This week, Rémy Rouillard, Postdoctoral Research Fellow is answering our questions.
Subject of my thesis :
The research project I worked on between 2017 and 2019 examined the ways in which consultations and agreements are made between indigenous communities and mining companies in two regions of the Arctic: Northern Sweden and Yakutia, in Russia.
Why this subject is interesting to me and to the community:
Having completed a doctoral research (McGill University) and one postdoctoral project (University of Cambridge) on the ways of life of indigenous Nenets reindeer herders and Russian oil workers in the Nenets Autonomous District, in the Russian Arctic, I was excited to conduct a project examining the extraction of other types of natural resources – minerals – in two regions where indigenous reindeer herders live but practice different forms of reindeer herding.
What is your most recent publication or communication:
This project allowed me to develop relationships with a number of great people in both the Pajala region, in Sweden, and in Southern Yakutia. My work in the latter region led me to pay attention to informal relations between miners and indigenous reindeer herders, as the two groups live near each other in remote areas without much infrastructure. This situation implies that it is crucial for them to maintain good relations and assist each other in various ways (hospitality, transportation, supplies, medical assistance). I am preparing a book chapter examining the interactions between formal and informal laws and rules in the context of mining projects taking place in indigenous regions of Russia.
What the network brought you as a researcher:
Given the fact that mining operations tend to take place in distant regions where infrastructures of various kinds (transportation, communications, medical) are often lacking, I am hopeful the analysis and conclusions stemming from my project will lead to productive reflections and discussions among members of MinErAL as well as scholars and indigenous groups interested in the interactions between mining companies and indigenous communities.
Favorite book/article related to my thesis topic:
While preparing my analysis, I have often gone back to a classic work in Russian Studies by Alena Ledeneva (2006) How Russia Really Works: The Informal Practices That Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business. Ledeneva’s book provides a great conceptual framework to understand and describe the ways in which individuals and groups often have to navigate between the formal and informal realms in post-Soviet Russia in order to cope with some of the loopholes and contradictions present in the Russian legal system.
Photo : Evenki children fetching water at the Summer camp by the River Idzhek, July 2019. R. Rouillard.