Grant name: Path of the Ancestors
Local partner: Tengri Initiative Group
Country: Russia (Altai Republic)
Background and objective
Today, Altai is famous for its natural resources and its tourism industry is rapidly emerging. In the context of the region’s overall development, there is a risk of losing markers of indigenous cultures, including sacred natural sites, language, and traditional history which are interlinked with the history of the territory. In most cases development has begun with infrastructure routes, settlements, roadside, service infrastructure, etc. It is here where elements of traditional culture originated, and where there is a significant risk of loss unless development priorities account for past history. One such zone is the Chuisky Tract, a federal highway that crosses the entire territory of the Altai Republic, leading into Mongolia. In early times this road connected China and Mongolia with Russia and Kazakhstan.
The aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of indigenous people by establishing a monument dedicated to an indigenous woman that participated in the road’s construction. This project proposes to eliminate the gap in the modern history of the Chuisky Tract – the failure to highlight the role of indigenous populations in the road’s history, as well as ensuring a traditional design for the sacred ritual sites of Chike-Taman Pass.
We created 4 new partnerships that remain active even today. Local residents are very interested – when word began to get out about the initiative, whole families showed up to get look. Youth are beginning to take a more active and targeted interest in the history of the road. We also had positive feedback from tourists and local tourism companies. As this area continues to develop, there is significant potential for creating a self-supported Altai history and culture center.
Local partner information
The Tengri Initiative Group was established in 2016, following the closure of the Tengri School of Spiritual Ecology. Its objective is to support traditional cultures to protect sacred lands and promote sustainable development.
