Aivana Enmynkau

 Aivana Enmynkau came to Indigenous rights work through an unexpected route. She began her career as a translator, including at a gold mine in Chukotka, and when translating corporate documents about local communities began asking: Why does the language used so rarely describe Indigenous peoples as rights-holders?  

Aivana’s interest is also personal. She grew up with stories of Naukan, the coastal village from which her family came and which was closed by the Soviet authorities in 1958. Her mother, a radio journalist, recorded the voices of reindeer herders, singers and elders, and broadcast in the endangered Naukan language.  

Today, she researches Indigenous Peoples’ rights, extractive industries, resource governance and corporate accountability. Her work focuses on the relationship between community participation, collective decision-making and the accountability of governments and companies.

The SCI fellowship supports Aivana’s development of Tamaani: The Mine of Consent, an educational negotiation simulation exploring Indigenous Peoples’ rights, Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), and decision-making in extractive-industry projects. The game is designed as a practical learning tool for communities, researchers, journalists and other participants working on responsible resource governance.