Indigenous People Oppose Oil Drilling on Reindeer Herder Day in Siberia

Sergey Kechimov, Khanty reindeer herder and keeper of the lake Imlor, is in Numto village to take part of activities organised to protect the sacred lake Numto from oil drilling. The Russian oil company Surgutneftegas has been working and spilling oil near the lake for more than 20 years already. Now the company wants to drill on the wetlands of Numto - the most precious part of the nature park.
On the 17th March 2019, a traditional reindeer herders holiday in Numto village, Siberia, people meet with Russian government representatives and Surgutneftegas, as they oppose the oil company’s plan to drill for oil in the area.
After Surgutneftegas had declared their plans last January, to start three more oil drilling wells, without consulting the majority of the Nenets and Khanty people, a conflict escalated. A group of local people wrote an anonymous letter to the prosecutor office to state, declaring their firm opposition to oil drilling and that the industry had not consulted them.
A press team also travels up to the village to document the meeting. Access to the village however is controlled by the oil company who formally owns all the privatized roads developed for drilling project infrastructures. People are finding it increasingly difficult to be able to tell their story to the press. They feel that they live like prisoners surrounded by roads created by the oil industry.