This article explores the existing normative system’s regulation of relations between indigenous peoples of the North and industrial companies in Russia. Special attention is given to the issue of responsibility in Arctic development by government, by industrial companies (company policies), and by indigenous small-numbered peoples (customary law). For all those involved in nature management in the Russian North, the potential for overcoming the dangers they face depends on a combination of these normative frameworks. The study is based on legal anthropology methods, which combine ethnographic field research (including participant observation and expert interviews) and analysis of texts of national laws, regulations, internal corporate documents as well as traditional customs. It is grounded in principles of legal pluralism, which allows for the co-existence of multiple legal regimes governing interaction between indigenous people and industrial companies. The article concludes that what is required in the Russian North is full implementation of existing legislation and industrial companies’ social together with environmental commitments, plus an integrated approach that takes into account local legal, ethno-cultural and historical practices, in addition to assessment by ethnological experts in the field of legal anthropology.