The Chelkans emerged from the mixing of Turkic clans with Ket, Samoyed, and other native Siberian groups. This was a process that began as early as the period when the Yenisei Kygryz dominated the region. The Mongols then ruled over the region and people from the 13th to 18th centuries. The Dzungars then briefly controlled the area until the Chelkans (along with other Altaians) submitted to the Russians.[3]
The Chelkans speak the Chelkan language sometimes classified as a dialect of Northern Altai. The language was counted as separate in the 2002 Russian Census but not the 2010 census which counted 2000 speakers, a writing system was developed in 2014.[4][5]
The Chelkans originally mainly hunted local animals, who were vital to their subsistence lifestyle.[3] Around the 19th century, the Chelkans took up cedar nut picking as an additional economic activity.[6]
The Chelkans traditional dwellings included polygonal yurts made out of bark or log and topped with a conic bark roof. Other types of dwellings also included conic yurts made out of bark or perches.[3]
Traditional Chelkan dress included short breeches, linen shirts, and single-breasted robes.[3]
^Tazranova A.R. "The Chelkan Language". Endangered Languages of Indigenous Peoples of Siberia. UNESCO. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
^ abcdeEncyclopedia of the world's minorities. Skutsch, Carl., Ryle, Martin (J. Martin). New York: Routledge. 2005. pp. 82–83. ISBN1-57958-392-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
1 Central Asian (i.e. Turkmeni, Afghani and Iranian) Turkmens, distinct from Levantine (i.e. Iraqi and Syrian) Turkmen/Turkoman minorities, who mostly adhere to an Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity.
2 In traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. former Ottoman territories).
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