Elizaveta Alikhanovna Dobrieva - expert in the culture and language of the Naukansky Eskimos
Meeting a specialist in the Naukansky Eskimo language Yelizaveta Alikhanovna Dobrieva. She is a guardian of the Naukan Eskimo traditions, a mentor to several generations of Eskimos in the Chukotka district, the compiler of a unique dictionary of the Naukan language, and an active public figure in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.
Elizaveta Dobrieva is known as the «living encyclopedia» in the Chukotsky District for her extensive knowledge of her native land and its inhabitants. For her many years of work in developing and preserving the traditions of the indigenous peoples of Chukotka, Elizaveta Alikhanovna Dobrieva was awarded the title «Honorary Resident of the Chukotsky District» in 2016.
Elizaveta Alikhanovna Dobrieva was born on 6 July 1942 in Naukan – an ancient Eskimo settlement of marine hunters (from the late 1950s, it was a closed settlement in the Chukotka District). Little Elizaveta was raised by her grandmother Kykhsukh and grandfather Sinanik. When her grandmother passed away in 1949, her mother moved her daughter to Lavrentiia to join her new family. After completing eight years of schooling, Elizaveta Dobrieva enrolled in the Anadyr Pedagogical College of the Peoples of the North. After receiving her diploma in 1963, she worked as a primary school teacher in the schools of Enurmino, Nuniamos and Ust-Belaya.
From 1969, she worked as a research fellow at the Chukotka District Museum of Local Lore in Lavrentiya village. She was involved in collecting materials on the language, history, and culture of the Naoqan Eskimos. She became one of the authors of the «Dictionary of the Naoqan Eskimo Language,» published in Alaska in 2004.
Today she is retired and deservedly so, but takes an active part in the community life of the village of Lavrentiya and the Chukotka region. Elizaveta Alikhanovna is a member of the «Yetti» club. She is the oldest participant in the folk song and dance ensemble «Beliy Parus» (White Sail) and a member of the international organisation of Eskimos ICC. She has travelled abroad numerous times with the ensembles «Beliy Parus» and «Uelen» to Alaska (USA), Canada and Greenland.
Source: https://www.library-chukotka.ru/