Towards a native visual ethnography in Siberia

Abstract

In August 1991 the authors organized a field seminar on visual anthropology in the village of Kazym in northwestern Siberia. The intention was to help establish the practice of visual ethnography among a small group of native Siberians interested in actively promoting their culture. (Visual anthropology and visual ethnography are terms used to describe the use of film, video, or photography to reveal a society's cultural characteristics either to itself or to other societies.) Members of the Association forUgrian Salvation, a regional native group, had shown an interest in using video ethnography to extend the awareness of Khant culture and to encourage its preservation and revitalization i n the context of its emergence from mainstream Soviet society. Its original intention to provide a record for scholars and for use by Khant teachers in the regional schools had expanded to include television broadcasting of native programs in the Khanty viewing area. The program proved to be a practical way to enhance local participation in creating visual and written ethnographic records for research, archival, and educational purposes.