A Review of O. P. Kolomiets, I. I. Krupnik (eds.), Prikladnaya etnologiya Chukotki: Narodnye znaniya, muzei, kulturnoe nasledie (k 125-letiyu poezdki N.L. Gondatti na Chukotskiy poluostrov v 1895 godu) [Applied Ethnology in Chukotka: Indigenous Knowledge, Museums, Cultural Heritage (Celebrating the 125th Anniversary of Nikolai L. Gondatti’s 1895 Trip to the Chukchi Peninsula)]. Moscow: PressPass, 2020, 468 pp.

Abstract

This collective monograph, edited by O. P. Kolomiets and I. I. Krupnik, is dedicated to the memory of the colonial administrator of the Anadyr district Nikolai L. Gondatti as one of the founders of the ethnographic study of Chukotka. The collection of papers is the result of the work of a team of 18 authors and includes texts of different genres: analytical works, including historical and sociolinguistic papers, publications of archival documents by N. L. Gondatti, field essays, memoirs, biographical sketches, essays, letters, and articles about museum collections. In addition to the biography and heritage of Gondatti, the authors focus on traditional ecological knowledge, the local history of the settlements of Chukotka, indigenous languages, and cultural heritage. The authors propose rethinking the concept of applied ethnology and understanding it more broadly. The book is an example of co-authorship with representatives of indigenous communities. The review provides an overview of the chapters of the monograph, the structural features, and genre diversity of the articles in the book. Also in focus is the authors’ understanding of the term “applied ethnology” and, in particular, the expansion of this concept.