People and Culture
The Arctic is not only a place of ice and extreme environments. It is home to rich cultures, resilient communities, and deep‑rooted traditions that have developed over thousands of years in close connection with the land, the climate, and the natural world.
Across the Arctic, Indigenous peoples have built ways of life uniquely adapted to seasonal cycles, long winters, and challenging landscapes. Their knowledge systems, languages, and cultural practices reflect a deep understanding of the environment and continue to play a vital role in Arctic societies today. Alongside these living cultures, the Arctic is also home to a rich tradition of stories, myths, and folklore that express how people have interpreted nature, darkness, light, and survival in the North.
In this section, you can find educational material exploring the people and cultures of the Arctic through profiles of Indigenous communities and examples of traditional beliefs and folklore. From Arctic Indigenous peoples to Nordic winter traditions, these topics highlight the cultural diversity, creativity, and resilience that define human life in the Arctic.
Education material in slideshow format with information text about the people in the arctic and their culture.
The Enets are one of the smallest Indigenous peoples of the Russian North. They live in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, mainly along the lower eastern bank of the Yenisei River in the Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets District.
The Mansi also known as the Voguls are an Indigenous Finno-Ugric people of the Trans-Urals, traditionally inhabiting a vast area from the Ural Mountains to the Ob River.
The Khanty are an Indigenous people of Western Siberia traditionally living in the Ob-Irtysh river basin, from southern rivers regions to the Arctic coast.
The Evens are a Siberian Tungusic ethnic group and one of Russia's indigenous minorities. They primarily live in the North-East and Far East of Russia.
Evenks, formerly known as Tungus, are a Tungus-Manchu people living across Siberia, Russia, Northeast China, and Mongolia. They have settled in small groups over a vast area stretching from the Urals to the Pacific and from the Arctic Ocean to the Mongolian steppes.
The Chukchi people are an indigenous group inhabiting the northeasternmost part of Siberia, in the Chukotka Autonomous District of Russia traditionally divided into two ethnographic groups: the Reindeer Chukchi (RC) and the Maritime Chukchi (MC).
The Veps (Vepsians), a Balto-Finnic people, inhabit the region between Lake Ladoga, Lake Onego, and Lake Beloye, currently divided among the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad region, and Vologda region.
The 6th of February the Sámi peoples in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia celebrate their Sámi National Day.
The Nenets, an indigenous and small-numbered people of the Russian North, are culturally and linguistically divided into two distinct communities: the Tundra Nenets and the Forest Nenets.
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