the Evenk Indigenous People’s language and culture.
The activities carried out confirm that the project’s primary goal – restoring the Evenk Indigenous language’s functional role in everyday communication – is being consistently achieved. The project is yielding sustainable results in preserving the linguistic environment of the nasleg.
Thanks to the knowledge they gained, four students -Tatyana Gabysheva, Vsevolod Trynkin, Aliana Gabysheva, and Roza-Bega Nikolaeva, as well as Evenk Indigenous language teachers Oksana Stepanovna Nikolaeva and Aisena Nikitichna Nikolaeva, participated in the TUREN-2025 International Olympiad on the Languages and Cultures of the Tungus Indigenous Peoples of Russia and China. The opportunity to present themselves and their culture on such a significant international stage became a motivation for the children from the Tyansky Nasleg to continue studying the Evenk Indigenous language.
They became part of a grand celebration of Tungusic languages, where language is the key to a vast world, friendship, and new opportunities, and where the linguistic richness of indigenous peoples is preserved and developed through lively communication and the joy of creativity.
Despite the challenges posed by globalisation, the Evedy Umuk project continues its vital mission to preserve the unique Indigenous language and traditional knowledge of the Evenk people.
