Every year on August 9, the world celebrates the International Day of the World\u2019s Indigenous Peoples. This day was established during a session of the UN General Assembly back in 1994.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are three indigenous peoples in Ukraine \u2013 the Crimean Tatars, the Karaites, and the Krymchaks. Although these three peoples emerged during the same historical period, they speak different \u2013 albeit similar \u2013 languages and practice different religions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Crimean Tatars, for example, are muslims and have a unique traditional ornament Ornek. It is used to decorate clothes, textiles, jewelry, furniture, architectural elements, and even gravestones. Ornek combines plant and geometric elements that form harmonious compositions with both symmetrical and asymmetrical arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Crimean Tatars are people who were formed in Crimea. They are unique in the same way that every people is unique: they have their own language, history, and memory of that history, legal traditions, and urban culture. And the peninsula\u2019s toponyms, which still represent their language. Crimea is the only homeland they have. The aspirations of the Crimean Tatars are the same as those of any other people: to have a home of their own and to feel at home there. No more and no less. What the indigenous peoples of Ukraine have in common is that they were formed in Crimea\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Crimean Tatar people are defined by the way they recovered themselves. They established their own representative institutions \u2013 the Kurultai and the Mejlis \u2013 on their own, deprived of their homeland, statehood, or legal status. The 1991 Kurultai continued the tradition of the First Kurultai of 1917. Between these two Kurultais happened the deportation and seventy-four years when the people were denied not only the right to their homeland but also the right to exist. The return was also the work of the people themselves. This is one of the few deported peoples in the world that managed to return to their homeland en masse \u2013 and did so without violence,\u201d noted Suleiman Mamutov, a representative of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an expert with the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, in a comment to the Mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Krymchaks, on the other hand, practice Judaism, and their language developed from the Crimean Tatar (Kipchak) language, with significant influence from Hebrew and Jewish dialects. Historically, it used the Hebrew alphabet. In the 20th century, the Krymchak language nearly disappeared \u2013 only isolated fragments have survived to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Krymchaks are not just a part of Crimea\u2019s history. We are a living part of modern Ukraine, its multinational political nation. Together with Ukraine, the Krymchaks have overcome \u2013 and continue overcoming \u2013 all the difficult stages of its development, share its pain and struggles, and aspire to be part of its peaceful and prosperous future. The uniqueness of the Krymchaks lies in the combination of a language of Turkic origin with Jewish religious and cultural traditions. Such an identity could have formed precisely in Crimea, a land that, within a relatively small territory, became the cradle of three indigenous peoples of Ukraine: the Crimean Tatars, the Karaites, and the Krymchaks. Our people have endured many tragic trials. Crimea has survived the rule of the Russian Empire, the Soviet totalitarian regime, the Nazi occupation, the return of Soviet rule, and today \u2013 another temporary occupation by Russia. Each of these periods has left a painful mark on the fate of the Krymchaks. But despite all attempts to erase our memory and identity, the Krymchaks remain a living people. We remember our roots, preserve our culture, and believe that our future is in free Ukrainian Crimea, where every indigenous people can live freely, develop, and pass on their heritage to future generations,\u201d \u2013 Viacheslav Lombroso, representative of the indigenous Krymchak people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Karaites practice Karaism \u2013 a unique religious tradition that distinguishes them from other peoples. They recognize only the Old Testament (Torah) and completely reject the Talmud. The Karaim language belongs to the Turkic language family, but it is more archaic: it has retained features of Old Turkic grammar and has been influenced by Hebrew, Greek, and the Slavic languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Karaites are an indigenous people of Ukraine who have preserved their unique culture through centuries of trials. We are distinguished by our deep respect for tradition, the strength of our family memory, and our commitment to passing on our knowledge. The main message we want to convey to Ukraine and the world is this: even the smallest ethnic community has a right to a voice and a future. What makes the Karaites of Ukraine special is their ability to preserve their heritage without relying on existing kenases and under conditions where the Karaim language is in need of preservation. We are sustained by memory, tradition, and respect for our roots. This is a quiet but unbreakable resilience,\u201d said Olena Arabadji, a representative of the indigenous Karaite people, head of the NGO Union of Karaites of Ukraine, and Honored Worker of Education of Ukraine, in a comment to the Mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine consistently supports indigenous peoples. In 2021, the Law On the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine was adopted, guaranteeing their cultural, linguistic, and educational rights. Moreover, in April 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine officially recognized the status of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People as the representative body of the Crimean Tatar people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2014, the indigenous peoples have been systematically subjected to pressure by the occupants in Crimea. Criminal cases are fabricated against them, and they are unlawfully deprived of their freedom, their right to learn their native language is restricted, and opportunities to preserve and develop their culture, traditions, and symbols are limited. At the same time, their basic needs and rights are consistently ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore it is important to support indigenous peoples of Ukraine, to raise awareness about their history and the challenges they face today, as well as to help preserve their identity and culture \u2013 especially amid the temporary occupation of Crimea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":89639,"template":"","publication-type":[],"class_list":["post-89640","press-center","type-press-center","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n