Tears of the Earth: Human-Permafrost Entanglements and Science-Indigenous Knowledge Encounters in Northeast Siberia

The chapter explores the potential of co-mobilising geo-cryological and cosmo-ecological expert systems in devising strategies for dealing with the latest dynamic of climate change. The discussion highlights a network of mercifulness, animist relationality and cosmo-geo-ecological sensitivity which shape human-permafrost engagements and adaptation strategies in Northeast Siberia. Although Eveny reindeer herders were the ones who enabled scientific research of Siberian permafrost, their effort and knowledgeability have not been recognised by the scientists in their formal publications. However, the scientists’ informal accounts of how reindeer herders helped them illuminate a set of opportunities missed by scientists for a more complex and better understanding of the relational networks important for forming future climate strategies and human-non-human security.